Starting the Loop 2.0

We’ve been meeting a bunch of fellow Loopers as we are all starting to congregate at the north end of Lake Michigan.

Most are choosing to go down at least part of the Michigan side. Some are going to work their way down the Wisconsin side.

We are in that latter group. I’ve done Michigan but not the Wisconsin side, so I’m looking forward to trying something new.

Libbie and I had come back down the St. Mary’s River after spending a night at The Soo, visiting family again on Neebish Island and then returning to Cedarville.

While in Cedarville, we were able to explore some old haunts and new places that have popped up in the area.

One of the haunts was my grandfather’s old boathouse at his fish camp. Someone purchased it and has done some nice refurbishing of the boat house and other parts of the property.

From Cedarville, we headed to Mackinaw City. We were planning on spending a night in Mackinac Island for our anniversary but changed our minds. The weather services were predicting 3 to 4 footers out in the Straits, something Selkie can handle but not necessarily her crew.

Once we got to Mackinaw City’s Straits State Harbor we settled into our normal Mackinaw routine.

We spent some time cleaning the boat and getting ourselves in a good position to continue on The Loop.

We also spent fun time with more family out at the beach outside Mackinaw City.

Selkie is in really good shape. Her systems are performing well, and I’m trying to stay ahead of any maintenance she needs. It is a privilege to have this boat. We feel very much like stewards of a precious thing.

After three nights in Mackinaw City, we left for Mackinac Island for a planned two night stay.

The weather forced us into a three night stay, but that wasn’t a problem as there is plenty to do on the island. Mackinac Island has a lot of history, as I’ve mentioned before.

There’s a lot of Native American history associated with the island. Mackinaw Island is considered a sacred place for the Native Americans.

The Mackinac Bands of Chippewa and Odawa are descendants of the Anishinaabe people who migrated from somewhere in the Northeast to the Great Lakes area sometime around 1200 AD.

The Anishinaabe are one of the few tribal groups that successfully negotiated not having to be moved from their homeland to the prairies of the United States.

These tribes have proud traditions and a lot of craftsmanship.

An example of their negotiations is a building called the Indian Dormitory.

The Treaty of 1836, transferred 15 million acres of Ojibway (Chippewa) and Odawa (Ottawa) land in Michigan ferritory to the federal government.

It also required improvements to the Mackinac Island Indian Agency. including “a dormitory for Indians visiting the post.

The building, designed by Indian Agent Henry Rowe Schoolcraft was completed in 1838.

It was the agency’s administrative headquarters for eight years and occasionally housed Native Americans who came to the island to receive their annual treaty payments.

From 1846 to 1867 it was used for a variety of purposes. including as a U.S. Customs House. In 1867 it became the Mackinac Island Public School, serving in this capacity until 1960. The Mackinac Island State Park Commission purchased it in 1964 and renovated it in 1966.

It is now a nice museum featuring local art featuring the history of the island.

The Native Americans would gather in the Straits of Mackinac late summer to fish and meet. Sometimes up to 30 family groups, for a total of a couple hundred people would gather on the island before the Europeans arrived.

My mom‘s side of the family settled in the area of northern Michigan in the late 1800s, and had quite a few experiences with the Native Americans.

Most of the experiences were good, although one story of the family history was a little tense with an encounter between my great grandmother and a Native Americans woman.

The story goes something like this:

My great grandmother used to bake bread on a regular basis, and she would have extra to give to Native Americans, who came by the house in East Jordan Michigan.

One day, she ran out of bread.

An Native American mother came by with her baby and asked for bread.

Great Grandma said that she had no bread and the mother became upset. The mother thought that my great grandmother was not telling the truth and holding out loaves of bread.

The woman had set her baby down on the table in the typical baby carrying backpacks that the Native Americans used in those days.

She walked over to the crib where one of my great uncles or aunts was laying in, pulled a knife out and held it over the crib saying, “More bread.”

My great grandmother was not one to be pushed around, so she pulled a knife out of the kitchen drawer and walked over to the mother’s baby and with the knife in her hand said, “I have no bread. “

The woman picked up her baby and left.

It was perhaps a typical encounter back in the days of the late 1800s when the Native Americans and the Europeans would intermix. As always struggles over resources dictate how people behave towards one another.

While at Mackinaw, Island, Libbie and I decided to tour the fort that’s there. 65 years of being in the Straits of Mackinac, I’ve never gone into the fort, thinking that it was going to be too busy with all the tourists.

As it turned out our third day on the island turned into a perfect day to go visit the fort as not many people were coming over to the island due to the weather.

The fort has been occupied off and on since the late 1700s by both the British and the US.

The Fort has an impressive set of displays produced as part of the Michigan State Park System. Makinac Island was Michigan’s first state park. Right next to the fort is the governors mansion where not only Michigan governors have stayed during the summer but also US presidents.

Libbie commented that after visiting the island the third day, she finally felt a connection to the inner part of the island, as opposed to the rather touristy downtown area just off the ferry wharfs.

After 65 years, I kind of felt the same way.

We left at the crack of dawn the next day as we had a nine hour run to Manistique, Michigan.

Libbie said it felt like we’re restarting the loop. “Perhaps we should call this starting the loop 2.0”, she said.

She’s right, as we spent quite a bit of time in the area of northern Lake Huron, specifically Georgian Bay and the North Channel as well as the Straits of Mackinac where I am so familiar with.

We are now venturing off into new territory, places I’ve not explored with a boat before. We are really looking forward to this part of the trip.

It’s starting to feel like Fall.

The bucolic days of summer have slid past, and the weather systems are starting to spin up more and more in the “Roaring 40’s” latitudes where we are now, making it more critical that we plan our travel around these systems.

It’s time to start heading south. It’s time to restart our Loop.