Mackinaw City, Michigan

Chris fixed the starboard cleat

8/17-8/19    Mackinaw City
     We traveled about 50 miles from DeTour to Mackinaw City on a bright sunny day.  Jeff and Chris finished up the cleat work this morning and did an excellent job.  I am confident that our lines will hold firmly now from that starboard side!  We docked at the city marina.  Later in the day, we clocked  wind gusts up to 40 mph.  Our paddle boards almost flew off the boat!

     We toured the USCGC Mackinaw Icebreaker Ship, which was right beside the marina.  For 62 years, this ship cut through the ice during the winter months in the Great Lakes to keep the shipping lanes open.  It transported iron ore and copper from the upper peninsula of Michigan to factories in the lower Great Lakes during WWII.  It had three large engine rooms.  It is hard to believe that this huge lake freezes over every winter!

   

USCG Icebreaker Ship

      We hopped on our bikes and toured the Old Mackinaw Point Lighthouse, built in 1889.  The light and fog horn helped captains navigate safely through the dangerous Straights of Mackinaw.  Three generations lived here to keep the lighthouse running every night.

Mackinaw Point Lighthouse and living quarters

Lake Huron beach at the Lighthouse
View of the Mackinac Bridge

     We also walked through the reconstructed Michilimackinac Fort where costumed historians told stories about what life was like in the fort during colonial days.  We learned some history about the Native Americans, British and French fur trading.  The fort was dismantled in 1780 and moved to Mackinac Island.

   

Our tour guide at the Michilimackinac Fort

Shooting a cannon