On a warm and buggy Sunday morning, we drove to Headlands Beach State Park so my wife could see Lake Erie for the first time. I warned her that it wasn’t all that special — the last time I was there, a green scum covered the water and the lake reeked.
This time the water was fine. It was the air that was unbearable. It was packed with gnats — giant clouds of them that got in our mouths and noses and hair. It was miserable. I wanted to see the Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Light, so we took a half-mile long trail through trees and grass where the bugs almost drove us nuts. Things got a little better once we made it to the beach.
I walked out onto the breakwater and took these photos of the light. It was build in 1925 and replaced the Grand River Lighthouse which is now a maritime museum. Notice the bugs hovering in some of these photos. By the breakwater, there was a second, larger type that was swarming everywhere.
Here’s a shot of the breakwater light from the hill by the Grand River Light. The light still functions as a navigation aid, but the building is privately owned by somebody who wants to turn it into a vacation home.
There’s another short pier head light on the Grand River, but I couldn’t find any information about it online. Note the cottonwood seeds drifting out over the water.
We wanted no part of the trail on our way back to the car, so we walked along the beach, interrupting a photo shoot on the way.
