Known locally as Big Mac, the Mackinac Bridge joins the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan across the Straits of Mackinac where two of the Great Lakes meet.

Spanning nearly five miles in length (around 8 km), the bridge opened in 1957 and today is a toll bridge – costing $4.00 each way for a car to cross.

Some individuals have difficulty crossing bridges, a phenomenon known as gephyrophobia. The Mackinac Bridge Authority has a Drivers’ Assistance Programme that provides drivers with gephyrophobia or anyone who is more comfortable having someone else drive them across. More than a thousand people use this service every year at no additional cost.

Bicycles and pedestrians are not normally permitted on the bridge with the exception of riders participating in two, annual bicycle tours. On an everyday basis, for a fee of $5.00, the Authority will transport cyclists and their bicycles across the bridge.

Greetings from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where I took this photo! As you look at the bridge from here, Lake Michigan is to the right and Lake Huron is to the left.

As we crossed the bridge I wanted to take pictures! As is so customary in the US, hey presto, there is a bridge viewing area, immaculately kept with benches from which to sit and enjoy the view, picnic tables, restrooms and a telescope in front of which groups can gather and remotely take a poloroid-like picture that prints out then and there with the bridge in the background!

Having crossed the bridge, if we were to drive 50 miles to the North, we would hit the border with Canada!