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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Back in the day, the light keepers at Split Rock and other Great Lakes lighthouses always had relatively easy duty during the summer months.  Short nights, warm evenings, and settled weather made their jobs easy at that time of year.

This time of year, late October and November, bring on the rain and snow and days and nights that the northeast winds howls in off of the lake as low front after low front bring in Canadian cold blasts.  This October has been the wicked sister to a warm and quiet September that took summer with it.

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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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What could be more American than lighthouses?  I never mind spending  July 4th at the lighthouse.  While I could have hopped on my motorcycle and ridden into town to watch the fireworks from close up I found it more peaceful, and just as good of a show, to observe from the observation deck at the base of the lighthouse 130 feet above Lake Superior.

This was much better than the Fourth of July ten years ago, the day that the massive storms blew through northern Minnesota washing out Highway 61 and causing the devestating blowdown damage to hundreds of thousands of acres of mature forest in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness just a few miles to the north of the lighthouse.

This Independence Day show was a bonus.  A near-full moon, a clear and warm evening, and a calm breeze made sunset and darkness especially captivating.  From my vantage point next to the lighthouse at a little after 10 p.m. I counted fourteen fireworks displays up and down the North Shore, across the lake in Wisconsin, and even 45 miles away in Duluth and Superior.

Towns from Tofte, Silver Bay, Two Harbors and Duluth in Minnesota to Superior, Port Wing, Cornucopia, Bayfield and Ashland in Wisconsin were celebrating our country’s independence in small town style.  Granted, the displays were pretty small when viewed from where I was standing but to see the flashes and displays of bright explosions followed minutes later by muffled booms over the calm lake added an element you can’t get from up close.

To celebrate in my own way I lit the lighthouse beacon for an hour at sunset.   Not a bad evening after a very busy day at the lighthouse.

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