Captain’s Log – Star Dates 08062009 through 08092009
Location – Star Cluster of Mackinac
(Translation: Tiki RV Park, St. Ignace, Upper Peninsula (UP), Michigan)
Trip Miles – 5923.4
Diesel Price – $2.65 per gallon; 40.5 gallons taken on board.
Engineer’s Report – We’re good for rollin’ across the UP!
Weather—Sunshine followed by steady rain followed by thunderstorms followed by sunshine; Temperatures near 75F.
Local Cultural Note – MACKINAC is pronounced MACKINAW.

WHY do Michigan semi’s have so many AXLES on the trailers? I’ve counted as many as EIGHT on a single trailer! My brother-in-law Bob, a retired Wisconsin dentist and proud possessor of a Class A driver’s license, says these rigs are called caterpillars and are not allowed on highways outside of Michigan! ‘Tis a puzzlement to me!

We have entered the Land of Fudge! There are fudge shops – bearing names like Fudge-A-Mac, Fudge-A-Lock and Murdick’s – everywhere! They are brightly lit and open late at night! They sell Cherry FUDGE, Vanilla FUDGE, Peanut Butter FUDGE and Chocolate Walnut FUDGE! Looking in the windows of these palaces of decadence, I can feel my four coronary artery bypass grafts locking up!

We rode over to Mackinac Island on a spiffy catamaran ferry boat at 35 mph. Automobiles have been banned on the island for 100 years ( the only modern exceptions to this rule are 1 ambulance, 2 fire trucks, and 1 police car). There is a police force of eight and a Grades K-12 school with 75 students. Also, there is an emergency medical center where, as our young tour guide advised us, tourists get treated for bike accidents and fudge overdose!

Unless walking, biking or riding horseback, people get around here on 35-person passenger carriages drawn by teams of three enormous Belgian draft horses. The island is a charming place, even if an overcrowded tourist destination. A true highlight for us was our visit to the Butterfly Conservatory. Hundreds of spectacular butterflies and moths, from Asia, Africa and South America, fly free in a large enclosure. They lead a simple life. As the Commodore said, in an oddly genteel manner, “they are beautiful, they get married, they beget babies and they die” --- all within a life span of 3 to 10 days!

We drove north on Interstate 75 to Sault Ste. Marie, MI, in a steady, warm rain. Over hot Yellow Brazilian coffee at the Cup of the Day on Ashmun Street, I completed our Internet business and then ate a tasty chicken pasty for lunch at Karl’s Cuisine, next to the Soo Locks. Karl’s was stoutly recommended by the locals as serving the best pasties in the area. Pasties (which are meat-vegetable-potato pies) originated in Cornwall, England, and came over with the Cornish miners who worked in the UP iron ore mines a century or so ago. Pasties are another hallowed UP tradition. My doctor in San Diego – who came from the UP – told me I HAD to have a pasty when in the UP. So- being a most compliant patient – I did so! The chicken pasty was truly delicious!

As we were dining only a few feet from the International Bridge into Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, Barb and I decided to make our Soo Locks trip an “international experience”. I had brought our passports along for this possibility. We crossed over, took a pleasant, if sodden, nature trail hike near the locks, scored two geocaches, gathered Ontario tourist information from helpful tourist guides, and then drove back to the USA. From the International Bridge, we saw a thousand-foot iron-ore carrier entering the 1200-foot-long Poe Lock (Soo Lock Number 2) from Lake Superior. From the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers observation platform, we later watched the same ship transit the lock and depart into Lake Huron. The Poe Lock dropped the huge ship…named Indiana Harbor… 21 feet. What a show! A scholarly youngish dude standing with us on that platform informed us that we could find all the information we could desire on the Indiana Harbor –or any other ship on the Great Lakes—by logging into www.boatnerd.com! The Lord doth provide for my need!

On Friday evening, we joined tourists and locals on the Evening Vespers Cruise on Lake Huron. This cruise is conducted each week by local churches and is supported by a free-will offering taken during the 1 ½ - hour ride under the Mackinac Straits Bridge. This magnificent bridge is five miles long and has suspension towers that rise 533 feet above lake level. The sunset was glorious beyond belief and this cruise was one of the high points of our visit to the UP.

Enjoy Commodore Barbara’s pictures, fellow travelers, and hang in with us! We now head westward across Wisconsin and Minnesota toward the Dakotas!

Affectionately,
Captain Baldy