Lake Michigan
As we cross Lake Huron and approached Drummond Island we checked back in to the US via the Customs and Border Protection app, which was seamless and another example of things loopers stress about that are non-issues.
We ended up spending four nights on Drummond Island waiting out wind before moving on. We took advantage of the downtime to explore the island via an off road vehicle and to do maintenance on the engine to get ready for the last leg of our journey down Lake Michigan and the rivers.
Just south and west of Drummond we passed the interesting sight of a ship parked on shore just north of Detour, Michigan.
Unusual Mooring
Built in the 1920s the ship sailed the first half of her life as the John W. Boardman a self unloading powdered cement carrier and then was retired as the Louis G. Harriman. In 2005 the ship took up its new home as a local family’s cottage.
Making our way across the western portion of Lake Huron we passed two of the many lighthouses on Lake Huron. In total there are 379 lighthouses across the Great Lakes with over 100 on Lake Michigan alone. Many people cannot believe that the US state with the most lighthouses is Michigan.
Our next stop was the infamous Mackinac Island known for the countless fudge shops, the Grand Hotel and for having no cars on the island.
This was our first visit to this historic, magical island and we were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed different elements of the island.
Each morning the ferries from the mainland unload countless tour groups with their name tags and hurried agendas to visit the Grand Hotel for the $100 lunch buffet and a carriage ride around the island before reboarding their ferry. In many cases we assume this is one of many stops as these groups visit other spots around Michigan via buses. This all felt too much like a crowded cruise ship agenda, which is not for us.
We enjoyed a bike ride around the island, which was mostly flat and enjoyable. We also enjoyed horse-drawn carriage rides down wood lined roadways to different dinner venues around the island. We reminded ourself that the crowds were light and the weather cool due to the time of year and visiting by boat and staying at the marina is probably the most economically way to visit the island.
If we do return we will stay at the newly renovated Inn at Stonecliffe on the west side of the island, which was well away from the hustle and bustle of the downtown tourist area.
Leaving Mackinac Island we pass under the Mackinac Bridge and cross the Straights of Mackinac to enter Lake Michigan.
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes and with its connection to Lake Huron through the Straits of Mackinac it makes a single lake, which by area is the largest freshwater lake in the world. Lake Michigan is also the only Great Lake located fully in the United States; the other four are shared between the U.S. and Canada.
As we made plans for our time on Lake Michigan I was preoccupied with reports of how rough the lake can get with little to no warning. With this hanging over us we passed through the Straits of Mackinac and turned south to cruise down the east shore of the lake during one of the best weather windows the area had seen in years for September.
Our first stop on Lake Michigan was Charlevoix followed by Leland, Frankfort, Ludington, Grand Haven, South Haven and New Buffalo. In most of the towns in Michigan we stayed in Michigan Department of Natural Resources marinas. From Mackinac through to New Buffalo we took advantage of these state run facilities. Their online reservation system made it easy to reserve our slips and for the most part it was easy to adjust reservations as our plans changed. Compared to other marinas on our travels the facilities were well maintained, close to the center of town and offered at a very reasonable price.
As we docked in Frankfort we quickly realized we arrived just in time for the annual Ironman competition. Early the next morning over 2,000 people set out on the 70.3 mile course (swim 1.2 miles + bike 56 miles + run 13.1 miles) around the roads and waters of Frankfort. We had a front row seat for each leg of the race. The men’s winner finished in 3:39 and the women’s in 4:11. Amazing to see how many people partake in these races on a regular basis.
Shortly after we tied up at the Municipal Marina in Ludington we heard the SS Badger blowing its whistle as it entered Ludington Harbor.
The SS Badger is a passenger and vehicle ferry that daily shuttles and is currently the last large coal-burning steamship in the United States. Every day Badger completes a trip across Lake Michigan in about four hours, covering 60 miles
The Badger entered service in 1953 as a rail car ferry connecting rail lines on both sides of the lake. From the early 70’s the need for rail ferry diminished with the Badger being the last of 14 ferries based in Ludington until 1990 when its owner Bowden declared bankruptcy. In 1991 the Badger was purchased by a local philanthropist and overhauled to be used as a passenger and automobile ferry.
As we cruised from New Buffalo towards Chicago we were greeted by calm seas and a beautiful city scape of the third largest city in the US with over 2.7 million people. We had visited Chicago briefly 25 years ago with our kids, other than that we did not know the city. We had a great couple of days exploring the city.
As we approach the Chicago skyline there was a structure that we thought initially was a lighthouse however we learned it was the Four Mile water crib. The structure dates back to 1891 and was one of a series of cribs built to house and protect water intake for Chicago and the surrounding area’s municipal water supply. Each structure was built on top of a 10 to 20 foot shaft that connected to a tunnel 200 feet under the lake that ran to a water plant in the center of the city. The structures were manned 24/7 to keep pumps and pipes clear from freezing and keep the water flowing. Some older cribs have been demolished however others are still in use to this day and supply 750 million gallons of water to the city each day, Amazing!
In Chicago we stayed at DuSable Harbor, which was in close proximity to Navy Pier and downtown. On the morning we were to leave DuSable to transit through downtown the wind was blowing hard off the lake with waves breaking over the outer harbor’s breakwater. Luckily we were in protected water for our short run to the entrance to the lock the connects Lake Michigan and the Chicago River.
As we pass through the lock that connects Lake Michigan to the Chicago River our trip down the river system begins.