David took a bike trip up around the Great Lakes. I wonder if the 100 plus temperatures had anything to do with his decision??? Anyway, here is the link to read about the first day on his trip. ENJOY!!!
Great Lakes Adventure Begins
In 2023, I rode north on the western side of Lake Superior to the Canadian border and then returned by the same route to Duluth, Minnesota. I spent about eight days on the largest Great Lake, but I have already cycled on all of them. When looking at my options for a short driving, cycling and running adventure for this summer, I saw a chance to see some of the areas I had not previously visited.
I described the best possible plan in last weekend’s paper, but here it is in a nutshell. I drove yesterday about 650 miles from home to Port Huron, Michigan. I made great time driving until hitting Detroit at rush hour, which was no fun. My GPS kept changing to a different street trying to get on one that was moving and finally at almost 7pm last night, I made Port Huron. The highlight of the Detroit experience was seeing the Chrysler buildings, and yes, they were huge.
On Thursday, July 31st, I woke up to 62 degrees and drizzling rain at the Huron Inn Motel. I had a good deal on a nice motel in quiet surroundings. I still didn’t get enough sleep after the day that began at 4am. Before leaving, I got great tips and good conversation from the motel owner, Ashwin Patel. He shared information on a cyclist that he follows on You Tube who has now ridden in well over 100 countries. I promised to send him several of my books, and I suspect we will stay in touch.
Driving north on Michigan Highway 25, the first significant town was Lexington, Michigan. A spectacular former town hall, a huge 1882 hotel and a walkable downtown with lots of interesting shops. Many old buildings currently in good use have made this historic town a great start. By this time, I was driving for the most part along the edge of Lake Huron. Many towns have a marina and are part of a Circle Tour boat excursion.
Mostly small towns came every 20-30 miles and quite a few had historic highlights. I stopped often, grabbed photos and did some walking as I traveled over 200 miles of what is called the Thumb area of Michigan. You’ll see it on a map.
I stopped in Port Sanilac and began my lighthouse visits, just ahead of National Lighthouse Weekend. The Port Sanilac Light Station was built in 1886. It underwent a major restoration in 2015-2016. The dwelling, lighthouse and grounds are now privately owned and beautiful. The Sanilac Marina sits just below the lighthouse.
Next was the White Rock Light, now another private home. I then stopped at another highlight of the day, the Port Hope Chimney in Port Hope. The chimney was built in 1858 as part of a lumber mill that had become the dominant one in the Thumb area. The mill and other major buildings in town were destroyed by fire twice. Rail came to Port Hope in 1903 primarily because sugar beets had become a significant cash crop for local farmers. The beets were brought to the railyard by horse and wagon and then were hand loaded onto rail cars. The depot has been restored and was open for only a few minutes today, just as I found when I opened the door. Important folks were just leaving. Magnificent homes, circa 1880, were just across the road from Lake Huron. Bigfoot cutouts were seen on a revamped hardware store.
The best and biggest lighthouse of the day was the Pointe aux Barques Lighthouse which is the highlight of a Huron County Park. Built in 1849, the lighthouse and its original keeper family have an amazing story. Three acres of wilderness were cleared for the lighthouse from wilderness that was surrounded by Indians. A husband brought his wife and eight children to live in the keeper dwelling. One year later, the husband keeper died by drowning. His wife took over without official approval and kept the light and grounds going. She became the first recognized female keeper the next time the light was inspected. This is one of the 109 lighthouses in Michigan, the most of any state. The museum onsite was wonderful largely because of the stories and info provided by two volunteers, Jack and Tobi Graham, who have extensive knowledge of lighthouses all the way down to the Carolinas. A lifesaving station is also onsite, similar to those made famous on NC’s outer banks. Some historians estimate up to 10,000 shipwrecks occurred on the Great Lakes.
Next thing was a beautifully restored town from the mid-1850s, now listed as Huron City on the National Register of Historic Places. It all started with a steam powered sawmill and ended with a general store, a hotel and several magnificent homes that still remain.
In Sebewaing, the Sugar Beet Capital of the World, I saw the big plant of the Pioneer-Big Chief Michigan Sugar Company. There is a huge Sugar Festival associated with this town.
The last big town for the day was Bay City, birthplace of Madonna and the home of the U.S.S. Edison, a World War ll destroyer named for Thomas Edison. I didn’t see Madonna but did tour the Edison, a very well-done attraction.
My last stop for the night is a town called Pinconning, the Cheese Capital of Michigan. It is a small town with a nice motel and an all-day breakfast restaurant across the street. A loud train track is next door. I have now left the Thumb and am moving north again on the way toward Mackinac Island. I hope to tell all about this soon, so I will save any description until then. First up tomorrow morning hopefully is a brake repair on my truck, not my bike. Thanks for following along. See you soon!
