Mackinaw Is & storms
We had to stay for another day because
of the vicious storms rolling through most of the day &
night:huge black thunderheads & heavy rain. We imagined the wind
& waves out in the open water.
It did not deter us from walking about
this picturesque town – a great place to be stuck in bad weather.
At the Governors House the volunteer guide told us the story of how
they manage in winter when the lake freezes over. A skilled fellow
with a stick walks over newly formed ice and by tapping with his
stick can tell whether the ice is safe to drive over – it needs to
be over 12 inches thick. Then the driller drills a hole in the ice
and a xmas tree is plugged in the hole. These are the discarded trees
that are left by people after the xmas celebrations at a collection
point near the lake edge. And so it goes on across the lake – all
these xmas trees marking a safe driving road to St Ignace, about 5
miles via ice road.The trees have been recycled and when the ice
begins to melt they drop to the bottom of the lake and eventually
rot. I've seen a photo of it – it looks great.
Our walk around Mission Point took us
past more gorgeous gardens. I suppose they make the most of gardening
while the snow is absent. Fort Mackinac has scout troops to raise &
lower the flag daily with the accompanying bugle & national
anthem and a morning cannon salute.
When leaving the next day we passed
under Mackinac Bridge one of the longest suspension bridges in the
world connecting the upper & lower peninsulas of Michigan. It
spans over 5 miles over Straits of Mackinac where Lake Huron meets
Lake Michigan. Mackinac is pronounced Mackinaw
but is spelt bothways – I don't know why – it just is.
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