Mackinaw City at the top of the Lower Peninsula

 We arrived in Mackinaw City on Wednesday afternoon after driving thru the rain. We got into camp and set up, then decided on dinner out at the Chippewa Room (in Audie’s Restaurant, next to the bridge) since it was Trip Advisor’s top rated place in town. Wendy ordered Planked Great Lakes Whitefish served on a maple board surrounded by Duchess potatoes and a medley of vegetables. I had Baby Back ribs with garlic mash potatoes and asparagus. The restaurant comped a hot fudge Sunday as well (due to the occasion of my Birthday). This will remain a highlight of our trip - but totally outside our diets!





On Thursday morning we walked around town.




 Then we toured the US Coast Guard Icebreaker #83, which was constructed during WW II to insure that the Great Lakes could be completely open to bulk carriers thru the winter months in support of the war effort; specifically the need for iron ore and all the other bulk supplies necessary to supply the bordering factories. Commissioned around 1943, it served the Great Lakes until 2006 (60+ years) when it was retired to serve as a museum in Mackinaw City. Incredibly, this vessel has 3 engine rooms with each housing two locomotive engines, since redundancy was critical to avoid becoming stranded during winter operations.






Finally, we toured the reconstructed Michilimackinac Fort, originally built around 1715 by the French as a fort and trading outpost and later used by the British for similar reasons.  It was ideally suited to guard the passage between Lake Huron to the east and Lake Michigan to the west, and is located near the base of what is now the South end of the Mackinaw Bridge - the third longest suspension bridge in the world and the longest in the Western Hemisphere. (The bridge connects the Lower and Upper Peninsulas of Michigan.) This fort remains an active archeological site with ongoing digs and discoveries. 




 





Best experience of the day ? Watching the artillery demonstration!

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