Great Loop Date: 08.29.2010 (Sunday): Third Time Was NOT a Charm…

Day 15: 382.2 miles (today: 0 miles in 0 hours at 0 mph)

*Warning: this is a long post because of the history of Fort Mackinac.  Should you want to shorten your reading time, you may want to come back to the italicized history later.  BTW, I was too busy to but together Tuesday's quiz.  There will be a pop quiz at a later date.


Todd and I woke smiling knowing this (and tomorrow) is a layover day! We are still tired from traveling two days in a row, long mileage in somewhat (but not very) uncomfortable waves and (for me) getting up before the sun. Charlie is pretty happy too, although his leap to the dock seems to require a little more concentration on his part.

Yesterday we checked with all the ferry lines going to Mackinac Island and decided Shepler’s was the easiest for us. It is less than half a mile from our boat. We took our Dahon Mariner bikes for transportation both to the ferry and on the island.

We were up and at Shepler’s by 8:45AM to take the 9AM ferry to Mackinac Island. The Sunday service at Trinity Episcopal Church was scheduled for 10:30AM. We had plenty of time to go to the Welcome Center and buy tickets for the tour of Fort Mackinac.

At the 2000 census, Mackinac Island had a permanent population of 523, some of which are parishioners at Trinity. These folks love their island and are excited to talk about the island that is NOT part of tourism.

The city includes all of Mackinac Island State Park. The park was first established as Mackinac National Park in 1875, which was the second national park established in the United States after Yellowstone National Park. Mackinac was transferred to state control and reorganized as Mackinac Island State Park in 1895 and was the first state park in Michigan.

A unique local ordinance prohibits the use of any motor vehicles on the island. The most common means of travel are foot, bicycle, or horseback. The horse part is not a pleasant thing. The whole island smells like an unkept stable. Todd and I were surprised the horses on the carriages (which far out number horseback riders) aren’t at the very least bagged!  We spent a lot of time dodging horse puckies.

Trinity Episcopal was just up the street from the Welcome Center…and I mean UP! Good grief, have I gotten out of shape. I really need to get back to running at least a few miles every day. Even with 5-speeds on our bikes, we had to walk them at least a quarter mile up the half mile incline to the church. We locked up our bikes and took note the entrance to the fort was right across the street…along another half mile incline! Obviously I’m a little too used to the subtle hills on South Bass Island.

See that incline in front on Trinity Episcopal Church?  That's only halfway up the hill!

Trinity Church was first organized as a parish in 1873. In its early years, services were held in Fort Mackinac. The present building was erected in 1882, and much of the labor to build it was donated by soldiers at the fort.  The folks at church were friendly and thought it interesting that our church in Findlay is Trinity Episcopal as well. The priest this morning was Rev. Ron Smith from Austin, TX who is a summer resident on the island.

We were invited to coffee hour in the Parish Hall after the service where we retold our adventure quite a few times to interested local folks as well as summer boaters. Todd and I thanked all for their hospitality and left for our next climb to the fort. Golly where did they find these hills!

This is the NEXT hill...up to the fort!  See Trinity way down at the bottom?

Once in the fort, we were greeted by a cannon burst that nearly sent us back down the steps. A young soldier dressed in parade attire marched by us with a group of 2 to 3 dozen folks following behind like a squad of ducklings. He was sweating bullets in the increasingly hot day. The young Sergeant proudly encouraged us to fall in line for a short walking tour of the fort.

This young man was an excellent speaker and story teller. He related the history of the fort in such a way to keep everyone’s attention. During his story, he walked our little crowd through the parade grounds which was about the size of a football field.

The parade grounds at Ft. Mackinac

Fort Mackinac was a military outpost garrisoned from the late 18th century to the late 19th century. Before 1763, the French had controlled the Straits of Mackinac by the similarly named Fort Michilimackinac on the mainland on the south shore of the passage, where Mackinaw City is now located. The fort became the main trade depot of the upper Great Lakes fur trade. The fort functioned as both a military post and a civilian community. After the 1763 Treaty of Paris, the British occupied the French fort but deemed the wooden structure too difficult to defend.


By 1776 the American Revolution was underway. During 1780-1781, Patrick Sinclair, the lieutenant governor of Michilimackinac moved most of the fort building by building, piece by piece over the frozen Huron waters to the limestone bluffs of Mackinac Island. The British held the outpost throughout the war. After the 1783 Treaty of Paris, the States weren’t in any big hurry to take the fort back and the British did not relinquish the fort to the United States until 1796.

Barracks, Post Bathhouse, Quartermaster's Storehouse and Post Headquarters (clockwise from the left).  Three of the five buildings moved across the frozen lake are pictured here.  The Storehouse was built after the move, along with the other 6 buildings and three Blockhouses.

It later became the scene of two strategic battles for control of the Great Lakes during the War of 1812. Under the cover of darkness, a 300-man force of British soldiers and Native American allies embarked from Fort St. Joseph (located on St. Joseph’s Island, at the mouth of the St. Mary’s River) and landed on the north shore of Mackinac Island. They dragged their cannon to the high ground behind the fort, took positions in the woods and prepared to attack. The 30 American soldiers completely surprised and outnumbered by the British invasion. They quickly surrendered without a fight following a single warning shot by the British. This was the first land engagement of the War of 1812 in the United States. British troops garrisoned the fort and built a new fortification, named Fort George (later renamed Fort Holmes) at the highest point on the island to act as defense on the weak north side.


