AUGUST 1, 2014
SHIPSHEWANA, INDIANA

We crossed into Indiana from Michigan and drove the remaining few miles to Shipshewana.  The trip down was uneventful.  No fantastic new scenery or historic sites were discovered along the way.

But, as soon as we crossed into Indiana we began to see the caution signs for the horse drawn buggies, the wide marked shoulders and the piles of horse poo on the side of the road.

Then, Nancy grabbed the camera as an Amish buggy appeared.  They were all over the place!  Some were buggies, some were wagons.  We even encountered some ladies on bicycles pulling small wagons behind.

We are heading for the Elkhart County Fairgrounds tomorrow for the F.R.O.G. Rally. (Forest River Owner's Group).  A lot of our friends will be there and we should have a really fun week.  We'll let you know what we are enjoying and seeing.

    Notice the yellow sign on the right and the wide, marked
    shoulder lane.

   This enterprizing wagon owner has a set of upholstered
   bucket seats from a car or truck.

   Travel can be a family affair.  A single horse pulls this open
   wagon with four children while number five rides behind on
   his bicycle.

    This is the style of buggy that was predominant.  Black,
    semi enclosed with a single horse.

   They even have what appears to be a license plate on the
   back.

JULY 30, 2014
MACKINAC, MICHIGAN

Some spell it Mackinaw, others Mackinac.  Either way, it comes from Michilimackinac.  Anyway, tourist, such as us, can quickly become confused with the history of this area.  But, I believe, after some effort, that I finally understand what is here. 

For starters, the area was originally inhabited by Native American's.  They believed the island, Mackinac, was where all life began on this earth - it was their "Garden of Eden".  They said the island was once "A Great Turtle" that swam into Lake.

The French were the first white men that came to the area in the 1700's.  They built what is now know as Colonial Michilimackinac in 1715.  The community was fortified on the shores of what is now called Lake Michigan.  It was a busy, key fur trading center for the northwest.  In 1761 the British took control of the fort following their conquest of French Canada.  Then, in 1780, fearing an attack by American rebels, they literally disassembled the fort and moved it across the frozen lake (now lake Huron) to Mackinaw Island.  What was left of the original fort on the mainland was burned.

In 1959 archaeologist began excavating the remains of the original fort and then started reconstructing the fort to what they believe it looked like in 1770.

Today, we toured the reconstructed fort on the mainland.  What grabbed me today that I had not even thought about previously is that as you look north at the Mackinac Bridge lake Michigan lies to the left and Lake Huron to the right.  The bridge has become the boundary line dividing the two lakes.

While Lake Superior is larger than lake Michigan, Huron and Erie all put together, Lake Michigan is big - it makes the lakes we frequent in Virginia look like small puddles.  When we visited Colonial Michilimackinac the wind was blowing in from the north.  There were white-capped waves at the shore just like the ocean.

Besides visiting Colonial Michilimackinac, we went to Historic Mill Creek.  There we learned that Robert Campbell constructed a sawmill to provide lumber for the fast growing settlement on Mackinac Island in 1790.  No trees were cut on the island for lumber so everything came from the mainland.  Mackinac Mill was the first and only sawmill in Michigan at that time.  Campbell quickly became a very wealthy man from the sale of lumber.  An operating reconstructed mill now sits on the original location as part of the 600 acre Mill Creek State Park.

If history bores you I apologize.  But, visiting all of the places we have been recently has made much of our history really meaningful to both Nancy and me.  Reading about it is one thing.  Seeing and retracing the paths of our ancestors is something else.  Life was really hard and great suffering was expended creating what we now enjoy.

Tomorrow morning we leave Mackinac for Shipshewana, Indiana.  Another long drive of about 350 miles.  We will go through Lansing, Michigan, on the way.  Shipshewana is right in the heart of the Amish community.  As time allows I will write about our experiences there and share photographs.  Check back here frequently to see what we may have added.

Randy, Nancy and Oscar

 Lake Huron is on the right side of the bridge.......

 .......and Lake Michigan is on the Left side of the bridge.

 White capped waves beginning to form on the shore of Lake Michigan.  It is all fresh, inland water, but it looks like the Atlantic Ocean.

Walking up to the stockade style fort surrounding Colonial Michilimackinac.

 One of the reconstructed buildings (lodgings) inside the fort of Colonial Michilimackinac.

 The residents of Colonial Michilimackinac.were mostly Catholic.  This is the sanctuary of the Church.  I doubt that anyone fell asleep on the pew benches.

