Wednesday For messages about today's picture, see Cam Notes. This area is for other friendly conversation. Please read our Acceptable Use Policy.

Good Morning from Clearwater. Have a nice day.

Good morning everyone!

Morning!

Good morning!
We've got about 6 inches of new snow in Charlevoix.Roads are slippery and it is blowing and drifting a little. My fellow teachers were hoping for a day off from school but no luck. It is just a "normal" day for the UP.

Good morning everyone! It's nice to be back. My fiance and I just drove back from Huntington Beach,California, where is was sunny and 75 degrees!! We had a great trip across Highway 40 and never hit a single bad road, then we woke up to a foot of new fallen snow on the ground this morning! I guess we got back to Michigan just in time....in time to park the car and bust out the snowmobiles! : )
Have a great day!

Oh my gosh, check out the webcam for the Mackinac Bridge. You can barely see the bridge due to the blowing snow. Definately not a day to be crossing...no wonder there's no traffic on the bridge today.

http://www.mackinacbridge.org/

OOOOhh. Scary about the bridge. Think I'd stay in Mac City and hope for tomorrow!

I've never been afraid of crossing the big mac, but also have never forgotten about the young woman who flew off the bridge in her little car, and it wasn't even winter! (very windy, though, and she was speeding on the center grid)

Maija,

Yep, who can forget the car that went over the Mighty Mac. I think it happened in 1989...and the car she was driving was a Yugo. I hate that center grid, and in order to avoid it, I drive in the right lane.

I have been driving over the bridge for years now...even hauling our camper....so it doesn't bother me. My hubby, who is a truck driver, refuses to drive across the bridge...which really surprises me. To me, crossing the Mac is a sign that we have once again made it home.

A couple of years ago, I was crossing the bridge with our camper...and the person in front of me was pulling a very large trailer. They froze in the middle of the bridge and drove the rest of the way down the bridge going 5 miles per hour. Bet he told horror stories of crossing the Mac at his campfires for years to come, eh.

I remember that night that girl went flying off the bridge in her Yugo. My hubby and his buddy left late to head up toward Rose City in our '87 Ram pick up truck with our 4 wheel Honda in back. Good thing they had that lug back there. He said when they got to the top of the Zilwaukee Bridge, this huge wind came across and pushed the truck in the next lane which is a good thing nobody was in that lane. Scared the bajeebas out of them both. I had my front and back doors open and the wind came so swift it slammed both of them shut. Then I heard on the news about that girl. Been scared ever since to cross the Mighty Mac.

No one needs to be afraid to cross the Big Mac. The Yugo that got blown off was a tin can that should have never been allowed to be sold in the USA. The taxpayers of Michigan paid five million dollars to settle the law suit. The federal government should have been sued. The same guy that brought in the Yugo is now going to bring in a tin can from China. This car will be also blown of the Big Mac.

I heard the gal who flew off the bridge was speeding and had been drinking before getting behind the wheel. Not positive about that fact, though.
I drive a truck and never fear crossing the Big Mac. Just gotta use your head and drive smart.

The tread design on your tires has a big effect on how your vehicle feels and drives on the center grid. some snow tires will really wander and give you that sick feeling.

We've been across the bridge numerous times on our motorcycle. I love going over it on the bike. My husband hates that it never fails that we have to ride on the grating. It's an awesome bridge.

I have found that putting my truck in four wheel drive (don't ask me why..but it works), cuts down on that swaying effect of the truck tires on the Mac.

Hmmmm...I wonder why we the tax payers were stuck with the lawsuit for the Yugo driver that was speeding when she went over the bridge. Thought everyone knew you just don't go speeding over the Mac bridge...especially when it is windy...and when you are driving a tin can. Duh!

Troll, Lower MI: Rose City? One of my high school buds' family owns a cabin up on George Lake in Rose City and we still do our girlie girl week up there each summer.

(To the poster who was removed), please don't abuse the Pasty Website. Mr. Hopper & staff are gracious to
provide us with this Website. It is here for us
to chat & to provide others with information &
knowledge about different issues that affect us
now or has affected us in the past.

I love it when I make it to the Mackinac Bridge (going North). A huge weight is lifted and I begin to smile as I take huge gulps of that wonderful lake air! I am halfway home when I get there...what a great feeling! I have never been afraid while driving the bridge, i am cautious but it is such an exhilarating feeling to be up there so high on such a magnificent structure.
Maija: Heading out of Commerce Twp, sometimes I take Union Lake to Cooley to Williams to Maceday to White Lake Road to Dixie and head up that way towards Grand Blanc. But from there you will have to study a map. Safe travels!
P.S. I looked for your tracks out in the snow today on the trails. Saw nothing more than deer tracks and I heard an owl hooting at me and Kodi. It was gorgeous out there!

I don't know either about 4x4 vs. 4xoff, but I recall from my driving lessons (long time ago) that a tire can deliver only so much grip, no matter what direction. So, by driving the vehicle with two wheels, the driving wheels with the driving load can deliver less grip against side effects (like bends or wind) than the other two. By routing the power to four wheels, the load is more evenly distributed, and therefore less prone to swaying.
Just my two cents of thought.

Hello, Trish & Chris,
Soon you'll be here for Winter Carnival 2005...
Can't wait until you see all of our snow here in Trimountain, our road is down to one lane. Hope you see my message, I love you both very much

I love the U.P.