Summer 2023, Day 7: Mackinac Island

Posted on July 4, 2023 by Ben

I crossed the Mackinaw Bridge to St Ignace on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula:

I took the ferry to Mackinac Island:

Mackinac Island:

The island does not allow motor vehicles:

After walking downtown, I walked up to Fort Mackinac:

Arch Rock:

Sugar Loaf Rock:

Fort Holmes:

The Grand Hotel:

I took the ferry from Mackinac Island back to St Ignace:

I loitered in the ferry parking lot until the fireworks over the bay wrapped up:

I then drove north a few miles to overnight at the Kewadin Indian casino. See the trip map for today’s drive.

Summer 2023, Day 6: Bellaire mountain biking trail network

Posted on July 3, 2023 by Ben

From Traverse City, MI, I drove northeast to the Eckhardt trailhead of the Bellaire mountain biking trail network:

After 15 miles of fast, flowy trails, I decided to overnight here.

See the trip map for today’s drive.

Summer 2023, Day 5: Sleeping Bear Dunes NL

Posted on July 2, 2023 by Ben

Shabbos at the Chabad of Western Michigan was great. The Rabbi’s family hosted me and other congregants for meals, and it was a pleasure getting to know everyone. It was muggy and warm, so I left the A/C on for Shabbos. It was cloudy, and I wasn’t plugged in, but I have so much solar that even in cloudy conditions I was generating the 120ish watts needed to keep the A/C going.

On Sunday, I drove north to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. I went for a run and did the dune climb: