9/5/15 Michigan

We are continuing our sojourn along the St. Lawrence Seaway.  So far, we have visited:  1) Prince Edward Island, Canada, in St. Laurence Bay, which is at the end of the Seaway; 2) the Thousand Island region of upstate New York and Quebec Canada, at the end of the Great Lakes, where Lake Ontario exits into the St. Lawrence River; and 3) Niagara Falls NY and Canada where the Niagara River flows north to join Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.  We have recently spent wonderful time along the coast of Lake Michigan, Lake Huron and Lake Superior.   

Our time in Michigan included the northern part of  lower Michigan, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (Detroit probably will not be on next trip either).  A lot of geography to learn since the weather patterns are very different.  Michigan touches three of the Great Lakes; Lake Michigan on the west, Lake Huron on the ease, and Lake Superior to the north.  We have been very pleasantly surprised by Michigan; in the upper parts, it is mostly undeveloped (lots of protected forests), with some rolling agricultural land, and even some mountains with small ski areas.  The Michiganders (58% of residents prefer this name) or Michianians (only 12% prefer this name) are friendly and a fun loving people.    

The geology continues to be dominated by glacial history (the great lakes were carved by the ice age glaciers), but surficial Michigan is predominantly sedimentary in nature. There are lots of sand dunes and high spectacular sandstone cliffs along the Great Lakes shoreline.  The summer here is beautiful, and we are enjoying it immensely; however, according to the locals, winters are brutal and we are glad we will miss those.  The past several years have either been exceeding cold, or have had greater than normal amounts of snow (it seems to be warmer with a lot of snow). We have met a lot of southern RVers who spend their summers in Michigan.  

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Our first long stop was at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore northwest of Traverse City; an area of high dunes and cliffs along the northeastern shore of Lake Michigan.  Lots of small lakes and forested areas, this is a vacation area or second home on a lake place for many people living in the central states.  The smaller lakes are warm enough to swim in (and lots of small sailboats abound), but Lake Michigan itself is pretty cold.  Surprisingly, this is a mecca for foodies….a lot of good restaurants that focus on natural and local ingredients.  This is the land of cherries, and we took advantage of a friend’s recommendation to get a whole homemade cherry pie from a local roadside stand.  We met the grower of the cherries and the baker of the excellent pie. HE was an interesting guy and grows cherries and bakes in between his AA meetings.  He also sells wine (mostly cherry wine but some grape too) from the many local wineries.  The delicious pie is much better than the wines (Napa wines are safe from this competition).   

The dunes along the coast were at least 200 – 300 feet, and in several locations you could climb (roll, fall or run but not walk) down the dunes to the beach.  Thankfully there were signs warning that the few minutes trip down usually resulted in a strenuous, several hour climb up, AND  if you required “rescue”, it was costly.  After watching young, athletic people struggle to climb up the steep slope of soft, sifting sand, we decided not to try it.   We did climb up a much smaller and less steep sand dune further in the park, up about 110 feet, and that was enough for us.    

Bob with Mackinac Is Transport

We camped in Mackinaw City but also spent one night on Mackinac Island; the French spelling is Mackinac but the English spell it the way but it sounds in French, Mack-in-aw.  The island is unique in that no motorized vehicles are allowed.  We took our bikes over on the ferry so we could ride around and not have to use the horse drawn, rubber tire “carriages” (wagons full of tourists).  Overlooking the small harbor is Fort Mackinac. It was captured by the English as the first volley in the War of 1812 in England’s attempt to recapture/keep American territory from the Americans.  After the 2 year War of 1812, the fort reverted back to the Americans as part of the territory settlement from the war.  The US fort remained active until 1895 and has been restored to the timeframe.  Re-enactors dress in the distinctive Prussian inspired uniforms from that time.  Fort Mackinac was designated a US National Park in 1875 and the US Army soldiers served as the first park rangers.  In 1895, the Army closed the fort as it was no longer useful in the expanded USA.  The National Park Fort was transferred to the state and became Michigan’s first state park. Now, about 80 percent of the island is in a State Park.   

Mackinac Island High Style Transport

 

 

Not surprisingly, soon after they were available, the first automobiles showed up on the island. The noisy contraption frightened the horses. After receiving a petition from the carriage trade tour operators, the village council quickly banned “horseless carriages”. This simple act helped to preserve Mackinac Island’s late 1900 century atmosphere.  Today, only horses, bikes and walking are allowed.   



