Quiet Thursday

 It was a really quiet day here. I stayed in the whole day. I watched some photography webinars from a group I'm in on Facebook. It's called Sheclicks and is a group for female photographers. There are some really interesting women who have come to speak, and the talks are recorded. I have watched a couple as they go live, but I have missed a lot due to the time difference. 

I got my housework done and did some more photos. I got sidetracked with another book. The only time I went outside there was a Cooper's Hawk in one of the trees in my garden. I took a couple of photos of it. His presence was probably why there weren't many birds around! 

The beginning of the day was quite warm (well, it was warm for Michigan lol) and a lot of the snow melted. Then the temperature dropped, and it started snowing again! So, for all of a few hours I could see some yucky brown/greenish grass but now it's all covered up again lol. We are sliding into the end of February though and that means there will be fewer snow days and it will be the icky time of year again when everything is dull and grey until spring starts. 

For some photos today I thought I'd share some pictures I took of the Ice Bridge between St. Ignace and Mackinac Island. 

Mackinac Island is a small island about 6 miles from the mainland of Michigan (St. Ignace way). In the summertime travel between the island and mainland is done by regular running ferries. It is the way people and supplies are taken to the island. The island is a main tourist attraction during the summer. There are only about 500-600 people who live on the island year-round. There are no cars on the island. When winter comes and the lake starts to freeze the island is cut off from the mainland. There is a small plane that brings in supplies. 

If the lake freezes over locals take their old Christmas trees and line a safe path, an Ice Bridge, that people can take snow mobiles across from St. Ignace to Mackinac Island. It doesn't happen every year only if the lake freezes enough. 

When we were up in Upper Peninsula last weekend we stopped by to see if the route was open. It was!

I find the whole thing rather fascinating. I would love to spend a winter on the island just to document it!

Mackinac Island - Five on Friday

It's Friday again and I'm joining in Five on Friday again with Amy over at Love Made My Home .

I finished a fun, light mystery this week. It was  Geared for the Grave by Duffy Brown. It is set on Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw) Island which is up north from us about five hours car ride. I've been there a couple of times and might go in a couple of weeks when we are on holiday up that way. It's an interesting place to visit so I thought I'd share.

Five Fun Facts

1. There are no cars on Mackinac Island.

2. Tourists (and there are a LOT of them) are called Fudgies.

3. Nearly 1 million people visit a year but there are only about 600 year round residents.

4. The 1980 film Somewhere in Time staring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour and Christopher Plummer was filmed at The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.

5. In the winter there is an 'ice bridge' from St. Ignace over to the Island - basically the water in Lake Huron freezes solid and the residents use it to travel back and forth.

You can get to the island by ferry or by plane. The ferries run quite regularly in the summertime and the views are quite spectacular.

Our ferry took us close to Mackinac bridge and underneath it!

You can see the cars traveling over it to the Upper Peninsula.

I wouldn't want to be that man working on the bridge!

Grand Hotel from the boat. The front porch is 660 feet (201metres) the world's largest.

People get around on the island on bikes, horse and carriage or on foot. The book I mentioned above is set in a bike shop. We opted to use our feet. The town is quite touristy and well worth a visit but I find it's always the out-of-the way things that are more interesting.

As you walk around there are lots of small piles of rocks on the side of the roads and beaches that are called Mackinac Cairns. They are small piles of stones that visitors are supposed to add a stone to mark your journey.

There is a fort on the island called Fort Mackinac. It was built by the British during the American Revolution. It's quite a walk up that hill!

There's also a beautiful rock formation on the island called Arch Rock that's well worth a visit.

The view from below. Another long walk up....

It's well worth the steps when you reach the top. The view is spectacular!

There is a reason why the tourists are called 'Fudgies'. Mackinac Island is known for its fudge. There are lots of places that sell it and the tourists come away with it in bagfuls. It IS really nice!

It's a great place to visit - better to stay away from the tourist town and go exploring whether it be by foot or by bike but be sure to take some of the fudge back home with you!