Mackinac Island, MI

When it comes to travelling there are basically two general style types. There are the people who like to have everything planned out, where to stay, what to do, where to eat, etc. There are other people who desire more to simply experience a place and, therefore, plan as little as possible in order to be more flexible. Generally, everyone fits in somewhere on the range between these two archetypes. Megs and my mother, for instance, lean more towards the planning type, while still allowing for some flexibility in the planning. I, on the other hand, am most interested in the experience and “going with the flow”, but I do recognize that some planning is important. So far I think it has been to our benefit that Megs and I are on different ends of the range. We have been able to influence each other, allowing us to plan a bit ahead, but be flexible enough to shift plans if necessary.




I try to read up a little in the books about the places that we are heading to next, but I’m not really interested in more than the general information of what places have to offer… With movies that I see for the first time, I usually go into it without any expectations or preconceived notions. As a result, I am generally able to enjoy the movie for what it is and what ideas it presents, regardless of the quality. If I go into the movie thinking it is going to be amazing, then, more often than not, I am going to be disappointed. And I think the same is true for me with travelling… I don’t try to get a lot of information about a place before visiting it, besides the vitals, because I want to be pleasantly surprised. I want to feel like I am discovering something new every time I visit a new place.



Well today I can say that Megs and I definitely discovered Mackinac Island. All we had to go on was a vague recommendation from Sara and a paragraph or two in one of Meg’s books. And it turned out to be awesome!



We left Cheboygan and headed into Mackinaw City, MI. The ferry company we found, Shepler, was great. Really nice and helpful people, a separate parking lot for RVs with a free shuttle, got on the ferry and it left shortly thereafter. A really smooth operation all around…

It was a tad bit windy...


Before we knew it we were walking off the dock onto Main Street. It looked like your typical nice little tourist village, but with one glaring difference… There were no cars anywhere. The streets were teeming with horse drawn carriages, some for patrons and others delivering goods to each of the businesses. And there were bicycles literally everywhere!! We found out later that cars had been outlawed on the entire island in the early 1900s. So cool!!

There is an old fort that has been repurposed, along with an old missionary wigwam of sorts…

The Governor of Michigan’s house for when they visit…

And the harbor of course…

But besides the town, the majority of the island is part of the Mackinac Island State Park. We got a map from the visitor’s center detailing the system of carriage roads and trails that can be used to hike and bike over the entire island. So we started off on a walkabout to see what we could find…

Almost immediately there were bugles playing, a cannon at the fort went off, and all the flags of the fort and Governor’s House were raised simultaneously. There were pairs of boy scouts standing at attention under each flagpole. Apparently the island holds a Scout Barracks and troops come from around the country to Mackinac Island every year to perform given duties…

We then took a winding route through the island, passing various “famous” rock formations along the way. This was the underwhelming, “Skull Cave”…

Next was a formation called “Sugar Loaf” for some strange reason. It was really cool though. The guide explained that long ago there had been a huge lake called Lake Algonquin covering most of the great lakes. At that time, only the upper part of the island was above the water, and Sugar Loaf was a small rock island, just off the coast, that eroded and was then left standing when the water level fell. Cool stuff…

Then the Arch Rock was also really neat…

If you look carefully, you can see that people have created messages out of piles of stones down in the shallows of the lakeshore…

Next we decided to do some trail hiking, first down a trail that followed a high bluff along the eastern shore of the Island. It was a great trail that featured a ton of neat cliffs and overlooks…

We cut across the island to the West bank, and then headed along it back towards town. As we got closer, we started to go through some neighborhoods of ridiculously nice cottages and homes. Almost every house seemed to have its own unique, beautifully manicured garden as well. There must be an army of landscapers and maintenance men on the island!!!

Then we came upon the Grand Hotel which is ridiculously nice, boasting the world’s longest porch. Although it also has a dress code that men must wear a coat and tie after 6pm and ladies may not wear slacks, even if you are just walking by the front door!!!!

Finally we returned to Main Street, now packed with bikes, carriages, and tourists. Hopped back aboard the ferry and back to the RV…



It being a little after 2pm, we then left Mackinaw City and headed back up the Upper Peninsula to Hiawatha National Forest, just outside Munising, MI. We’re staying here at a campsite tonight. Gonna have a fire!!



In the morning we will be heading back to Munising and taking a boat tour of the Pictured Rocks. Then it is off to Wisconsin and Minnesota!!