Michigan - Week 2

Greetings!

Michigan continues to delight us - our second week was wonderful as we spent 10 nights at the Wilderness State Park campground, about 15 minutes west of Mackinaw City, the southern side of the Mackinac Bridge which takes you to the Upper Peninsula.  As an aside Mackinaw and Mackinac are pronounced the same ("Mack-in-awe") - the difference simply comes down to historical geography and who named what.  Mackinac is the original French colonial spelling and Mackinaw is the phonetic English spelling that was created later to prevent people from mispronouncing the word!  Regardless of how it is written, the final "c" or "w" is always silent!

As I mentioned in our last post, we spent our time in Michigan with good friends - the Halvorsons - my friend Dan is from college, his wife Diana, his daughter Dani, and their pup Harley.  It was so fun to travel together.  We arrived to Wilderness two days early and enjoyed the campground with bike rides, relaxation at the site and enjoying some epic sunsets.  Our campsite was steps from the beach / shores of Lake Michigan.

We really enjoyed our bike rides in this area - along the water and flat!

The Halvorsons arrive on Sunday afternoon!

Paul brought out the Drone - lower right is us; lower left is the Halvorsons.  It shows you how close we were to the lakeshore.

Hello!

As mentioned above, we were really close to Mackinaw City, so we spent a few days there exploring the town and lighthouses.  Each setting had beautiful views of the Mackinac Bridge, which is a feat of engineering opened in 1957- it's the longest suspension bridge in the northern hemisphere.  It crosses the shortest distance between the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan (5 miles) where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet - the area is called the Mackinac Straight.  If you have any interest, there is an awesome 13-minute video that describes its amazingness here.

Located right in Mackinaw City, the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse is located in a pretty park with great views of the bridge.

Located a few miles outside of the city is McGulpin Point Lighthouse which we did go in and although it's a bit further from the bridge, it still offers great views.

A rainy Monday so we did a little shopping - lots of Cherry-themed items here in Michigan!

The beach near the McGulpin Lighthouse - the sun came out in the afternoon!

On Tuesday, one of the week's highlights was going to Mackinac Island for the day.  It is a short 20-minute ferry ride from Mackinaw City and a few of the morning ferries take you under the bridge on the way, which was really cool.  

Mackinac Island in the distance

With the exception of emergency and some construction vehicles, there are no cars allowed on Mackinac Island - so you see multiple horse & carriages, as well as bikes.

We rented bikes and went around the circumference of the island - 8.2 miles.  It was a beautiful day and most of the route was along the water.  There were lots of bikers on the roads, but what made it so awesome is that there were not any cars - so the roadways were essentially a bike path.  

We stopped and hiked up to Arch Rock which had beautiful sweeping views of the coast.

Arch Rock is behind us.

Another pitstop to enjoy the lake breezes and views.

After our bike ride, it was time for lunch and we went to one of the country's most iconic hotels - The Grand Hotel.  If you go to Mackinac Island, we highly recommend spending time at this hotel.  Opened on July 10, 1887, the Grand Hotel is built of Michigan white pine.  It's magnificent colonial porch is the longest in the world and it is a classic example of gracious living seldom seen today.  One of the outstanding landmarks on the Great Lakes, it is the world's largest summer hotel.

They do charge a day fee of $14 per person, but it's worth every penny - the hotel and grounds are spectacular and they provide a discount at their dining outlets which pretty much pays for the fee.  The true highlight was sitting on that amazing porch and people watching and enjoying the views.  Lots of pics to share!

Dani resting after the big bike ride - the interior was beautifully done - bright bold colors and you felt you like stepped back 100 years - really well done!

A delicious lunch at The Jockey Club

We visited on June 30th - such a patriotic setting just before the big 250!

We couldn't get enough of the porch!  Of course we got ice cream to enjoy while rocking in the chairs!

I can't say enough about the grounds and gardens - truly breathtaking.

Even the garbage cans were beautifully landscaped!

Multiple greenhouses abound to support the acres of beautiful gardens.

After a relaxing and wonderful visit to the hotel, it was time to head back.  There was a large freighter that we passed on our way back to Mackinaw City.

The next day, we headed about 45-minutes southwest of our campground to Harbor Springs and Petosky, both beautiful coastal towns.  We went to a Farmers Market in Harbor Springs and then had a wonderful visit with Dan's cousin Sheryl who taught us how to find the best Petosky Stones!  She makes beautiful bowls and after lunch, we hunted along the lakeshore and found so many interesting and beautiful rocks - it has just rained, and they really show off when they're wet.  It was really cool.

Farmer's Market in Harbor Springs!

