Mackinac Trip
July 16-20, 2008
Wednesday, July 16
We left at 8:02 (two minutes behind schedule) for our Mackinac Trip. We stopped for a picnic at Rapid River, MI, and looked at the falls. From there we continued on to Munising to go on the Pictured Rocks Boat Tour (that Jon and I couldn't go on during our trip due to fog). It was beautiful and we were able to see the Grand Island East Channel Lighthouse as well as some really pretty rock formations. We even saw some of the spots Jon and I were hiking near during our trip. After the boat tour we drove to Newberry to stay at the Comfort Inn.
Grand Island East Channel Light
Pictured Rocks
Thursday, July 17
This morning we left Newberry and drove to Mackinaw City. It's always neat coming upon the bridge. It is majestic every time you see it. We saw two freighters approaching the Mackinac Bridge as we drove over it. Once in Mackinaw City we boarded the Shepler's Ferry out to the island. We hopped on our bikes and biked around the island. It was hot! We stopped at Arch Rock and climbed all the way up. We also stopped a few times to throw rocks in the water, have a picnic, and take pictures of the bridge, Round Island Lighthouse, and the Round Island Passage Light.
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After our bike ride we went to the Butterfly House and saw some beautiful creatures. They also had some really cool insects. From there we went to Fort Mackinac. In addition to touring the buildings, we had the opportunity to see a canon firing, participate in a children's tour (complete with playing with Victorian toys), learn to march like soldiers, watch a rifle firing demonstration, and witness a court marshal. Even though Emmaline whined and cried during the canon demonstration and rifle firing, if you ask her now what her favorite part of the trip was, that was it! They also had a lot of great displays for children to experience history hands on.
Once we were done on the island, we took the ferry back to Mackinaw City and checked into our hotel--the Baymont Inn--much nicer! We ate our TV dinners and headed down to the pool. After a whole day of "a chance of rain" the skies opened up and poured! We were truly blessed with great weather during the day.
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Friday, July 18
This morning we headed out to Cheboygan to see the crib light and range light. The crib light was in a pretty little harbor area. We walked out to the end of the pier and saw the Fourteen Foot Shoal Light in the distance. Looking back towards shore we could see the range lights. We drove back into town to see those and then went to the Coast Guard Station to see the new Mackinaw Ice Breaker. It wasn't there, however. We found out later that it was escorting the sailboats that were racing from Chicago to Mackinac Island.
Cheboygan Crib Light & Cheboygan Front Range Light
From Cheboygan we went to the south to see the Forty Mile Point Lighthouse. Before getting there we stopped at a wayside to throw rocks in Lake Huron. The Forty Mile Point Light is a duplicate of the Big Bay Point Lighthouse that we stayed in for our anniversary. It was fun to be able to see what it was like as a duplex compared to the opened up B & B. Only half of it was open to tour, but it gave us a sense of what changes had been made to Big Bay. We even got to see "our room" at this lighthouse-the parlor and dining room. We were able to climb the tower-this one is a little shorter than Big Bay, and we weren't able to go out on the balcony. Also on site was the pilot house of the Calcite, a ship that sank in the area. There were also remnants from another shipwreck on the beach. Finally, we were able to go into the old fog building, which is now a pavilion. We spent some time walking on the beach and throwing rocks. After the tour, we tailgated and had lunch.
Forty Mile Point Lighthouse
After lunch we drove back to Mackinaw City and toured the Mackinaw, the first ice breaker that went into service during WWII. It was really neat seeing this ship after the seeing the new one being launched in Marinette three years ago. After the Mackinaw tour we went to the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse. I was able to take some great pictures of Emmaline with the bridge and the lighthouse in the background. The lighthouse is just beautiful--they call it the "Castle at the Straits." They had some rooms restored and nice exhibits. They had a children's area too. Emmaline wore her lighthouse keeper's hat that we made for a project before the trip. When we climbed the tower, the guide took a picture of us and she had the hat on—very cute!
After the lighthouse, we went to Fort Michilimackinac. Emmaline was getting tired, but she really enjoyed seeing the excavation sites as well as the artifacts that were found. She also had a lot of fun seeing the children's display of British soldiers' living quarters. She, however, did not like the musket firing and refused to go see the canon firing (even though she survived the one on the island).
"Fort's secure!"
When we finished at the fort, we went back to our hotel and ate supper and swam. After swimming we went to Mackinaw Crossings. A guy was making balloon hats and creatures and made Emmaline a hat. Then we got ice cream and watched the laser light show. It was cool. Once it was over we drove down to the lighthouse to see the bridge. We saw some lights across the way, and Jon thought it was the Grand Hotel. Emmaline thought it was a freighter. Next we went to the base of the bridge to try and see the St. Helena light flashing. We couldn't see it, but we did see the "Grand Hotel" going under the bridge. Emmaline was right--it was a freighter!
