2002 Trip: Straits of Mackinac to Wisconsin Farm

Saturday, October 5, 2002 dawned cloudy and cool. We were camped at Straits State Park in St. Ignace and had a long drive ahead of us that day. It was time to go home and the drive ahead would be across US 2, one of the most scenic highways in the state, if not in the country. The highway parallels the Straits and Lake Michigan for miles. Some of the roadway is level with the lake; some runs along bluffs and beaches. It's a beautiful drive.

Val with Sam the Buck

We stopped at Deer Ranch, just west of St. Ignace. The owners are authorized by the state to keep and display white tail deer. Mom especially enjoyed seeing the animals. Ed and I are less enamored with deer, since we have had multiple car-deer episodes in our Huron County/Eastern Michigan travels.

Birch trees shine in the autumn sun at Cut River in Michigan's UP

We pulled off at Cut River to savor the scenery. The Cut River bridge is high above the lake and the river. There is a staircase that leads to the lakeshore and then a hiking trail that follows the river and circles around to the parking lot. Ed and I often take the trail, a half hour hike, but with Mom and Dad, we enjoyed the sights and pressed on to Wisconsin.

Home looked good to Mom and Dad that night. Ed and I stayed the night. The next morning we took off for Michigan. We had rented the motorhome from a place in Houghton Lake, Michigan, and needed to return the vehicle and pick up our car.

Rainstorm cross the Straits -- View from parking lot at foot of Bridge
St. Ignace side -- October 6, 2002

The weather did not stay in our favor. By the time we crossed the Big Mac Bridge late that day, a rainstorm was sweeping across the Straits. I really don't want to cross the Bridge in that kind of weather in a high riding RV again. As a matter of fact, the Bridge Authority usually closes the Bridge when the weather is bad. We never found out if there was a closure that night, as we were headed for Houghton and the RV place.

So, after ten years, it has been good to look back. Travel gives us memories and experiences that we carry forward into our lives. It brings people together and makes one realize the preciousness of time and life. And travel makes home look better.

I'm glad that we went.

Copyright 2012
Wanda Hayes Eichler