June 24, 2003 - Gaylord, MI - 4 (Mackinac Island, cont.)

Peeking through Arch Rock at the lake.  Limestone got washed away, leaving the bridge.  Lots of these across the country formed by water and wind.  And then an irritant to me--"Keep Off".  Ever seen a sign telling you to "Keep On"?  Well, since we weren't at the top yet, we could have used a little encouragement like that, don't you think? And who's the sign kidding, anyway?  Does it think for one second that I'm going to climb up there and risk killing myself by having the rocks (mostly limestone) give way and dump me in the lake or the rocks below?  NO!  The only people dumb enough to climb around this kind of structure can't read anyway!  Grrrrrrr.  These signs are all over the place.  In all the parks we've ever been in, there's these "Keep Off" signs.  Usually situated by something well worn by a whole lot of somebodies not "Keeping Off".  Harumpf!  Must be my nap time.

Hey!  Aren't those markings down there by the bottom of the arch from some kind of cement form?  Sure looks like it to me.  My guess is that the erosion threatened to undermine the arch and cause it to crumble, and some enterprising soul(s) decided to give mother nature a helping hand.  Well, good for them.  Without the Arch Rock, we'd not have ridden our bikes up this hill this far.  So, back in 1634 this guy John paddled his canoe up here. How'd the Michigan Historical Commission and the Mackinac Island State Park Commission know this in 1915?  John keep a diary?  Sure would have been fun to read that one, you bet.  What a surprise it must have been for the guy in his flimsy canoe to go merrily along through this somewhat narrow passageway, only to pop out (from Lake Huron) in Lake Michigan.  I can't imagine what it must have been like.  Particularly if this guy John was from the East Coast and familiar at all with the Atlantic ocean.  These lakes truly are "Great Lakes," and we're still marveling at the fact that they're all fresh water!

There's Barb waving at me from the foot of "Sugar Loaf."  What, you can't see her?  There.  Is that better?  Dang, but I'm having fun.  Only one more stop, and we'll be at the top of the island, and it'll be down hill all the way back.  Sure glad the person in the Visitor Center gave Barb this map and told her to go this way around the island.  This is steep, but it's short, relatively speaking.

Yup, Barb and her flowers.  Or weeds maybe.  Still pretty.

OK.  This is the "high point" of the trip around/across the island (325' elevation).  From Fort Holmes and Point Lookout, it's all down hill.  Whew.  Good thing.  My water bottle is about empty.  Oh, wait.  See those arrows?  They're pointing up from here!

And UP is what they meant!  13 flights of these stairs, Barb informed me.  AFTER we'd managed to make it back down again.  I tried to get her to poke her finger in there to see if anybody lived in any of those holes, but she was having none of it.

The plaque says it all.  And what a view from up here!  Some ferries make a big rooster tail as they roar back and forth, and others are more sedate.  About the same speed for both kinds.  And that's the mainland we're looking at.  To the South, actually.

Barb's standing by the entrance to the "blockhouse," and I'm inside it. Only we couldn't find any blocks, much less any kind of house.  Just this berm of dirt in a square, about 50 yards across or so.  So much for the Fort.

Well, normally I'd avoid caves, but in circumstances like Mr. Henry was enjoying, I could be persuaded to crawl in here too.  It only went in about 10 or 12 feet that we could see.  Of course there were fences and those pleasant "Keep Out" signs around, keeping us from getting any closer.  Still, it was fun to stand here imagining what it must have been like some 240 years ago.  Most the trees looked to be younger than that, so either the place has been logged off or there were fires or something.

Hedges abound on the island.  Including all around the golf course, and except for a small patch of mowed lawn the same was true for the battlefield.  When the plaque talks about the Indians hiding in the thick woods, that's easy to understand.  A rabbit would have trouble running fast through these woods!

But every once in a while, there's a bald spot in the thick woods where wildflowers are blooming. A perfect time of year to visit here.

Sure would like to have known the story of this log house.  It may have looked simple, with its stone chimney, modest front porch and all, but it was immaculate!  I could hear the sounds of a wood planer running from a shed in back of the house, but couldn't see anybody.  And now we're back at the water's edge.  And found a parking spot!  Hurray for us.  We really didn't need those backpacks, but at least we felt secure carrying binoculars, extra shirts, windbreakers, extra water bottle, and other "stuff" just in case.

This is the beach where it happened.  Peaceful enough today, isn't it.  Apparently the weather can get nasty, with huge waves in here.  Sure lots of violent history around this comfortable peaceful place.