Two years later American soldiers tried to recapture Fort Mackinac. They tried invading from the north, as the British had previously done. They were met by British soldiers at the center of the island. The Americans were badly defeated in the only battle ever fought on Mackinac Island. Following that battle, the Americans tried to establish a blockade in the harbor with two American vessels. The British invaded and overpowered the first vessel during the night, raised a flag the next morning, beckoning the second vessel to come alongside and overtook it without a shot.


SO, the U.S. actually lost THREE times in trying to establish control of Fort Mackinac! The young storyteller said by December 1814 the war was over. American peace negotiators accomplished what their troops failed to do, as the Treaty of Ghent restored the island and Fort Mackinac to the United States.

During most of the 19th century, it served as an outpost of the United States Army. Closed in 1895, the fort is now a National Historic Landmark.

Following the Sergeants’ history lesson, we walked to the porch of the fort’s barracks and watched him and his ‘command’ perform a rifle demonstration. He educated us on the rifles used during the late 1700s and early 1800s. After this demonstration, Todd and I began the walking tour of the fort.

We went through all 13 buildings filled with displays. Unfortunately (and I’m sure in Todd’s plan), I totally forgot to go back to the shop in the barracks to snoop around for something to buy. Of course, I’d already managed to get a t-shirt and cap combo at the Welcome Center (which does support the upkeep of the fort!). I had forgotten to bring a cap and the sun was shining in a cloudless sky, so I really did need the cap.

North Blockhouse and Guardhouse

View from the North Blockhouse. The fort was only protected on the North and West sides before the first invasion.

Todd and I decided to eat lunch at the fort. The dining area was nicely situated so we could look out over the landscape and Lake Huron. The food was good and reasonably priced.

View from the outdoor cafe.  That's Todd at the far right.

After lunch, we walked DOWN to our bikes. I’m fairly bad at directions so I gave Todd the island map. We decided to find the bike trail and navigate some of the other historic features on Mackinac Island. First we wanted to see the back of the fort where the British attacked in the first take over. That required another uphill adventure of more than a half mile. I figured if my heart didn’t give out on this one, I was good for at least 30 more marathons in the future!

The back of the fort was non-descript. Past the fort we easily found the bike trail. It wound mostly down through a well forested area. As a matter of fact, almost all of our bike time was on trail or road through lush forest. It was totally refreshing on a fairly hot day.

First we saw Arch Rock.

Then we came upon a huge limestone formation we thought was Skull Cave…

The front didn't look like a skull...

...so we went around the back and maybe...with a stretch of the imagination...a skull?

…but it wasn’t.

THIS was skull cave!

And this is WHY it's called Skull Cave.

After that we went past the Catholic Cemetery, followed by the Post Cemetery and the Protestant Cemetery.

Post Cemetery

I would have liked tromping around in the cemeteries but time was passing us by and we wanted to get back to the boat in Mackinaw City before 6PM if we could.

We wound our way around to the battlefield located on Wawashkamo Golf Course. I figured all our golfing friends would want to play 9-holes on this one. It does seem a little unfair to dig cleats into bloodied hallowed ground, but we did manage to screw up our attempts to keep Mackinac Island three times. Maybe a hole in one or an eagle here would help even things up a little.

Battlefield where the American soldiers tried to attack the North side of the fort in 1814 and were soundly defeated...since the Brits had successfully used this approach in 1812 and, of course, had this side of the fort under surveillance.

Following the Annex Road back to the south, we came upon the sight to behold on Mackinac Island…te Grand Hotel!

Mackinac Island is home to the famed Grand Hotel, where the 1980 movie ‘Somewhere in Time’ was filmed. Whenever you see pictures of Mackinac, the Grand is the first picture you see and the first thing you hear about…not the fort, which eventually brought the island back to the U.S….and certainly not because we won any hard fought battle.

The Grand Hotel.

Grounds in front of the Grand Hotel.  The grounds were not as immense as I had imagined them to be.

The flower gardens were AWESOME!

WOW! I’m jealous now! Our neighbors are staying there in September for a few days. Lyn mentioned in a message they have come to Mackinac almost annually and this has been on her bucket list for years. I want you to know, Lyn, I understand! Maybe I can talk Todd into an adventure there on our 50th Wedding Anniversary in 10 years. Take lots of pictures!

Just down the street, we had to do the fudge thing.

I didn't need it but I HAD to do it!  It's part of being on Mackinac Island.

Then we headed straight for the ferry and back to our boat. We were bushed but totally amazed with all that we learned and saw on Mackinac Island. We’ve decided we need to do a Great Lakes Loop when we finish this adventure. The next time, we will stay at the docks on Mackinac Island for at least 3 or 4 days. We have only scratched the surface there. And the parishioners at the church said we would see a different island in the evening after all the tourists leave.