SILVER LAKE, MI — A Lake Michigan business has captured lightning in a bottle − well almost. The Mac Wood’s Dune Ride team unearthed a fulgurite, or a piece of fossilized lightning, while prepping its trails this spring.
Fulgurites are natural tubes of glass that are formed when lightning strikes sand.
The Silver Lake Sand Dunes are one of the rare areas where fulgurites are known to be found and the family of Mac Wood has become local experts on the scientific spectacles.
This month, as the family prepped their 7-mile trail through the dunes, they came across what they believe is a segment from the same fulgurite found in 1997 by Pete Wood, son of business founder Mac Wood.
Since then, the family has uncovered segments in 2005, 2019 and now 2025.
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While prepping the trails for their season opener the Mac Wood’s Dune Ride team found a fulgurite in the dunes. This is the fourth time the family has found fulgurites in the dunes dating back to 1997. The piece found this spring was the largest by far measuring at 30 inches. (Photos Courtesy of Mac Wood’s Dune Rides)Photos Courtesy of Mac Wood’s Dune Rides
Just like when you see a lightning bolt flash in the sky, the sand glass also branches off making finger-like designs.
The fulgurite’s jagged, distorted shape mimics the path of the lightning bolt as it disperses into the ground, according to the Utah Geological Survey.
Fulgurites are very fragile and must be handled carefully, said Garrett Talmadge, manager of the dune rides and great grandson of Mac Wood. In April of 2022, Talmadge found portions of a fulgurite measuring over five feet.
This piece is the largest intact piece ever found by a Mac Wood’s family member, measuring more than two and a half feet.
In total, this marks the whole fulgurite at over 25 feet in length found so far, according to the Wood family.
The family business has one of the largest displays of fulgurites, including one piece that is nine feet long, according to the website.
To see the fulgurite display, along with “dune scooters,” signs and photos chronicling the family’s 95-year legacy of dune buggy rides stop in to the business at 629 N. 18th Ave, Mears.
While prepping the trails for their season opener the Mac Wood’s Dune Ride team found a fulgurite in the dunes. This is the fourth time the family has found fulgurites in the dunes dating back to 1997. The piece found this spring was the largest by far measuring at 30 inches. (Photos Courtesy of Mac Wood’s Dune Rides)Photos Courtesy of Mac Wood’s Dune Rides
