Northern Michigan

June 12-15

We broke our time in northern Michigan into a couple of different stays.  For the first stop, we camped at Wilderness State Park, located a few miles from Mackinac City.  Although we had only traveled 138 miles, we were now camping on the northeastern shore of Lake Michigan rather than the southern shore of Lake Superior!  I have to say, both provided equally magnificent sunsets!

We were on the go for the couple of days we were there.  As always, it was a priority to be home before the sun set; however, this really wasn’t a challenge as the sun didn’t set until 9:36!  It's 11:00 before it is actually dark!  It makes it hard to go to bed at a reasonable time!

Checking into Wilderness State Park, we had been warned a large bear population resides in the park. We've come to expect bears even though we never do see them, so we really weren't concerned about it.  What did surprise us was the large presence of foxes!  Each and every time I took Frankie for a walk, we would see a fox, or more likely two or three!  I believe there was a den near the campground.  It was fun watching the young ones playing with each other.  Their red fur and black legs are so striking!  

One day’s adventure took us an hour north to Sault Ste. Marie to see the canal.  We originally were going to visit the historic canal on the Canadian side but, as we were about to cross the border, we learned you need to have ArriveCan downloaded and have completed the information required on the app.  It just got too complicated, so we did a quick turn around and stuck to the US side of the canal.  Our timing for arriving at the canal was perfect, as the  Isabelle G was just approaching the lock as we walked up to the viewing platform.  This ship is 219 yards long – longer than two football fields!  It was interesting watching this giant freighter navigate the canal and get lowered from Lake Superior to Lake Huron through one of the Soo Locks.

On the way back to the campground, we made a stop to climb Castle Rock – 170 stairs to the top of a giant rock, giving us a beautiful view of Lake Huron.  

We then swung by Straits State Park.  We had been told there is a trail there with picturesque views of Mackinac Bridge, or better known by locals as “Big Mac”.  As we walked the trail, little did we know that Joe and Irene (whom we met camping in Ontonagon, MI two years ago) were camped there!  It would have been a hoot to have run into them!  Mackinac Bridge is a suspension bridge, spanning the straits that separate the Upper and Lower peninsulas in Michigan.  It opened in 1957 and, at the time, was the world’s longest suspension bridge at five miles long.

Our other day of adventure started with a ferry ride to Mackinac Island!  This island’s original name, Michilimackinac, translates as “Great Turtle” in the Anishnaabek language.  The Anishnaabek people thought the island, with its limestone bluffs, looked like a giant turtle rising out of the water.  As turtles play a prominent role in Anishnaabeck culture and traditions, the fact that this island looked like a turtle was especially significant.  Although we never saw an actual turtle while on the island, the turtle icon is alive and well!  All of the gift shops on the island sold everything from tea towels to paintings with the image of a turtle on it.  Many businesses even include a turtle in its name, for example: Great Turtle Brewery & Distillery!

M-185 is a state highway that circles Mackinac Island; however, no cars are allowed on the island!  We took our bikes on the ferry, taking advantage of riding on the only highway in the US where no cars are allowed!  Although we didn’t have to worry about cars, we did have to dodge plenty of road apples!  With no cars on the island, you find lots of horse-drawn carriages.  We even saw a horse-drawn garbage wagon picking up trash bags along the curb! 

Mackinac Island has a quaint downtown area with many, many fudge shops.  Most of them give free samples, so we did get in a few tastes before we decided on bringing home some turtle fudge, pecan fudge, walnut fudge, and apple pie fudge!  I had a hard time talking myself into purchasing fudge that wasn’t chocolate-based, but this apple pie fudge is amazing!  I do think they need to name non-chocolate fudge something else though.  Fudge simply needs to be chocolaty.  Right????

The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island really is grand!  It opened in 1887 and is a National Landmark today.  It has 388 colorfully-decorated rooms and no two are alike!  Have your pocketbooks ready as prices vary from $600 to $1600 depending on when you want to visit!  Now that’s fancy-like!

While we were enjoying lunch at Mustang Lounge (Michigan’s most historic tavern), we met a family visiting the island for a few days.  They told us about “The Secret Garden”, which turns out to be at the base of the hill that houses the Grand Hotel.  We had to check this secret out!  It was landscaped with all of the charm and finesse you would expect!  The crab apple trees were in full spring bloom and the gardeners were hard at work doing their magic.  To our surprise, we found quite the variety of lawn games, including a giant chess game.  Dick had never played chess before and, while I’m certainly far from good at the game, I took the opportunity to share what I do know about the game!  Shamefully, I’m either a really good teacher or pathetically bad at this game, as Dick almost beat me!

Eighty percent of Mackinac Island is made up of Michigan’s first state park.  In 1895, the land was gifted to the state.  It was so fun riding our bikes around the island’s 8-mile shoreline with Lake Huron!

We enjoyed a leisurely ride, stopping to dip our toes in the water, hike the 207 steps to the top of Arch Rock, visit the historic battle ground of 1814 (where America tried to retake the island after losing it to the British in 1812) and enjoy finding Yellow Lady Slipper in the wooded areas of the island!

Mackinac Island certainly is a top destination location for good reason!

