The most important place for us to visit on Mackinac Island was Fort Mackinac. This island fort is not to be confused with Fort Michilimackinac, which I wrote about last week. Fort Michilimackinac was built by the French and was a center of the fur trade with as many Native Americans and European Americans in …
Mackinac Island, Michigan
Mackinac Island is one of those places that I’ve always heard a lot about but never visited until this trip. Whenever people talk about it, they wax poetic about its beauty, the lack of cars, the horse-drawn carriages, the Grand Hotel. After one day on the island, I can say that it is all that …
Straits State Park in St. Ignace, Michigan
While we were in the Mackinac area, we stayed at Straits State Park. We stayed there four nights, which was the most we stayed in any one place. We had made all our reservations beforehand, based on what we wanted to see in the area. Mackinac Island was a big item on our list, and …
Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse in Mackinaw City
Buying a membership into the Mackinac Association of Friends gave us admission into the six historic Mackinac parks. Colonial Michilimackinac was the first we visited. While we were at Colonial Michilimackinac, we realized that Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park was closed. It would not reopen until 2023. This was disappointing because we were planning on …
Colonial Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City, Michigan
The day after our visit to Big Sable Point Lighthouse, we headed northeast to Colonial Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City. All of the mackinacs in this area are a little confusing. There is Mackinaw City, Mackinac Island, Fort Mackinac, Old Mackinac Lighthouse, Mackinac Bridge, and Colonial Michilimackinac. All of these place names refer to the area …
Nautical Yarn in Ludington, Michigan
After hiking to the lighthouse, we decided to check out the Nautical Yarn shop in Ludington and walk around downtown a little. Tom wasn’t a big fan of my third yarn shop visit in a week, but we explained that Sandy needed some yarn. Plus, Sandy had never been in a local yarn shop. Her …
Big Sable Point Lighthouse and Ludington, Michigan
The day after visiting Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, we headed south to Big Sable Point Lighthouse in Ludington, Michigan. It was supposed to rain in the afternoon, so Tom, Sandy, and I headed out first thing in the morning to take the hike the Big Sable Point Lighthouse. The only way to get to …
Boone Docks Restaurant in Glen Arbor, Michigan
Boone Docks Restaurant was our luncheon destination in the middle of our day at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The small town of Glen Arbor has a year-round population of 850 but it is a tourist magnet during the summer and into the fall. Glen Arbor and Glen Haven are both on Glen Lake and …
Pierce Stocking Drive in Sleeping Bear Dunes
Our final activity at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was traveling the Pierce Stocking Drive. I picked up a brochure at the Visitors Center that has a description of each of the stops on the drive. The brochure labels Pierce Stocking Drive as “America’s Most Beautiful Scenic Drive.” I’m not sure I agree with that …
Glen Haven in Sleeping Bear Dunes
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was established in 1970, which means that much of the land along the 35 miles of designated lakeshore was already privately owned. In order to preserve the land, the park service gradually bought up the private properties. One of these private properties was the town of Glen Haven on the …