"Brown's Brook is fed by one of Mackinac Island's many underground springs.  Rain and melt water seep through the loose, soluble limestone rock into underground channels and caverns.  Brown's Brook flows year-round despite dry periods and winter's freezing temperatures. (Caution: Water is Not Safe for Drinking)"  And below the sign was this pretty little babbling brook.  We found it interesting that it wouldn't freeze in winter, it was so small.  And there goes a couple of ferries.  The one in the lead is modern, and the one in the back is more traditional and a bit slower.

Roadside weeds?  Not to Barb, they're not.  I'd managed to forge ahead, but she chased me down and made me turn around to catch these.  There were lots of them all along the road, and they added to the beauty of the day.

The traffic in our life should always be so peaceful, eh?  No cars rushing by making all that noise and smell, and threatening our very lives.  And back downtown it's still unbelievably comfortable to be riding the bikes, in spite of the crowd.

We'd parked the bikes and were walking the town now, deciding where to eat lunch.  We'd elected not to pack a lunch like we usually do, just bracing ourselves for outrageous prices.  No room on the bikes for the cooler, don't you know.  Well, we had wonderful hamburgers, fries, and drinks for a total of $12 or so.  Not a rip-off at all!  This walkway went past the Iroquois hotel to the water, and the lighthouse plaque mentions the "...rich history of the Straits of Mackinac."  How true.

The old and the new.

This beautiful old house had stained glass windows in that cupola.  Notice the porch for the second story.

That porch overlooked the Strait, had a swing, a couple of rockers and beautiful flowers.  Could you stand to spend an afternoon out there with a good book or a couple of good friends?  And I wonder if the lights at night are as pretty as it is quiet here.  And then right next door, another beauty.  Those stairs leading down to the sidewalk are like the open arms of a good friend, aren't they?  What an interesting window in the peak.

There.  A better look at that interesting window, and some more stained glass windows.  This house was not inexpensive to build, I'd guess.

Even if the exposure was bad (photographer error, not the camera), I had to include this shot of the chopper bike.  Ape hangers and all.  There were a couple of them, but this was the only one I could get a picture of.  The Missionary Bark Chapel is an example of the ones built by the early Catholic fathers that came into the area to minister to the Indians as well as the settlers and Army personnel.  

What's this!  A motorized vehicle?  The driver scowled at me as I took his picture, so I didn't ask him to stop so we could chat.  Of course I suppose there's exceptions to the rule; there are lots of lawns here after all and an airport.  And yet another park.  About 80% of the island is State Park to begin with, and then there are these additional parks all over the place.

We'd wanted to tour Fort Mackinac itself, but the tickets were $9 each!  We decided to skip it. We're not particularly Fort fans, having been through a bunch of them in the past.  Of course today, while Barb was reading stuff, she mentioned we may have been able to use my Golden Age Passport since the Fort is a National Historic Site.  That would have made a difference if we could have.  But there were still things to see.  Like this old original house.  Entry by pass only, part of a ticket package that included a horse-drawn tour of the island.  We liked the biking part better (there are rental horse & carriages too and many were in use).  And then up from town, another street of well maintained homes.

Heading back.  We actually passed this rooster-tailed ferry, even if we were on a more conventional ferry.  The Island is one of the most peaceful and beautiful places we've ever seen and ranks among the top for sheer enjoyment--we should have spent the night!

You know how on most any road trip you'll see signs, usually huge ones and lots of them, for some tourist trap?  Well, on our way north on I-75 to visit Mackinac Island, we'd seen signs about "Sea Shell City" and as we went by it at 70 mph, we guessed it was a typical tourist trap gift shop.  Only several of the signs had mentioned this 500 pound giant clam shell!  Well, neither of us had actually seen a clam shell that size up close and personal, so on the way home we stopped.  Free admission, don't you know.  The shell was from the Philippines and was real. And 15 minutes later we were back on the road, none the worse for wear.  They did have more than just junk though.  Some real nice art work and plenty of shells to buy.  Today is Tuesday, and on Thursday we head back to St. Clair for a couple of days before heading to Ontario on our way to Niagara Falls, so it'll be a spell before another update here.

As an aside, we will remember Michigan as the land of:  (1) "42 wheelers" (ultra heavy-duty construction trucks); (2) the "45th parallel"--half way between the Equator and the North Pole; and (3) 10-cent deposits on aluminum can drinks and, conversely, grocery stores with machines that eat your cans, add up how many, and give you a ticket with the value of your deposits for refund or new purchases.  There are no aluminum cans lying around this state, no sirree.  Barb waited for a guy to unload his grocery cart full in one of those machines; he walked away with over $30! (that's 300 cans for quick math).