June 15-20

For the second half of our “Northern Michigan” stay, we camped at Indigo Bluffs RV Resort.  This was an amazing campground!  Conveniently located across the street from our site was the lodge.  The lodge included not only laundry facilities, but also a full kitchen!  I took advantage of this and used their oven on a couple of occasions.  It was nice not to have to use the oven in our camper when it is so warm outside.

Another great thing about this RV park is that it is located three miles from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.  Location, location, location!  After a quick stop at the visitor center in Empire, we were off to explore.  

Our first hike in the park was the Alligator Hill Trail loop.  I really wondered why in the world this was called Alligator Hill as there certainly are no alligators anywhere around here!  It wasn’t until we viewed this island from afar that the light bulb came on.  The island really does look like an alligator!  

Can you find the alligator?

The trail was delightful as it was lined with daisies most of the way!  About halfway up the trail, you come to a spectacular view of the North and South Manitou Islands.  

Anishnaabek legend has it that long ago, across the great lake in Wisconsin, there was a terrible hunger and many people and animals died.  A bear and her two cubs were desperate for food, so they began swimming the long distance to the other side of the lake.  After a while, the cubs became very tired.  Momma bear tried encouraging the cubs, as the shoreline was now only a short distance away, but the cubs simply couldn’t make it.  Momma bear’s heart was broken. When she waded ashore and climbed the bluff to lie down, she looked out to see where her cubs had drowned.  However, both of the cubs surfaced as two little islands.  And so, the bear still lies there – looking after her children.

It was fun from Islands Lookout to picture Momma bear lying on the bluff beside us watching out for her little cubs!

One of the islands is off to the left side of the photo.

The Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive is a must do, in my mind!  It is a 7.4-mile drive that you can easily spend an entire afternoon taking in.  The drive has a dozen pull-offs filled with historic information, a variety of ecosystems and best of all, spectacular overlooks!  It was at the Sleeping Bear Overlook that we finally found Momma Bear!  The famous sand dune is now covered with invasive vegetation and has been eroded away by wind and waves, not to mention dune buggies from years gone by.  

There's Momma Bear!

Stop #9 takes you to an overlook of Lake Michigan from atop a 450-foot sand dune bluff.  If you have the time and are in great physical condition, you can hike down this steep sand dune to the shore of this great lake.  We took a pass, as it was already evening and maybe we aren’t quite enough in condition for this challenge.  A sign warned it cost $3,000 to get rescued if you go down and can’t make it back up!

If you really zoom in, you will find people at the bottom of this steep sand dune!

Anyone know what this flower is???

Our next hike was super fun also!  This time, we hiked the Dune Climb!  This is a sand dune trail that leads you two miles to Lake Michigan.  This had to be the widest trail I have ever hiked.  It was marked with mileposts so you knew you were going the correct way.  This was actually a fairly difficult hike, as the dunes were steep and the sand makes climbing even more challenging.  Before leaving the park, we saw a handicapped man there with his wife and two small children.  The man was using a walker and was inching his way up the massive dune.  It was pretty inspiring to watch this man face what seemed to be an impossible task.  

Lake Michigan in the background!

Glen Lake in the background

The Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail is a 26-mile paved trail that goes through the entire national lakeshore.  Although we didn’t have time to do the entire trail, we did break out the bikes and spent an afternoon exploring it!

The trail took us to Glen Haven, which was once a huge port at which ships stopped.  Four ships at a time would be docked at the pier, loading up with logs to use as fuel for their steam engines, while other ships waited at bay for their turn.  Once coal became the fuel of choice, the port continued as a location to export cherries.  Eventually, the pier deteriorated and only the pillars are visible today.

Pillars remain from the huge pier once here

The trail continued through the D. H. Day Campground (which is a great campground for those who prefer tent camping) and on to Glen Arbor.  We couldn’t help stopping at this quaint village and having a cup of coffee.  It was a chilly morning and the warm cup of Joe completed the picture!

Glen Lake abounds with resorts!

One evening, we hiked Empire Bluff Trail for a sunset view that was amazing!  The trail is one and a half miles, out and back, so it was completely doable.  We took in the sunset and still made it back to the truck before it was dark.

Father’s Day was a relaxing day.  We did some laundry, baked some cookies and ended up driving to Glen Arbor for dinner at Art’s Tavern.  Cherries are a major crop of the region, so I couldn’t resist Art’s Salad which was mixed greens garnished with dried cherries, pecans and smoked chicken and served with a raspberry poppyseed dressing.  Delicious!  Dick chose the whitefish sandwich (solid choice!) and we both enjoyed an Art’s Brown Porter.  It was a pretty “Artsy” dinner!  Art’s Tavern is a bit of a historic spot in town.  It’s been in operation since 1926 and somehow managed to serve beer through the depression!  Its ceiling is covered with hundreds of sport and college pennants, giving us a little challenge to see if anyone had brought in an ISU pennant or if we needed to provide one on our next trip.  No worries -- we found one not far from the booth we were seated at!

Northern Michigan, we fell a little in love with you!  The beauty and diversity of the area is simply breath taking!

Up next: Michiana!