Mackinac Island, MI

It was cool but sunny this morning, perfect for a day trip to Mackinac Island. I called the night before to confirm that the free shuttle to the St. Ignace ferry terminal will pick up at the Straits State Park campground. It was a 15 minute ride to Shepler's Ferry Terminal, where I got a ticket for the "Mighty Mac" scheduled for 8:30 am. My friend Ed suggested taking this ferry because it detours under the Mackinac Bridge for visitors to take photos. The other regular ferries take a direct route to the Island.

The ride to the Island took about 40 minutes: there were not too many people at the terminal since it was relatively early in the morning. I walked around and marveled at the pretty buildings, no gas powered vehicles, lots of bicycles, horse drawn carts, passenger carriages and horse droppings on the street (which were promptly cleaned up). Walked around the Mackinac Island State Park, took photos of the beautiful grounds.

Bicycling was the best way to explore the entire Island, a distance of 8.2 miles on the outer loop of Highway M-185, the only road on the Island. Walking would have taken too long; I did not want to pay for a carriage ride, so bicycle it was. Since I was not confident I could still ride a bicycle without falling, I opted to rent a tricyle. It took a few minutes to get over my fear of bikes and get used to riding a trike. I finally relaxed my grip on the handlebars after the half mile.

Below are photos of notable landmarks. The first stop was Arch Rock, had to hike up 207 steps to get to the top.

A family with kids was having fun counting the steps. The views at the top were amazing! After getting down and back on the trike, I discovered a pull out on the highway that offered a great view of Arch Rock from the bottom.

Riding the trike actually took some effort, especially when on upslopes. My legs were getting tired, so I had to make frequent stops. There were beautiful shorelines and scenery most of the way. The sign that promised food and restrooms 2 miles away (second photo below) was reassuring ...

British Landing near the water, with a food stand, the Cannonball Oasis, across the road. Briefly considered getting something to eat there but did not want to wait in the long line. Did use the promised restrooms though.

Devil's Kitchen was interesting

Finally, after 2.5 hours from when I started, the town, with hotels and stores, came within sight. I passed the Grand Hote and took photos of the exterior but was not dressed appropriately to visit or have high tea inside.

I returned the trike, then checked out the stores on the main street. Apparently I forgot to take photos of fudge shops that Mackinac Island is know for. It was past noon: there were a lot more people on the Island and lines outside restaurants. I gave up trying to find some place to eat, and went back on the ferry for St. Ignace.

Back at St. Ignace terminal, I walked past the parking lot, crossed the road and went into the store with the big sign that said Lehto's Pasties. I had read that pasties are special to Michigan, especially the Upper Peninsula. My previous experience of pasties was in the UK. The beef pasty I ordered to-go did not look like Cornish pasty. I went back to the ferry terminal and boarded a waiting shuttle back to the campground. The driver took me all the way to my campsite! Finally got to have lunch, in Roxie. The beef, potato and onion pasty was excellent: I had planned to eat half of the big pasty but it was so good that I ate the second half as well.

Then, with nothing much to do the rest of the afternoon, I took a shower at the campground and decided to leave half a day early so I could get a headstart to my next destination: Autumn Moon Winery in upstate New York, where my friend Jerry had agreed to fix some RV issues.

Sault St. Marie, MI

There were so many interesting places to explore north of S. Ignace. Unfortunately, I had only two days, and one was already set aside for Mackinac Island. I planned to drive north, perhaps take a scenic cruise at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Lake Superior. However, the morning was cold, blustery and rainy, not great for outdoor activities. I moved visiting Mackinac Island to tomorrow which was expected to be sunny. Today would be a drive around the north, with brief stops at places of interest. And that was how I ended up in Sault St. Marie, visiting the Soo Locks.

Sault St. Marie is a small town: for me, the main attraction was the Soo Locks at St. Marys Falls Canal. I parked Roxie on a side street and walked over to the park. The Army Corps of Engineers manages the Locks, entrance to the observation decks was through the visitor center. The exhibits were educational and interesting. The wall had a schedule with the ships that were expected in the locks and those that had departed.

I stayed out on the deck to watch the Whistler Majuro enter and leave the locks, moving from Lake Huron into Lake Superior. Pretty cool (and very cold, with the chilly wind blowing)

Now I can say I have seen all three great lakes in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (with Lake Michigan at Petoskey State Park a couple of days ago). On the way back to the campground, I stopped at Castle Rock, a landmark listed on my visitor map. It was too cold to climb up to the rock although a few hardy visitors were up there. I checked out the gift shop at the entrance, admired the dream catchers hanging inside and left.

I stopped at a fish market just outside the campground. Chatted with the shopowner and bought a piece of smoked white fish for dinner. Wanted to get a jar of the famous Great Lakes smoked white fish dip, but they were sold out. Bummer! I hope to come back and spend more time in this part of the country.

Mackinaw City and St. Ignace, MI

I checked out of Petoskey State Park in the morning and drove to the other side of the Peninsula to meet a friend in Cheboygan, located along Lake Huron. Left Roxie at the Walmart since Ed offered to give me a tour of Cheboygan (a very small town) and nearby Mackinaw City in his truck. Mackinaw City was charming and more touristy, somewhat like Petoskey.

We viewed the Mackinac Bridge from the shoreline of Mackinaw City, visited the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse and had lunch at the historic Dixie Saloon Brewery where I tried white fish and chips. Ed also shared tips on places to visit in the area.

After the short visit, I collected Roxie from the Cheboygan Walmartand headed north, over the Mackinac Bridge. My destination was Straits State Park in St. Ignace, just past the Bridge, where I will be camping for 2 nights.

Petoskey, MI

Finally arrived at Petoskey State Park located along Lake Michigan. I have never been to this part of Michigan before, looked forward to exploring. Got an annual non-resident pass for unlimited access to MI state parks since I will be camping at least 4 nights in the area. After setting up camp, there was time to check out the beach near the campground. Saw a lot of interesting stones but no sea glass. I could not find any Petoskey stones, although I hadn't a clue what they really looked like.

The next day, instead of driving, I walked 4 miles on the Little Traverse Wheelway (a bike trail) to downtown Petoskey. I needed the exercise after driving the past few days. The weather was great, intermittent clouds with low humidity. The Wheelway started as a hiking path near vegetation and beaches, then ran right next to the main road into town. That part was not fun, especially with heavy traffic. But I passed some beautiful houses in the Bay View area.

Then the Wheelway turned away from the road into sidewalks with established gardens and sculptures.

It took about 2 hours to get to downtown. The entrance was pretty! The opposite was the entrance to the marina.

Downtown Petoskey was charming, with quite a lot of visitors. There were cute little stores, including a bookstore that had a display of banned books on its storefront with the sign "Read a Banned Book". Each book in the display had a note that described why it was banned. I walked all over with rests on benches thoughtfully located in front of stores.

Discovered that Ernest Hemingway lived in Petoskey for short periods. There's a statute of him in a park downtown.

I went into a store that advertised Petoskey stones and finally saw that they looked like, both unpolished and polished. On the walk back, stopped at a few beach areas and found some!

Took another 2 hours to get back to my campsite. This was a good day, tiring but good.