Eastern Half, Grand Hotel Porch, Mackinac Island

Like many of the beautiful places we have been to with comfortable summer temperatures, Mackinac Island became a summer resort destination at the end of the 1800s (still only 300 full time residents).  The Grand Hotel, one of the islands landmarks, was built in 1887 to accommodate the large influx of tourists. In the early days of the century, wealthy patrons dressed for tea and promenaded on its 660 foot long porch in their annual summer long escape from the heat in the cities. The Grand is still grand; dinner starts at $80 and gentlemen must wear jackets. The Grand still serves tea, for $30, but it includes champagne if you wish.  We had an expensive glass of wine ($15 each – but it was a nice Cakebread) on the porch and enjoyed watching the people and carriages coming and going.  We also walked along West Bluff Road and looked at some of the “cottages” that were built by the wealthy summer residents of the island.  Their gardens are large and beautiful, obviously designed and cared for by professionals.  We saw lots of Monarch butterflies in these gardens…sometimes 20-30 at any time.  Guess they like Michigan summers too.   

"Laker" going thru Narrows, Mackinac Is

Mackinac Island is right on the “Narrows” at the intersection of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.  The Mackinac Bridge (“Big Mac”) crosses the narrows.  On the Lake Huron side of Big Mac, Mackinac Island sits right on the north side of the narrow passage with another island directly to the south; two lighthouses mark the passage on either side.    Large 1000 ft long iron-ore cargo ships pass through the passage which was less than a half mile wide…..that requires some navigation, especially since you are on a slightly curved course going through the narrows, either to or from Big Mac.  It was awesome to see those huge ships slide right by the island. …imagine it in a dense fog.

Pictured Rocks, MI

To the north and west of Big Mac, across the water, is the Michigan UP. One of the most beautiful places we have been to is Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, near Munising on Lake Superior.  The park offers spectacular scenery of the hilly shoreline with numerous rock formations like natural archways, waterfalls and sand dunes.  Pictured Rocks derives its name from the 15 miles of colorful sandstone cliffs northeast of Munising.  The cliffs are up to 200 feet above lake level. They have been naturally sculptured into shallow caves, arches, columns, formations that resemble castle turrets, and human profiles, among other man-like descriptors (please, enough from the tour guides). 

 

Kyakers at Pictured Rocks

The colors in the cliffs are created by the large amounts of minerals in the rock. The cliffs are composed of 500-million-year-old Cambrian-period sandstone, which sits atop Precambrian sandstone, the oldest rock in the park. On top is the younger hard sandstone and acts as a cap over the other layers.  Streaks on the face of the cliffs come from the groundwater leaching out iron (red), manganese (black-white), limonite (yellow-brown), copper (pink-green), and other minerals. As the water evaporates, these minerals leave streaks of color.  The varied colors and designs make many of the cliffs look like a picture painting…hence the name.  The cliffs can best be seen from the water so we took a 3 hour cruise along the cliffs in late afternoon to get the best light for Linda to take pictures.    

Our last stop in Michigan was in the Porcupine Mountains in extreme western UP to see the Lake of the Clouds.  The lake is situated in a glacial valley between two ridges in the Porcupine Mountains. Surrounded by virgin wilderness and stunning vistas, the lake is a popular destination. It was very beautiful and worth the 1 hour detour to just go and see it from an overlook.  Unfortunately, we did not allow enough time to explore the upper Keweenaw Peninsular to explore the rich copper and other mining history of the area.  Maybe another trip is in order.   

As with Nova Scotia and Maine, fog continues to haunt our travels.  The cold water of the Great Lakes, mixed with warm air results in foggy mornings.  We are often driving in fog along the coast in the mornings until the sun burns it off.  That kind of fog and the often reckless captains of the many coastal-hugging sailboats of yesteryear (first ship to the destination got the most money) required many lighthouses and Life Saving Stations along the great lakes coasts.  A lot of commercial traffic used (and still uses) the great lakes, and with the huge fetch (distance wind travels over water), the sudden Midwest storms can bring intense winds and huge waves (similar to the ocean).  Before modern navigation, shipwrecks were a common occurrence.  We visited an excellent museum at Whitefish Point, MI, on the UP.  It included many shipwrecks but focused on the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald – the bonus is that you get to listen to Gordon Lightfoot while at the museum.   

The history of this area continues to that of the power struggle between the French and the English for control of the New World, with the newly formed US American “Rebels” also a factor in later years.  As settlers moved west, so did the struggle for power and control.    Interestingly, the history museums in Michigan are much more oriented to the French side;  many of the forts and settlements were originally French and then acquired by the English after the Seven Years War.  An interesting observation;  the French tended to cooperate and work with the local Indians, the fur traders, the priests, and the soldiers, and this made for a somewhat peaceful coexistence among the various “constituents”.  However, when the English “took over” after “winning” the war, they often tried to rule rather than work with the various groups, and this was one of the major causes of continued unrest among the native Indians in the various areas.  Ultimately, this led to an Indian uprising by Chief Pontiac, which failed when winter set in.  

 

Monarch Butterflies Everywhere

We have enjoyed our time in Michigan and are looking forward to our last visits along the Great Lakes in Wisconsin and Minnesota.  Some of the leaves are already turning here. The season for tourists is winding down (things to do are sometimes already closed or will close after Labor Day weekend), and it is getting cold at night. Break out the blanket!!  Almost time to head south but two more states to enjoy before we leave.