The Yooper Chronicles: Final Chapter, Part 1
Sorry for the delay in completing this blog series, life gets in the way sometimes, ya know? Anyway, I left you on our first leg of the journey, and while we still have six glorious days to explore, I’m going to summarize the remainder of the trip into this two blogs. I have lots of other stories to share this month, so I won’t bog you down with too much more of me me me.
After our four day stint in Trout Creek at one of the most amazing and isolated cabin resorts, we headed around the northern portion of the great lakes on our way to Mackinac City. Our plan is to spend an entire day on Mackinac Island, but first, we had to stop and play a round of disc golf. During our time in the UP, we kept hearing about this amazing new course way up near the shoreline of Lake Superior. Players told us it was a must visit, but also that the course was isolated and took some effort to get to. The course is called Superior Pines, and while it was a bit of a trek to get to the property, once there, it was well worth it. As the name suggests, the track runs through a very thick pine forest and winds through some elevation and near some creeks. The course only measures at 5,097 feet, and most holes are under 300 feet, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any challenge. If you like tight woods golf, then you’ll love playing here. The tee pads were just posts in the ground, but that just added to the ‘one with nature’ vibe we felt while playing there. There fairways are not groomed, but the sparse lower foliage made it easy to find discs, except in one case where I kicked off a tree and just lost the disc in the void. It was only after we finished hole 18 and decided to cut through the course back to our vehicle that my wife just randomly walked up on the disc and I was able to recover it. There are no hotels or gas stations or any other amenities nearby, so if you plan to come play here, be sure to plan accordingly. Bring lots of water and make sure your car can handle dirt and sandy road conditions.
As tempted as we were to play a second round, we decided it was best to get back on the road and head to Mackinac City. One of the bucket list items I was very much looking forward to was driving over the Mighty Mac. According to their website, “The Mackinac Bridge is currently the fifth longest suspension bridge in the world. In 1998, the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan became the longest with a total suspension of 12,826 feet. The Mackinac Bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere.” I’ve driven across many brides during my time on Earth, but what was most notable features to me was the extremely low profile of the railing on the bridge. It was lower than our car, and driving over something like that really made it feel like we could fall off the bridge at any moment. Another feature is the metal grating road, which is a deliberate feature to help fight high winds. When you drive across it, it produces an eerily pitched sound unique to this bridge, and unless you have experienced it yourself, it’s quite hard to explain.
After the blood came back into my white knuckled grip on the steering wheel, we descended into the city. We stayed at a wonderful property, the American Boutique. What is essentially a refurbished motel, the rooms were very clean, and the bed was very comfortable. And they had a heated pool, with the water sitting at an almost too hot 85 degrees! We elected to skip the pool and instead went out for some eats and drinks. Within minutes of our hotel was the Dixie Saloon. Adopting the aesthetic of an old log cabin, the venue was huge with multiple bars, some outside areas, and excellent vibes. Our policy is to always eat at the bar whenever possible. We feel you get better service and have access to all the libations. Our bartender was a hoot, and we enjoyed chatting with other tourists who were enjoying the late fall weather. After a few beers and excellent food, we found ourselves very tired, and decided to head to sleep early because tomorrow is going to be a long and adventurous day.
A good night’s rest and we headed out early to find some breakfast before getting on a ferry over to the island. There are no shortages of eateries in Mackinac City, so we just picked on with the best breakfast name ever: Pancake Chef. I’ve always said it’s hard to mess up breakfast, but it’s very hard to make it memorable. And this place did not disappoint. Everything was super fresh, tasty, and served hot, and the waitstaff was friendly.
When it comes to visiting the island, there are two ferry companies that can get you there. If you didn’t know, cars are not allowed on the island. The practical effect of this ban is that once you step off the ferry, it feels like you’re stepping back in time. Within moments of landing, we found a bicycle rental place and made our first stop Great Turtle Park. As far as disc golf courses go, this short nine-hole track was nothing special, except that it’s on the island, and we had to play a round there just to put a pin on our course history map. The track winds around a multi-use park, with most holes at 250 feet or less, and one 350-foot hole. The goal here was to just get one round in so we could brag to our friends that we have played disc golf on Mackinac Island. And it was worth it, even if the bike trip up the hill almost made my wife divorce me.
Since we were already at the top of the hill, we made a stop to the local cemetery. Once long ago, Mackinac Island was a key military asset, and there were even some battles fought here, which means soldiers died here. There was a sense of reverence as we roamed through the headstones. Some of the epithets were so old that we couldn’t read them, and some of the graves were well over 100 years old. Nothing like visiting a place like this to really put things into perspective. Sometimes we’re so caught up in the modern lifestyle that we forget just how far we come in so little time. It was nice to be reminded.
Next up was Fort Mackinac, a fully restored, 14 building museum with live reenactments, weapons demonstrations, and some of the most amazing views on the island. “More than just a military outpost, Fort Mackinac served as a home for soldiers and their families and eventually the headquarters for Mackinac National Park, where tourists to the island visited the great fortress on the bluff, much like they do today”, says the historic website. We were able to sit in on a rifle demonstration, and we were shocked just how loud these guns were. After a long afternoon exploring the regional history, we decided to head back down the hill for some delicious dinner.
On the island there is the Great Turtle Brewery where we enjoyed some fresh ciders and delicious appetizers. We decided to bounce around a few spots, visiting the Yankee Rebel and Pink Pony. We ran out of time and failed to swing by the famous Mustang Lounge which is the only bar to remain open after the tourist season closes. Fun fact, only about 200 people stay on the island from the end of October until May when the season begins anew. We hopped on the ferry back to the mainland while the sun set over Lake Huron, and it was straight to bed after a wonderful visit to an amazing island that now has a permanent place in our hearts. We headed back to our room and prepared for the final leg of our trip, four glorious days in West Michigan, specifically Muskegon. Please come back to finish reading about this epic disc golf journey, thank you!
