Split Rock Lighthouse has the last operational Fresnel lens in the country remaining in the lens room of a lighthouse that still operates on its original mercury float and is rotated by a clockwork mechanism.

Last week one of the few people in the country who can be considered an old-school ”lampist”, Jim Woodward, along with Kurt Fosberg, cleaned the mercury and made adjustments to the lens, float, and rotating mechanism.  Since mercury is a hazardous material special certification and special care and equipment is required to prevent exposure to mercury vapors during the process.

Nearly two gallons of mercury was drained, and the mercury bowl and float cleaned, and the mercury replaced.  The very small surface area of mercury that is exposed to the air when the float is closed was covered with mineral oil to stop any mercury exposure to the air.

This was a fascinating procedure to watch especially in that the knowledge of the old classical lenses and their care is becoming a lost art.  This tune-up, along with restoration on the lighthouse itself, were completed in time for the 100 year anniversary of the commissioning of Split Rock Lighthouse which will be celebrated in 2010.

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Again tomorrow night, for the 24th year in a row, we will be holding the Edmund Fitzgerald memorial beacon lighting ceremony at Split Rock Lighthouse.  This year the weather is supposed to be polar opposites of what it was 34 years ago when the mighty Fitz went down in heavy seas during an early winter gale.

This is the event of the year for me and all of the staff at Split Rock that really resonates and brings home the reason for the lighthouse being built on this rocky point.  We enjoy seeing visitors who have become old friends and who have returned to the site each year on November 10 to experience Lake Superior in different weather and with a little different emphasis than a summer visit has.

So, even though the temperature will be in the 50’s and the sun will be out it will still be November.  The sun will reflect off of the lake at a very low angle and it will dip behind Day Hill at 4:37 p.m.  The long dusk allows for the lighthouse beacon to add its glow to what promises to be a glorious sunset.

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Keeping up with this blogging business is a challenge.  Talking about life and times at Split Rock Lighthouse is the main purpose of this blog, but everyone here is so busy running to keep up with the high visitation, preparing for next year’s centennial and battening down for winter that chatting sometimes takes a back seat.  No excuses.

For those who have made it to the lighthouse and the North Shore this fall it has been a mixed bag of weather.  A record warm September followed a very cool summer.  Now, the first snowfall has come in the form of an inch or so last Saturday morning.  I spent last Saturday putting up the storm windows on our home in the middle keeper’s dwelling in a strong wind.  That job is always an indication that summer, and even autumn, are over.  Even with the freezing nights the fall colors have lasted a couple of weeks later than normal.  This upcoming weekend is teacher’s workshop weekend in Minnesota, which means the kids, and most of the teachers, get a four-day weekend.  This will also be the last weekend of the regular tour season at Split Rock.  Now, the next major event with be the Edmund Fitzgerald Beacon Lighting on November 10.

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I’d like to talk about two of my favorite topics… lighthouses and motorcycles.  This summer it has been obvious that more folks are traveling and vacationing on motorcycles.  The North Shore Scenic Drive always has been an ideal destination for a bike trip but this year I have noticed a pretty hefty increase in two-wheeled traffic.  That included the HOG (Harley Owners Group) rally in Duluth in June and a Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) rally in July.

The Hells Angels definately attracted the most attention from law enforcement and others.   The HAMC held their national pre-Sturgis rally the last week of July in Carlton, MN and it was estimated that around 500 club members spent three or four days playing tourist around Duluth and up the North Shore.  Very little activity out of the normal was noticed (though much was anticipated) during their visit and traffic along the North Shore highway continued as usual.

Motorcycles are a great way to visit lighthouses as most lighthouses are in very scenic locations and bikes are the best means of traveling to these mostly rural settings.  Many of the visitors to Split Rock are continuing on the circle route around Lake Superior or heading inland toward northern Minnesota and the iron range towns by way of the Superior National Forest Scenic Byway, arguably one of the best motorcycle roads in the state, even in a car.There will be a couple of more months of good riding weather ahead.  With fall colors just over a month away think about a trip over some great roads with great scenery, to see some great lighthouses.

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Summer has finally come to the North Shore and to Split Rock Lighthouse after a very long, cold winter and a long, cool spring.  Until this week the east winds off of Lake Superior were keeping daily temperatures in the forties and fifties with a few stray days in the sixties.

With this warmer weather and west and southwest breezes has come warmer and more humid air.  Of course, this moist warm air hitting the still very cool water of the Lake Superior is making for some foggy weather.  For the lightkeepers at Split Rock, June has always been one of the foggier months and the sounding of the foghorn could be needed for several days in a row.

Yesterday, with the fog hanging low on the lake ships passing miles out on the lake could be heard sounding their horns.   Although the Split Rock foghorn is no longer in use and no longer needed you can still hear what a Type-F diaphone foghorn sounds like on the Split Rock Lighthouse website.

The annual Children’s Day at Split Rock will take place this Saturday, June 27, and the weather promises to continue very nice through the weekend.  Get out and enjoy it.

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