With fog partially shrouding the towers behind them, walkers approach the south end of the Mackinac Bridge Monday morning, September 7. Walkers received certificates for crossing the finish line at the Mackinaw City side of the Mackinac Bridge. About 50,000 people made the crossing this year, Mackinac Bridge Authority estimates., and walking conditions were excellent. The crowd roared the loudest around 6 a.m. Monday, September 7, when emcee Gary Engle asked which walkers waiting to cross the Mackinac Bridge for the annual Labor Day Bridge Walk were firsttimers. Those first-time experiences were mixed Monday with something that has grown out of many others' first-time experiences walking the bridge, a tradition.

While some walkers, like Bill and Marilyn Chandler from Phoenix, Arizona, got their lifelong wish of walking the bridge when their schedules finally permitted it this year, others like Jim and Maggie Johnston from Fort Gratiot near Port Huron said they have walked the bridge 20 years in a row, making it an important family tradition for them.

Three generations from the Sweeney family gathered to walk the Mackinac Bridge to honor Jim Sweeney of St. Ignace, an ironworker who helped construct the bridge from 1954 to 1958. Five of Mr. Sweeney's children, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren joined the effort Monday, September 7. Pictured are (from left, back row) Tim Sweeney, Shari Sweeney, Brenda Sweeney, Jim Sweeney, Mick Sweeney, Gina Caputo, Tama Snider, Tom Snider; (front) Sara Sweeney, Joe Barshaw, Caitlin Barshaw, Erin Sweeney, Jessie Sweeney, Elena Sweeney, Elizabeth Sweeney, Luciana Sweeney, and Anais Sweeney. Clint Weber and his son, Silas, made the long trip from Indianapolis, Indiana, for Monday's walk, a drive Silas said was worth it, although he didn't look forward to the return trip.

Clint Weber carries his son, Silas, across the Mackinac Bridge. Mr. Weber said his favorite part of the day was the opportunity to get great photographs, while Silas said he enjoyed the mist that shrouded the bridge for the early part of the walk. "My favorite part was looking at the mist," Silas said, referring to a heavy fog that shrouded part of the bridge for most of Monday morning.

Mr. Weber said the beautiful weather, scenic views, and opportunities for photographs he may never be able to get again were all encouragements for a great bridge walk.

"I am amazed at the number of people here," he said.

Sue Fuss arrived early in the morning with friends and family to take part in her 40th consecutive Mackinac Bridge walk. The first year she walked, Mrs. Fuss said her two sons walked with her and distributed literature for the Mackinaw City Chamber of Commerce.

David Anderson (left), Matt Smith, and Jeff Anderson stop for a photograph Sunday night, September 6, before taking part in the Mackinac Bridge Run Monday. As a part of the My Team Triumph program, Matt, who has cerebral palsy, was pushed across the five-mile suspension bridge by the two Anderson brothers, who said their reward was getting a chance to meet the dynamic 12-year-old. Many years later, she was still eager for the gates to open and to begin another journey across the five-mile suspension bridge.

"I enjoy the walk and the excitement of the crowd," she said.

Don and Barb Pastor from Flint said they have been walking it together for 17 years, and hope to do it for another 17 years.

"I just like to do it," Mr. Pastor said. "I like the view, I like the people."

Roger Asman, 80, from Livonia, made friends during his walk Monday, swapping stories and enjoying the summer heat. Mr. Asman was walking the bridge for his third year in a row, and said the crowds this weekend paled in comparison with the first walk he took part in on the Mackinac Bridge's 50th anniversary.

Above: Five generations of the family now made up of Holcombs, Crons, Graebners, Hares, Browns, Brutons, Finkbeiners, and Owens pose near their campsite in Mackinaw City Saturday, September 5, before walking the Mackinac Bridge together on Labor Day. Family members came from Sanford, Freeland, Midland, Indianapolis, Indiana, and Penryn, California, to walk the bridge together. Pictured are (front, from left) Zach Hare, Brittney Owens, Jayson Graebner; (second row) Becky Hare, Jennie Cron, Phyllis Holcomb, Jim Holcomb, Kristy Graebner; (third row) Brian Finkbeiner, Lynda Bruton, Chelsea Hare, Clayton Brown, Jennifer Brown; (standing on the frame) Kaylee Graebner, Michael Bruton, Jeff Hare, and Aubrey Brown. Walking the bridge will be family members ages 5 to 91, continuing a tradition the family's grandparents started the very first year the bridge walk was offered in 1958, and some of them have been walking it regularly since 1965. This year, a new member has joined the tradition, Brittney Owens, who Jayson Graebner proposed to Saturday afternoon on Mackinac Island. First through fifth generations are signaled by red, orange, yellow, green, and blue shirts made by Becky Hare. "We'll be a rainbow on the bridge Monday," she said. " Y o u can't miss us." "It was a madhouse," he said. He remembers watching the bridge being built and going across the Straits of Mackinac aboard the car ferries at a young age, he said. The history and the people are what have kept him coming back the past three years.

