MARILYN CORNWELL: Marilyn's Photos - July 11 2026

The date is now July 27th. That's when the Gordie Howe International Bridge is set to open, according to a news release last night sent out by the Department of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities. That comes from the CBC. From MSN comes the news that Donald Trump is quietly backing off an aggressive trade posture against Canada, which some were suspicious was an under-the-table handout to major GOP donors. Then it goes on to say that the Canadian government announced the bridge opening date. In comparison the Yahoo!Finance news says that Canada and Michigan have agreed to open the Gordie How International Bridge...with the support of the United States Government.

Should one be encouraged and have some optimism that the bridge will open? I know nothing about betting sites, so off I went to find out what the odds are that the bridge will open on that date. Perhaps you already know this:

"The July 27th opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge is not available as a betting market on any regulated sportsbooks. Because both the Canadian government and U.S. officials officially announced this specific opening date, betting sites do not offer odds on this event as it is a settled certainty rather than an unpredictable contest."

This is an historic moment: Should you make the drive to Detroit and participate in the first day celebration?

Is there the ability for Canadians to go halfway, turn around and come back, so we don't have to go through U.S. customs? Well we could walk or bike across the bridge It is 2.5 kilometers long. Would that be a bad sort of behaviour? It says you will still have to go through Canadian customs just as if you had traveled all the way to Detroit. It is designed specifically to cross the international border, so once you are on the bridge, you are in international zone requiring valid travel documents. And you can walk the bridge for free.

Sounds like a plan, though: walk onto the bridge for a bit, and then come back. There's a FB post wanting to organize a Gordie Howe International bridge walk. I guess when they opened the Ambassador bridge in 1929, there was a massive crowd walk. I guess it can happen again, so there'd be no easy getting back, would there?

Today's picture is tree bark. This is a Sycamore or Plane Tree.