Tag: Mackinac bridge

St Ignace: Just Over the Bridge!

On By Joseph McMahonIn travel3 Comments
A typical UP souvenir shop in St. Ignace.

Note: I am writing this on Monday after I returned home, due to lack of Internet and wireless service during my time in the Upper Peninsula. Also, I have received reports of funny things going on with the previous posts, due to the same issues, and will fix these as I spot them and am able! More posts chronicling the trip will be up during the week as I write them!

Another note: I am experimenting with different formats to make the blog as pleasant to read as possible, please bear with me as they may not always be consistent!

After crossing the Mackinac Bridge into the UP, we stopped in St. Ignace, the first town you land in at the northern foot of the bridge.

The mission at St. Ignace was founded in 1671 by Father Marquette, the famous Jesuit missionary and named after St. Ignatius of Loyola. It is a small, charming town situated on a funny peninsula which places Lake Michigan on it’s west bank and Lake Huron on the east.

I will share with you (not great in my opinion, but cut me some slack, I was driving all day!) photos and details of St. Ignace, including the Museum of Ojibwa Culture and one of the best burgers I’ve ever had!

Assorted Pictures

IMG_20180615_1332347.jpg
I thought this sandy tree growth thing looked cool, it’s near the foot of the Mackinac Bridge.
A nice view of what I presume is Lake Huron
A random shot in town which clips off half of an interesting, vintage souvenir shop sign

Museum of Ojibwa Culture and Grave of Father Marquette

Our first stop in town was the Museum of Ojibwa Culture (link to their official website). This museum, housed in the former St. Ignace Mission, chronicles the history of the Ojibwa native culture in the Midwest and Canada. I did not take any pictures inside.

Exterior of the Ojibwa museum

On the site is a traditional birch bark hut:

Exterior of the hut, showing the entrance, which faces East per local custom
Close up of the main entrance
An interior shot, showing the traditional framing and log seating
Honestly, I just thought the roof looked cool

Also on the site is the grave of Father Marquette, the renowned Jesuit missionary previously mentioned. For further reading on Father Marquette, please visit this link to a Wikipedia article. The following photos of the site are presented without captions, as they are self-explanatory.

Fort de Buade Museum

Next stop was the Fort de Buade Museum (link to tripadvisor), in which I was able to grab a few photos inside.

This was a neat game
French and Native words for each animal
I was unable to guess any of the furs
I thought the trading post, in particular that red and black blanket coat, was neat
I thought this US Navy beadwork sash (maybe it’s a belt?) was interesting

Lunch @ Clyde’s

After the museum tours, it was time for lunch. John insisted we stop at Clyde’s (link is to tripadvisor, Clyde’s doesn’t seem to have an official website), an old-fashioned, cash-only diner and drive in (!) on the outskirts of town. I was not disappointed in any way and in fact should have ordered MORE food if anything.

The excellent and diverse menu, which might be hard to read
A giant, delicious cup of coffee
The jalapeño burger, which, yes, is served on that piece of paper
There are no plates at Clyde’s and frankly, you don’t need them

After lunch, we jumped in the car and headed to Marquette to meet up with another friend. I will most likely write of this drive (yes, there was MORE driving this day!) tomorrow.

Thanks again for reading along and be sure to check out the other posts in this series:

Crossing Over

On By Joseph McMahonIn travel4 Comments
You can just see the Mackinac Bridge off in the distance, dead ahead

Heading North from the farm, we soon arrived at the Mackinac Bridge, which connects the Lower and Upper Peninsulas of Michigan. I was now going to play passenger for the duration of the trip and was/am glad of it.

Beginning the crossing

The crossing itself was uneventful. The view, however, is breathtaking and I doubt these photos do it any justice.

I don’t think you can see it very well, but the Mackinac City Lighthouse is to the right

I forgot to mention my friend brought his birds as well. Neither of us can function properly without a court of fowl.
Here, you can see both Mackinac (left) and Bois Blanc (right) Islands

After crossing the bridge, we stopped in St. Ignace to view some museums and grab lunch. I will detail this in the next post.

Note: it has been brought to my attention these posts are not uploading correctly, I may have to re-do them and post the remaining content in a burst.

Please check out the other posts in this road trip series:

As always, thanks for reading along!