Private David Bittell from the Michigan Army National Guard stands underneath the south tower of the Mackinac Bridge Monday, September 7, during the bridge walk. Mr. Bittell, along with other National Guard troops from across Michigan, help to ensure safety and security for walkers during the annual event. "I like getting out and mingling with the people," Mr. Asman said.

Three generations of the McGee family walked across the bridge Monday, three days after Max McGee's 71st birthday. Mr. McGee's daughter, Denise, and granddaughters, Amanda and Addison Fox, joined him on his first walk across the Mackinac Bridge.

"Grandpa has always wanted to do it," Denise said.

"My favorite part of today was when the fog came in and covered the bridge," Mr. McGee said.

Ms. McGee said her daughter read about the runners who led the pack of walkers across Monday, and now wants to run across the span someday.

Twenty-one men, young and old, walked the bridge as Boy Scout Troop 979, from Grayling, for the 26th year in a row.

The group was led by Loren Goodale, Jr. and his son, Loren Goodale III, who started the tradition for the troop. When the troop was formed in 1984, making the walk together was its first activity. Since then, the group has come to walk across the Straits every year.

"It's the only activity we have done every year since we started," Mr. Goodale said.

St. Ignace Mayor Paul Grondin, his granddaughter, Shyanne, City Manager Eric Dodson, and his sons, Jack and Alex, relaxed near the beach in Mackinaw City after walking the bridge for the first time as a group. Mr. Dodson and Jack have walked the bridge together for the last three years, something both said they enjoyed doing.

"We are trying to do it every year," Mr. Dodson said.

"I do it every year," Mr. Grondin said. "It was neat. I was glad to share it with" Shyanne.

Donald and Marianne Smith from Tecumseh got a chance to stop for a photograph with Governor Jennifer Granholm. Mrs. Smith said this was partly because they were able to catch up to the governor during the walk and partly because her birthday is Tuesday, September 8.

"It was such a nice walk this morning," Mrs. Smith said, "not too crowded."

Last year, the two photographed the very end of the walk, when National Guard troops march off the bridge behind the final walkers.

"That is the first time I saw the end of the walk," Mr. Smith said. "That was neat."

Calling from their experience of 21 walks across the bridge, the couple reminisced about the time the bridge was shut down to walkers because of high winds.

"You had to lean your body into the wind," Mr. Smith said. "Your feet would flip up on your ankle when you lifted them."

The beauty, the people, and the walk itself is what keeps them coming back year after year, the two said.

"This bridge walk is the most invigorating thing I can do in a day," Mr. Smith said. "It's really rewarding."

The couple keeps a bridge walk scrapbook, allowing themselves to keep three photographs, one of a politician, one of a sunrise, and one of an activity on the bridge, a cloth patch commemorating that particular walk, and the paper certificate handed out at the end.

"That's nice, I get a lot of enjoyment out of that," Mr. Smith said of the scrapbook. "This is my gig here. I want to do it four more times, that will be a quarter of a century."

A Labor Day tradition, the annual walk is the only day of the year pedestrians are allowed on the Mackinac Bridge connecting Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. Walkers begin crossing the span at 7 a.m., led by Michigan's governor.

The Mackinac Bridge Authority estimated that about 50,000 people took part in Monday's walk, a number arrived at by using density measurements from cameras positioned along the bridge and by counting the number of certificates handed out at the finish line in Mackinaw City.

Bob Sweeney, executive secretary for the bridge, said large crowds and good weather made for a great walk this year, despite a few traffic problems including two breakdowns around 8:30 a.m., which caused some gridlock on the bridge and along I-75 north and south of the Straits.

For this reason, the walk was extended past its 11 a.m. starting deadline. Gates were closed and the last walkers departed St. Ignace at 1:15 p.m., almost the latest start allowed, second only to the bridge's 50th anniversary in 2007 when 57,000 walkers were estimated to take part. The final walkers crossed the finish line at 3 p.m., ending this year's walk.

A few people were treated with minor scrapes and injuries as well as heat-related illnesses during the walk, Mr. Sweeney said, although he is unaware of any serious injuries or illnesses that occurred during the event.