We arrived in Mackinaw City, MI on Thursday afternoon. We got an education about the name Mackinaw. In some places, it’s spelled with a ‘c’ at the end, and in some places a ‘w’. We found out that both spellings are pronounced Mack-in-aw. Evidently the French named it Mackinac, but pronounced it Mackinaw, and then the British came in and just spelled it with a ‘w’. People who pronounce the ‘c’ in Mackinac are called “fudgies” by the locals, meaning they are tourists. Mackinaw City is located just south of Mackinac Bridge that goes over the lake to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, or UP.
Mackinac Bridge separates Lake Huron to the east from Lake Michigan to the west. We also learned that it is the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere, even longer than the Golden Gate Bridge at 5 miles long.
The people who live in the UP are called “yoopers” and the people below the bridge (south of) are called “trolls”.
We camped right on the shores of Lake Huron. Our campsite was literally 50 ft from the lakeshore. It was breezy and cold, much colder than we anticipated. We didn’t see any of the black flies that we had been concerned about, but their were huge mosquitoes! We couldn’t even sit outside because of them. Another interesting things about this part of the country is that because of its northern latitude, the sun rises early and sets late in the summer. Sunrise was at 5:49 am and sunset at 9:39 pm. It didn’t get dark until after 10:00 pm! Needless to say, the kids stayed up late while we were there.
We took the ferry over to Mackinac Island on Friday. What fun that was! There are no automobiles allowed on the island, so everyone gets around by bike or horse carriage. Except for the frequent, large, steaming piles of “road apples” left by the horses, this is really cool. We biked the perimeter road around the island, all 8 miles of it. It was a beautiful drive; cool, sunny, with spectacular views of Lake Huron all around. We stopped for lunch to refuel, and then tackled some of the interior bike trails in Mackinac Island State Park. Unfortunately for us “flatlanders”, the were many uphills. Brad, with his amazing mountain biking skills, had no problem with this, but the girls and I walked our bikes up many a steep hill, only to get back on and coast down the other side! J All in all, I would estimate that we biked around 12 miles total yesterday. Avery actually put herself to bed without being asked!
Today we are driving northwest up into the UP to Munising, MI.
Mackinac Bridge separates Lake Huron to the east from Lake Michigan to the west. We also learned that it is the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere, even longer than the Golden Gate Bridge at 5 miles long.
The people who live in the UP are called “yoopers” and the people below the bridge (south of) are called “trolls”.
We camped right on the shores of Lake Huron. Our campsite was literally 50 ft from the lakeshore. It was breezy and cold, much colder than we anticipated. We didn’t see any of the black flies that we had been concerned about, but their were huge mosquitoes! We couldn’t even sit outside because of them. Another interesting things about this part of the country is that because of its northern latitude, the sun rises early and sets late in the summer. Sunrise was at 5:49 am and sunset at 9:39 pm. It didn’t get dark until after 10:00 pm! Needless to say, the kids stayed up late while we were there.
We took the ferry over to Mackinac Island on Friday. What fun that was! There are no automobiles allowed on the island, so everyone gets around by bike or horse carriage. Except for the frequent, large, steaming piles of “road apples” left by the horses, this is really cool. We biked the perimeter road around the island, all 8 miles of it. It was a beautiful drive; cool, sunny, with spectacular views of Lake Huron all around. We stopped for lunch to refuel, and then tackled some of the interior bike trails in Mackinac Island State Park. Unfortunately for us “flatlanders”, the were many uphills. Brad, with his amazing mountain biking skills, had no problem with this, but the girls and I walked our bikes up many a steep hill, only to get back on and coast down the other side! J All in all, I would estimate that we biked around 12 miles total yesterday. Avery actually put herself to bed without being asked!
Today we are driving northwest up into the UP to Munising, MI.