We arrived at Mackinaw Mill Creek Camping on Friday, July 1. We’d worked out our travel so that we could arrive by about 1pm, giving us a bigger part of the day to get set up and acclimated. Mosquitoes greeted us while checking in and I was NOT happy (they seem to love me). But I must say that they weren’t very much of an issue after that first day. Thankfully!
This picture was taken later, but this is our site.
Our site is very large and looks even larger since the sites on either side of us are empty. It’s beautiful here, lots of trees and a short walk to Lake Huron.
Saturday was spent exploring the area. We went into Mackinaw City and loved walking around all the shops and eateries. We picked up tourist info to pursue later to decide what all we wanted to do while here. When we went into the IGA for some basic food supplies, we realized we needed to go to Cheboygan and the Wal-Mart there. So that’s what we did after lunch.
We had dinner in town at the Admiral’s Table. I highly recommend this restaurant. We had great food! Fresh fish right out of the lakes. And our waitress was the best – efficient AND friendly!
On Sunday, we drove north all the way to Sault Ste. Marie, Canada. If you get up this way, don’t bother. There doesn’t seem to be anything of interest and even with a GPS, we couldn’t find the 2 things we were looking for. Even the Customs Guard on the way back into the U.S. told us there was nothing there. NOW they tell us. (LOL)
We did enjoy Sault Ste. Marie, MI. We drove down to the waterfront and walked over to see the locks in operation. Lake Superior is 21 feet higher than Lake Huron. This is a picture of the locks as we went over the bridge into Canada.
The two locks happened to be operating at the same time. This large ship was heading down into Lake Huron.
These two smaller boats were on their way up into Lake Superior.
We’d been through the lock of the Panama Canal while inside the ship. That was awesome. This was every bit as interesting and gave us a little different perspective.
We had lunch and then decided to make a stop at the local casino. No, no luck there. Bummer.
We had crossed the Mackinac (pronounced mackinAW) Bridge earlier in the morning. This is a 5+ mile bridge completed in 1957. They all said it couldn’t be built because the distance was too great and the water too deep.
We saw a sign for a bridge view area just before heading back over it into Mackinaw City. So we took it and got our best shots of the bridge (so far).
On Independence Day, we drove for nearly two and a half hours to get to the northern part of the Upper Peninsula, to the town of Munising. From there we took a two and a half hour boat ride up the coast of Lake Superior to see the Pictured Rocks. “That’s a long drive for a boat trip” you say? Let me assure you: we both felt it was worth every second!
Unfortunately, the photos of the Rocks don’t really do them justice – it’s just never like really being there. We started taking pics almost right away and the captain said to wait and not use up our cameras as it all got way better up the line. And he was absolutely right. So I’ll just share the “good stuff”.
This is Bridal Falls:
This is called something like Battleship Row. As you look down the shore, the outcroppings look like the back-ends of battleships all lined up. (You may want to click on this one to see it full size.)
There was a bald eagle sitting in a tree.
This tree wanted so badly to grow on this rock that it spread its roots across to the left. Isn't nature amazing??
Can you see the people basking in this little water fall? I’ll bet that water was C-O-O-O-O-L-D.
When we first got to Northern Michigan, we saw all sorts of ads for “pasties” (pronounced pass-tees.) I learned that they are pastries filled with meat, veggies and spices. We hadn’t had the opportunity to try them until getting off this boat ride. We walked a block or so to the main street and found a restaurant that served them. We both ordered one and really enjoyed them. They remind me a little of Runzas that you can get in Nebraska, only a little more bland. They were really good and we’d have them again.
Our last day found us on the ferry to Mackinac Island. This turned out to be another real treat!
We chose a time when the ferry actually went under the Mackinac Bridge prior to heading over to the Island. It was overcast and raining off and on, but Julian braved the weather and went up to the open deck to shoot some pictures.
It’s a beautiful structure. They told us all sorts of facts about it, including that it was completed one year ahead of schedule and one million dollars under budget. That’s a lot of dollars in 1957.
The island was just fun! It’s a bit unique in that no motorized vehicles are allowed – no cars, no golf carts, no motor cycles nor scooters. To get around, you walk, you ride a bicycle, or you use a horse-drawn carriage. (I’ve never seen so many bicycles in my life!)
We had decided against an organized tour as the stops were not of real interest to us. So we walked the downtown area. It was beautiful, especially after the sun came out. There were lots of quaint hotels, tons of fudge stores and shops of just about any kind.
I have to post this one – Julian said so. It’s me coming out of one of the shops while he was snapping other pictures.
This was a real, live dog sleeping in the display window of one of the shops. It just cracked us up.
We returned to Mackinaw City where we had lunch at Scalawag’s. We had fresh whitefish baskets and loved every bite. We’ve had a lot of fish since coming north and it’s all been wonderful.
We spent the afternoon sort of resting up. We’d been on the go for four days straight and there were things that needed doing. Heading into new territory on July 6. National Cherry Festival, here we come!
Happy trails.
2 comments:
Loved the rock formations and the colors. Must have been neat to actually see it in person. When I was 13, we lived in Upsala, Canada for three months (stepfather worked on pipeline). We flew into Sault Ste. Marie to change planes to get on one that would take us to Pittsburgh. In those days everyone "dressed up" to fly. My mom made my sister and I matching red outfits (dresses and coats). But I digress...the food sounds wonderful (how do you all always find such great places to eat?). Looking forward to your Cherry Festival blog (cherries in my back yard tree are now ripe and ready for the birds, squirrels and insects...and Eva).
That was a great report, Donna! Those rock formations were breathtaking. And you gave us so many facts that were really fun to read. Too bad Julian didn't get a shot of you coming out of a fudge shop, though. tee hee Thank you again for such a wonderful post - I really enjoyed it! :)
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