Day 67: Lime Island to Mackinac Island

Day 67: September 23: After enjoying a pretty sunset and campfire last night, we welcomed a gorgeous sunrise this morning. 

We rode bikes around the many paths on the island. They were well worn in some spots but rocky and narrow in others. Up and down, pedal and coast, we rode for about 3 hours, hitting all 7 miles of trails that traverse the island. Each path brought us to the river's edge where we skipped rocks, looked for bear tracks and took in the scenery. 

After a quick lunch we got UW at 12:30. We backed out beyond the wall until we were able to spin around and head out on the St. Marys toward Mackinac Island (pronounced Mackinaw). The turquoise water remained calm and clear for a bit; knowing we would be leaving the river behind, we took time to enjoy the beautiful scenery and calm water.

AJ had told us to look out for a house that was built out of the bow of a laker. Sure enough, we spotted it on shore around Drummond Island Township.

As soon as we knew we would not be traveling back and forth between U.S. and Canadian waters, John took down the Canadian flag! We thoroughly enjoyed our month in Canada; the stunning scenery, crystal clear fresh water, hiking, the North Channel, the Trent and Georgian Bay. The country is beautiful but we were happy to be back in the U.S. for good.

As we continued through the DeTour Passage, located at the easternmost tip of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and surrounding Drummond Island, the water started to become a bit choppy. We knew Lake Huron would not be as calm as the river but thought once we made the turn out of the passage we would likely have the waves on our stern. John headed out a bit further into deeper water as did David on Zendeavor, in an effort to avoid some of the bigger swells that tend to build up as the water flows from very deep to more shallow. At certain points during the trip things calmed down; at other times we rocked side to side; the boat heaved up and down, pushed by the large swells churning all around us. I was very happy when we could see the Mackinaw Bridge and the island in the distance.

It took us just over 5 hours to travel 42 miles to the island. We assumed that once we reached the marina, we would be able to tie up and relax, but that was not the case. We passed the breakwater and entered the harbor which is completely open to the east, only to find a pretty strong wind and fierce current. Ferries were roaring in and out with no thought of the boats tied up at the dock. John tried a couple of times to get into a slip, attempting bow then stern first. The strong east wind was relentless and with the wakes from the ferries we were being tossed around quite a bit. We did not want to chance hitting the swim platform so we decided to grab a mooring. It was most likely private, but it was late in the day and the weather was not optimal so we assumed no one would be returning (and we were right). While we secured ourselves to the mooring, David did manage to back Zendeavor into a slip with the help of folks standing on the dock. We spent then night rocking and rolling, hoping morning would not take its sweet time to show up!