“Pure Michigan” is the state tourist bureau’s ad
slogan. See if you agree!
Monday, August 20 – Wednesday, August 22, 2018
We are now leaving the North Channel and are back in Lake
Huron. We continue to enjoy calm waters,
but the weather is due to change soon.
As we pass the shipping channel leading to Sault Ste. Marie and Lake
Superior, we start seeing “lakers” again.
We had hoped to at least stick our toes in Lake Superior, but the fall
weather patterns are already in evidence so we need to begin moving south. Such a short season up here!
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| Laker, Lake Huron |
After 4½ hours, we arrive on Mackinac Island MI. This is a very touristy town, a popular
summer destination since the late 1800s.
We are docked across from some magnificent old homes, assorted B&Bs
and hotels. Fort Mackinac, one of two
forts on the island, is visible at the upper left of the photo. This fort was established in 1780 to protect
the fur trade; it remained in service until 1895 when peaceful times allowed the island to become a tourist destination.
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| Mackinac Island MI |
Cars were banned from the island in 1898 and the ban is
still upheld today. Tourists arrive
mostly by ferry or small cruise ship; some private boats dock here and a small
airport accommodates private planes. Once on the island, the only means of
transportation are walking, bicycles and horses.
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| Mackinac Island MI |
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| Mackinac Island MI |
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| Mackinac Island MI |
Horse-drawn wagons deliver luggage and other items from the
wharf.
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| Mackinac Island MI |
UPS has their own delivery wagon!
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| UPS "truck", Mackinac Island MI |
This is the most important job on the island! (The odor is a bit much, especially on warm
humid days.)
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| Sweeping manure, Mackinac Island MI |
We enjoy a bike ride to Fort Holmes, built during the War of
1812 at the highest point on the island.
This structure is a recent reconstruction of the original building,
which protected the important Strait of Mackinac, separating Lakes Huron and
Michigan. Views from the hill were nice but obscured by haze and fog.
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| Fort Holmes, Mackinac Island MI |
We cycle past some interesting geological features,
including the “Devil’s Kitchen”, one of several breccia deposits hollowed out
by water when the lake levels were much higher than today.
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| Devil's Kitchen, Mackinac Island MI |
We stop for refreshments and a tour at the aptly named Grand
Hotel, built in 1887 for the throngs of summer tourists traveling to the island by rail, then steamship.
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| Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island MI |
The hotel terrace has commanding views of the Straits of
Mackinac and the bridge between northern Michigan and the Michigan Upper
Peninsula.
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| Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island MI |
Thursday, August 23, 2018
After experiencing rain and high winds the past few days, we
think we have a break in the weather to move across the Straits of Mackinac to
Lake Michigan and the Michigan mainland. We have Houston
friends meeting us at our next stop on Friday, so off we go. We are not yet under the Mackinac Bridge and
we are already taking spray over the pilothouse windows. Yuk!
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| Straits of Mackinac, Lake Huron |
After a tedious 8 hours, we cover 63 miles and arrive at the
very upscale development of Bay Harbor MI, near Petoskey on Little Traverse Bay. This area is known as Northern Michigan; it
is a popular destination for summer tourists and a prime location for upscale
summer homes.
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| Bay Harbor Lake Marina |
This 1941 Burger motoryacht is docked nearby. Gorgeous!
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| 1941 Burger, Bay Harbor Lake Marina |
Friday, August 24 – Saturday, August 25, 2018
Our Houston friends, Jim & Patricia, arrive Friday
evening on schedule. On Saturday we get
a late start for a leisurely 15-mile cruise to Charlevoix MI.
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| Cruising Lake Michigan |
The Admiral appreciates calm seas for our 2-hour run today.
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| Cruising Lake Michigan |
After a short wait for this lift bridge, we arrive at the
city marina.
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| US 31 Bridge, Charlevoix MI |
We have time to check out the main drag, full of shops and
restaurants, before returning to the marina for docktails with several loopers,
also in town. We are introduced to a
couple with the same homeport on their boat as ours – Port Aransas – quite a
coincidence for a town of 3000! Turns
out they live in San Antonio and once kept their boat in Port Aransas.
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| Charlevoix MI |
Sunday, August 26, 2018
We decide to take a cruise of Round Lake and adjoining Lake
Charlevoix before heading south. Charlevoix
surrounds Round Lake with gorgeous homes and landscaping on the water.
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| Round Lake, Charlevoix MI |
Lake Charlevoix is much larger and is also rimmed with
weekend homes. These colorful bath
houses belong to a development.
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| Bath houses, Lake Charlevoix MI |
We time our arrival at the lift bridge for the twice per
hour opening and we are on our way south.
We are fortunate to have calm seas again today for our four hour run to Leland
MI, otherwise known as “Fishtown”.
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| Leland Township Harbor MI |
We arrive with time to walk through the restored buildings
of the historic fishing district, then on to lunch at a local spot with a patio
overlooking a small river.
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| Fishtown, Leland MI |
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| Fishtown, Leland MI |
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| Fishtown, Leland MI |
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| Amphibious car, Leland MI |
Monday, August 27, 2018
High winds are predicted today for Lake Michigan, so we hire
a guide to drive us to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, near
Leland. The Great Lakes were formed when
glaciers retreated, leaving deep gouges (now the lakes) surrounded by glacier
moraine (bolders, rocks, gravel that was ground off bedrock and transported
with the glacier). These piles of rock
have been slowly covered by blowing sand in this area, forming 400-foot high
hills along the edge of Lake Michigan.
Today the dunes are slowly moving northeast, blown by the prevailing
southwest wind.
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| Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore with Jim & Patricia |
A quick climb up a dune provides great views of a nearby
lake.
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| Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore |
We drive through the park, stopping for some lovely views of
Lake Michigan.
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| Lake Michigan from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore |
As fog and rain move in, we make a quick stop at a small
Maritime Museum, featuring historical fishing boats from this area, as well as
early Coast Guard rescue boats.
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| Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore |
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| Coast Guard rescue boat, Sleeping Bear Dunes Maritime Museum |
We are back in Leland in time for the gals to get some
shopping time in all the cute shops here.
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| Leland MI |
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
It's been great having Jim & Patricia on board for the past few days! We bid them a reluctant farewell and hunker down for two
nights of stormy weather before we can head south again. Eerie fog and clouds precede the first storm.
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| Leland Township Harbor breakwater |
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Another stormy afternoon and finally, a gorgeous
sunset. Waves are still breaking over
the rock breakwater protecting our marina.
Hopefully the wind will be calm when we depart early tomorrow morning.
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| Sunset, Leland Township Harbor breakwater |
In the late 1800's we went to Mackinac Is , maybe it was later when I was a child...I remember dressing up as an Indian with feather in hair and squaw dress! When we lived in Ohio...great summer destination!��������Jackie
ReplyDeleteI have no idea if it is pure, but it is mighty cute, especially Mackinac.
ReplyDeleteI'll wager its a bear in winter.
RP
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