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Saturday, July 19
This morning we woke up to a very cloudy and foggy morning. We had time before going to the docks for our lighthouse cruise, so we decided to bike on the bike trail that started in Mackinaw. According to the directions the "developed trailhead' was on Shepler Drive. We figured Shepler Drive must be near Shepler's Ferry Docks. We drove down there and didn't see anything, so we drove out of town a ways and still didn't see anything. Finally, we turned toward the lake to see if we could spot it running along the lakeshore--no luck. Then we turned on a side road on the other side of Highway 23, and finally found it crossing the road! There was no place to park, so we started following it back towards town to find the trailhead. We found it alright. It was right on the other side of our hotel! We then biked fifteen miles.
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When we returned, the sun was just coming out, the fog was lifting, and it was getting hot! We walked down to the boat docks for our lighthouse cruise. Before boarding they took our picture, and we were able to pick it up later for FREE! That doesn't usually happen! Once on board we learned that one of our guides was a woman who had written a book about Great Lakes and the Mackinaw. The other guide was Terry Pepper, a lighthouse historian whose website is my first stop when planning lighthouse trips. Then up the stairs came our stumbling and slurring captain--Bill Shepler himself! He was hilarious! He told everybody that the windmill turbines were not actually there to generate electricity; rather, they were there to blow the hot air back to Wisconsin! We booed him!
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We headed out towards St. Helena (pronounced Helene) Island and on to White Shoal Light. As we were approaching it, we could see two other lights in the distance. All of these lights are crucial to navigating this "corner" for freighters. The Waugoshance Light only sits in four feet of water. It was so neat being in the middle of nowhere and then coming upon these lights. The White Shoal Light was just amazing-it's huge and painted in candy cane stripes. The Gray's Reef Light stunk from all of the cormorants sitting on it, and the Waugoshance Light had a bird cage lantern room like Bailey's Harbor. Apparently the military used to use it for target practice.
White Shoal, Gray's Reef, Waugoshance & St. Helena Island Lights
On our return trip we swung by St. Helena Island. This lighthouse is owned by the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers' Association (GLKKA), and they do a lot of educational programs. One of them is for teachers. Teachers can go out for one week to live in a working lighthouse (without electricity or running water) and work on the lighthouse and curriculum. I want to do this! This year they went out in a tall ship, and we got to see that anchored offshore. There is a 7th grade teacher who stays out there all summer as the caretaker. She has to call for her supplies to be delivered, and she does everything the old-fashioned way. She does send her laundry in to be washed when a boat comes out, so to pay for that, she makes cute little notebooks on the island to be sold in the GLKKA gift shop. Since we were nearby, we came in as far as we would and she came out in a dinghy to send her notebooks up via a tackle box. We, of course, had to buy one.
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After leaving St. Helena Island, Capt. Bill Shepler sent one of the tour guides back to us to invite Emmaline up to steer the boat! He picked her up and showed her where we were going. Then he let her actually steer it. It was really great. I have pictures of her steering The Hope towards the Mackinac Bridge.
Emmaline & Bill Shepler, steering The Hope
After we got back form the Lighthouse Cruise, we freshened up and then went to Cross Village for dinner. Jon and I ate there eight years ago. It serves Polish cuisine, and the walls, furniture, bar, etc., are all made out of wood, roots, stone, and branches. It's really cool. Outside they have beautiful gardens and dining. They also offer a view of all the lighthouses that we visited plus Skillagalee, one we didn't. A high-powered spotting scope offered good views of the lights. We also saw two freighters navigating through the area.
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After dinner we went back to Mackinaw Crossings to get some ice cream and fudge. While eating our ice cream we heard the concert in the park across the street. We strolled on over there and listened to a high school percussion group from the Flint School of the Performing Arts called "Exclamation." They had marimbas, xylophones, vibes, drums and steel drums. They were awesome! Our last activity of the night was, of course, swimming.
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Sunday, July 20
This morning we packed up and went to Sault Ste. Marie to check out the Soo Locks. There weren't any scheduled to come in for over two hours, and we were disappointed. Since we drove an hour to get there, we decided to go tour the Valley Camp, which is a shipping freighter that is now a museum. It was fascinating to see what these freighters look like inside. I've always wondered, and now I know! There were also a lot of other great exhibits inside, including the two life boats from the Edmund Fitzgerald. In the middle of touring the ship, we saw the ship Algoway that was due into the locks. Since we were able to get back into the museum with our ticket, we went back to the locks to see it go through.
Valley Camp Ship Museum
After that we went back to the museum to finish our tour. When we got there, we saw the next ship coming already. We didn't go back to the locks, but we had our picnic while we watched it go by. We then resumed our tour and enjoyed seeing the crew's quarters.
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We thought we were homeward bound, smooth sailing ahead, and we were until we got to Menominee. We stopped and got subs and then went to eat by the water. When we were done, Jon wanted to see if the windmill pieces were still waiting to be transported. Well, some were, but others were just heading out of town. He followed them for a little while, and then realized we were going to get stuck behind them, so we went a different way out of town. Unfortunately, we met at a different intersection, and the police stopped traffic so they could go through. We were stuck behind them again. We tried several times to take county roads to head them off at the pass, but each time they were just going by as we arrived. Finally, we gave up and followed them until we got to four lanes. Needless to say, we got home late! Regardless, it was an awesome trip!
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