Mackinaw

Mackinac Island and Mackinaw City are a couple of my favorite places in Michigan. When my parents visited from Alabama last summer, we decided to take them up to see the area. None of us regretted the trip. It was an absolutely perfect, sunny, breezy, not-too-hot, not-too-cold day.

For those of you not familiar with the island, it sits in the middle of the Great Lakes waterway, and there are no motorized vehicles allowed on the island (except for emergency vehicles). Most people get around by horse-drawn buggy or bicycles. It was originally inhabited by native Ojibwe people, but was eventually inhabited by French traders and Jesuit missionaries. It was also eventually occupied by British forces after the French and Indian war, when they moved their settlement from "mainland" Mackinaw  City to Mackinac Island. They constructed Fort Mackinac. Much of the conflict over the island was due to the island's abundant fur trade. After the Revolutionary War, the British were required to hand possession of the island over to the Americans, after which it became a most valuable trading post. Through the years, the island has transformed into a popular resort destination. In the late 1800's, many businessmen constructed lavish Victorian houses on the island, and most of them still line the various roads along the coast. The island is also home to the famous Grand Hotel of "Somewhere in Time" (Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeves) fame.

It's a beautiful place to plot out great photos, so I love taking my camera along—and what photography could have asked for a better day?

View of the main harbor on the island.

The flowers along the main road and the Visitor's Center in the background

A sometimes rarely-viewed aspect of the Mighty Mac—

this is where the waters of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan become one

Old Fort Mackinac Point Light Station in Mackinaw City (erected in 1892)

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The staircase windows on the Old Fort Mackinac Point Light tower (above)

"The Mighty Mac"

The Mackinac Bridge connects Michigan's Lower and Upper Pennisulas 

and is the 3rd longest suspension bridge in the world at 26,372 feet. It can support a total of  38,486 tons.

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