Day Fifty-Nine

Day fifty-nine we headed south to St. Ignace, MI.  Along the way we stopped at an old roadside attraction called Castle Rock.  For only one dollar per person, you can climb the steps (all 162 of them per Sam's count) up two hundred feet for a great view of the whole area atop a natural rock formation dubbed Castle Rock.  It was a great view and a nice little climb.  It was also a little nostalgic, as it brought back memories of the old roadside attractions I remember when traveling as a child.  They had some "life-size" statues of Paul Bunyon and Babe, as well.

A few miles farther along the road brought us to an attraction Sam had been anxious to experience since seeing the brochure a few days earlier - Mystery Spot!  It proclaimed to be some sort of natural phenomenon or anomaly of physics where the normal laws of physics did not always apply.  We took the tour, and Sam took part in some of the "experiments" and really enjoyed this place!  We also checked out their maze, as Sam seems to like these, as well.  :)

Our next stop for the day was in St. Ignace, as we took a ferry over to Mackinac Island.  For those of you who don't know, (as I didn't) Mackinac and Mackinaw are BOTH pronounced Mackinaw.  Mackinac Island is one of the VERY few inhabited islands in the United States that does not allow motorized vehicles on their streets.  The only form of transportation is bicycle or horse and carriage, and they have LOTS of both!  There were literally hundreds of bicycles - the most I have ever seen in one place.

We took a horse and carriage tour of the island, and it was great!  Part of the island is a national park, and we also toured that area on the horse and carriage tour.  There are about 600 horses on the island, and most of them are moved off the island by ferry for the winter.  Only a few stay year-round because there are year-round residents, and freight for the businesses is moved and delivered by horse drawn wagon.  The tour and the whole experience was fascinating, and I would highly recommend it for any families traveling in this area!

While on the island, we also visited a butterfly house and garden, and they had several exotic species.  Sam even got to hold a Blue Morpho Butterfly on his finger, and he was excited!

At the end of the day, we took the ferry back to St. Ignace, and I have to admit, I felt a little sad to leave the beautiful island.  Sam was napping in my lap, and the wind was blowing my hair as the island swept past - a wonderful mommy memory.