On Thursday, Paul and I headed to the Upper Peninsula for the day for a maritime-themed day.  We visited the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum on Whitefish Point (about 90 minutes from our campground) and then went to Sault (pronounced Soo) Ste Marie to visit the Soo Locks (about an hour from Whitefish Point).  Both are located on Lake Superior.  The maritime history of the Great Lakes, and of Lake Superior in particular, is fascinating.  

The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, as told in Gordon Lightfoot's song, is one of the most famous and a great deal of the museum is dedicated to telling this story.  The 729-foot Fitzgerald was the largest vessel on the Great Lakes and served as a beloved "rock star" among shipping enthusiasts.  Fully loaded with iron ore pellets, the ship sunk after battling hurricane-force winds and 30 to 60 foot waves on November 10, 1975; all  29 members of the crew perished.  In 1995, thanks to technology and a very talented team, the ship's 195-pound bronze bell, which was attached to the pilot house, slowly and gracefully ascended 500 feet to the surface, greeted by family members.  This important moment signaled the beginning of a memorial and closure to 20 years of grieving.  A replica bell inscribed with the names of the 29 crewmen was lowered in its place as a permanent grave marker.

An enormous ship's rudder!

The lighthouse behind us was built and saved many lives after multiple shipwrecks in this area.

After the museum, we went to the Soo Locks, which are located on the St. Mary's River.  Built in the mid-1800's, the Locks allow freighters to navigate between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and international markets.  This essential transportation link moves nearly 86 million tons of cargo annually, including 95% of the United States' iron ore.  A few other cool tidbits about Lake Superior:

• The St. Mary's River is the primary source of outflow for Lake Superior.  The difference in elevation creates the need for the Soo Locks.
• Lake Superior is the coldest of all of the Great Lakes.  The average temperature of the lake is between 36 and 39 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Lake Superior holds enough water to cover North and South America in 1 foot of standing water.
• Lake Superior has claimed 350 shipwrecks and 10,000 lives.
• The deepest part of Lake Superior would be able to fully submerge the Empire State Building.
• The underwater visibility of Lake Superior is 27 feet, making it the cleanest and clearest of the Great Lakes.
• If the coastline of Lake Superior alone were to be stretched into a straight line, it would be long enough to reach from Duluth, Minnesota to the Bahamas.

We didn't see any ships go through the Locks, but it was still a very cool thing to tour.  The Locks are run by the US Federal Government and are located in very close proximity to the Canadian border.

This is the Tower of History located about a half mile down the street and had some sweeping views of Sault Ste Marie and especially the Soo Locks!

Paul on the upper level of the Tower with the Locks behind him.

On our way back to the campground before we left the Upper Peninsula, we had to grab the area's most popular food item - The Pastie, pronounced "Past" "E" (NOT Paste "E").  They are like a pot pie but in a calzone formation - a handheld meat pie so to speak.  We had beef pasties and they were with beef, potatoes, onions, and rutabaga.  You can opt to have with or without gravy.  They were pretty tasty!

The next day, we headed back to Mackinaw City and continued with the maritime theme and visited the US Coast Guard Ship Mackinaw, a 240-foot multi-purpose vessel whose primary mission was a heavy Icebreaker specifically built for operations in the Great Lakes.  She was built in Toledo in 1944 during World War II to help ships with iron ore get through the frozen Great Lakes to support the supplies needed for the war.  As the war was well underway, male workers were at an all time low.  The shipyards opened their hiring to Toledo area women; they initially hired 12 "helpers" and within a short time they hired over 100 women workers.  In 2006, the boat was decommissioned to Mackinaw City and opened as a museum.  It was a great and interesting self-guided tour.

View from the ship's deck - a ferry heading to Mackinac Island with the Mackinac bridge in the background.

Lots of pride in the ship build supported by women!

The Captain looking up from the engine room.

We then did some laundry and ran some errands and headed back to the campground for a relaxing afternoon on the beach.  

The next few days was the 4th of July weekend and we decided to lay low - we started off with a bike ride, and then had a relaxing day at the campground capped by a fun BBQ dinner with the Halvorsons.  Some epic sunsets and a relaxing last few days in this beautiful area.

A freighter crossed as the sun was setting - lovely.

On Monday, it was time to head to the Upper Peninsula - we left the campground and headed across the bridge and towards Munising and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.  More on that in the next post.

Crossing the bridge and looking over to Mackinac Island

The Halvorsons in front of us as we crossed the Mackinac Bridge.

And we are off to the Upper Peninsula!

Thank you as always for following along and for all of your love and support.  Love, Jen & Paul