Student volunteers still carefully sift the soil inside
Colonial Michilimackinac.looking for artifacts and remains of original structures.

Inside the working, reconstructed sawmill at Mill Creek.  This mill used a straight reciprocating blade moved by a water wheel with a Pittman arm. This was the style of the period pit saws run by two men - one on top pulling the blade up, the other in a pit dug in the ground pulling down.  The mill could cut 10 boards in the same amount of time two men could cut just one.  More efficient circular blades had yet to become common when this one was built.

I was totally fascinated by the innovation, construction and operation of the mill.  The number of man-hours expended to build such a mill in 1790 with no power tools or equipment is mind boggling.

The small pond at Mill Creek that provided water to power the mill.  The dam was actually made of wood cribbing and boards.

The water from the pond to the mill was routed along a wooden sluice.  A door opened by a wooden wheel would dump the water on the paddle wheel for the saw blade.

JULY 28, 2014

MACKINAC CITY, MICHIGAN

The trip from Muninsing to Mackinac was only 160 miles.  The route brought us across the Upper Peninsula from the southern shore of Lake Superior to the Northeastern shore of Lake Michigan.  The entire route, with the exception of the last few miles to the Mackinac Bridge, was all on 2-lane roads.

The bridge spans the narrow gap between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron in a place appropriately called The Straits of Mackinac.  The tall support towers and thick cable arcs of this five mile long  engineering wonder are truly majestic.  While I have never crossed the Golden Gate Bridge I am sure it is no more majestic than the Mackinac Bridge.  Before the bridge was completed waiting for a ferry to take you across the strait often required a waiting time of 36 hours or longer.

On the southern side of the bridge lies the town of Mackinac City (Yes, a town named a city).  The RV park where we are staying is about 2 miles from the town.

This morning we boarded a Hydro-Jet powered ferry bound in jackets and sweatshirts to warm us from the chilly 49 degree temperature. The ferry would take us out onto Lake Michigan and Mackinac Island.  This is perhaps the fastest boat of its size that I have ever been on.  The big Detroit diesel engines and turbines use the same principle as a jet ski for propulsion.

The best description I can give to anyone back in Virginia as to what Mackinac Island is like would be sort of a cross between Tangier Island and Colonial Williamsburg.  The 1,800 acre island is now a state park which includes the historic town, Fort Mackinac and a significant portion of woodlands.  All transportation on the island is provided by either horse drawn carriages, horseback or bicycle. Even UPS makes package deliveries by horse drawn wagon.  The only motorized vehicles on the island are the fire trucks and an ambulance.

There are about 80 privately owned residences on the island that range from small bungalows to mansions.  Real estate prices of homes currently on the market range from $400,000 to five million dollars.  While winter on the island can be severe, some of the residences are occupied year round.

After landing in historic Haldimand Bay we bought our tickets for a carriage ride tour around the island.  One of many beautiful structures on the Island is the Grand Hotel.  You may remember the 1979 movie staring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour entitled "Somewhere in Time"'  The Grand Hotel was the setting for much of the movie.  There are other hotels and bed-and-breakfast on the island but none is as majestic (or expensive) as the Grand Hotel.

We toured Fort Mackinac which sits on a hill 150 above the harbor and island's buildings.  The fort is huge containing many expertly reconstructed or restored buildings including the fine lodging homes for officers and their families.  First founded in 1751 by the French, the fort changed from French to British and finally to U.S. occupation in 1815.  It was abandoned as a fort during the Civil War and later became part of a National Park then transferred to the State of Michigan as a State Park in 1895.

We enjoyed a late lunch in one of the Island Pubs, visited many of the town shops and then caught the 5:30 ferry back to the mainland.  What had started out as an extremely chilly morning turned out to be quite pleasant when the afternoon sun finally came out from behind the clouds and bumped the temperature up into the mid 60's.

The entire area is rich in history including the fur trade, fishing and shipping industries.  Much additional information can be found by doing an Internet search on virtually any key word above.

 Mackinac Bridge

Note the "rooster tail" on the back of the hydro-jet drive boat

Fast, high-powered "people ferries" quickly skirt you across to the island

 The back side of the wooden stockade fencing along the wall surrounding Fort Mackinac

 The GRAND HOTEL

All island transportation excludes automobiles.  Horse drawn wagons and carriages like this one and the three following photos provide for the movement of people and supplies.

 An arch formed in the island's limestone base by wind, ice and water erosion..

 The harbor where our ferry boat docked.

View from a fort garrison of the harbor and a portion of the village 150 feet below.