I left Ironwood on Thursday to begin my drive to Detroit. I decided to take my time, and see some places that I hadn't had a chance to visit while I was a resident (80-100 hour work weeks aren't terribly conducive to traveling....). Anyway, I decided to drive from Ironwood across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and then down to Mackinac Island for a night, and then to cross into the lower peninsula and spend a night in Traverse City, before working my way down to Detroit.
The drive to Mackinac was spectacular. I left Ironwood and drove eastward until I reached Marquette, which is right on Lake Superior. I then continued eastward to the town of Munising. That section took me right along the Lake Superior shoreline. I stopped several times just to wade in the water. Lake Superior is incredibly clear, and incredibly cold -- 40 degrees F during the summertime, and iced over during wintertime. It was beautiful, but chilly! -- although there were people definitely swimming in the lake while I was there.
I continued my drive inland, and reached St. Ignace, Michigan, that evening. St. Ignace is located on the Upper Peninsula, and is just a ferry ride away from Mackinac Island; I'd decided to get a hotel room there. The people who greeted me at the hotel front desk are all from the area. They told me that the hotel closes down after the season, due to the super-cold weather in the area. They also told me that they prefer wintertime to summertime up there! Apparently, they like to snowmobile, ice fish, and participate in other activities which actually reminded me of the activities my friends in Alaska participate in. I was quite surprised. I guess I'd never thought about it, but the Great Lakes area get tons and tons of snow, and the lakes actually freeze over during the winter. In fact, Heather's dad told me that they get between 200-300 inches of snow every year at their house.
Anyway, I slept really well that night, and got up the next morning to take the ferry to Mackinac (pronounced "Mackinaw") Island. Unfortunately, it started pouring rain just as I got onto the ferry, so I decided to ride inside, rather than on the deck. The particular ferry I was on did a little detour, as well, to go directly to the Mackinac "Mighty Mac" Bridge. At the time it was built, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world; it's now number 12. The bridge connects St. Ignace in the UP to Mackinaw City in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, and spans the "Straits of Mackinaw", which is the area where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet up (although Mackinac Island itself is technically located in Lake Huron). The bridge is over 5 miles long, and quite impressive from up close. There were lots of Michiganders on the ferry, and most of them had never taken the ferry underneath the bridge. There were lots of elders, especially, who kept saying "this is so amazing! I can't believe I get to see the bridge so close! I've never been under the bridge before!", etc., and their grandkids were ecstatic because their grandparents were excited -- and that made me excited, too.
Anyway, I reached the island, and the weather let up somewhat, so that was good. I only had 3-4 hours to spend there, so I didn't walk around the entire island or do lots of sightseeing; instead, I just wandered along the waterfront. Mackinac doesn't allow any automobiles on the island, and so everyone there either walks, rides a bicycle, or rides a horse-drawn carriage, which makes the whole place seem very quaint. I wandered around, saw lots of colorful Victorian homes, had a nice lunch at a funny bar called the Pink Pony (and no, it's not like the Pink Pony in Atlanta), and bought the requisite Mackinac Island Fudge. Then I took the ferry back across to St. Ignace, picked up my car, drove across the "Mighty Mac" itself, and entered the lower peninsula of Michigan.
I arrived at my hotel in Traverse City around 6pm, unpacked, and then headed out to see the city a bit. I'd heard lots about Traverse City during my residency. It's on Lake Michigan, and it's supposedly beautiful, so I was glad to finally be able to see it! I decided to drive downtown and along the waterfront to have a look around. When I got downtown, I found out that the city was having a street festival that evening, so I parked my car and started wandering. The festival was fun, and the downtown area of Traverse City is filled with lots of cute little shops and restaurants, so I had a really great time -- until, once again, it began to pour rain. I finally made it back to my hotel, completely sopping wet.
Luckily, the next day was cloudy but not rainy, and so I spent all morning on the waterfront. I can see why Traverse City is so renowned -- it's gorgeous! The water is a clear, light blue, much lighter in color than Lake Superior. The beach is sandy, and the water is cool, but not cold. In fact, the Grand Traverse Bay is considered one of the cleanest bodies of fresh water in the world. Also, there are tons of little peninsulas branching out into the water, so there's lots and lots of waterfront for recreation and residences. After I wandered the beach for an hour or so, I drove up one of the smaller peninsulas to a lighthouse at the very tip. I have to say, the folks who live there are very, very lucky to live in such a picturesque area.
Had I more time, there were several other places I'd have liked to have visited between Lake Superior and Lake Michigan: Isle Royale National Park (which is in Lake Superior itself), Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (on the Lake Superior coast, east of Munising), and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (in Lake Michigan itself). Sounds like another road trip....
Anyway, so far I've seen three of the five Great Lakes! Two more to go....
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