Events of Wednesday, September 8, 2010

          We were woken up early this morning. To our bodies, it was 6 o’clock. But, in Eastern Time, it was 7. Time to get up! Since we didn’t want to walk down a hill made muddy by last night’s rain, take a shower, and then walk back up, we decided to disconnect, drive down the hill, and then shower to save us from having to re-clean the interior of the RV. The system worked fantastically. Since we ran out of milk, we decided to drive first, shop, and then have breakfast. We found milk, had breakfast, and then went off to explore Colonial Michilimackinac.

          This fort was constructed by the French in the 1700s to protect the valuable fur trade. It became a popular trade outpost and stopping point for the French-Canadian voyageurs as they criss-crossed the Great Lakes. When the British won the French-Indian War, they took control of the fort. As the British attempted to maintain their sophisticated way of life, they angered the Indians, who were used to the French way of doing things. For example, instead of sending out fur traders to meet with the natives, they insisted that the natives come to them to trade their furs. They also didn’t give gifts to the Indians, which the French did to establish relationships. As revenge, the Indians planned an attack. During a game of bigattaway (similar to lacrosse) played on the grounds just outside the fort, the natives threw the ball over the walls of the fort. Thinking they were just getting the ball, the troops let the Indians in and were surprised when they stormed the fort. When this bloody battle ended, 20 British were dead. After that incident, the Redcoats complied with the natives’ wishes and peace returned. Over the time of its existence, the fort was home to a mixture of British, French, and Indian cultures, which made learning about it more interesting.

 

          All we know about the fort came from archaeological digs. Not wanting to give the Americans a strategic location on the Great Lakes, the British moved the fort to nearby Mackinac Island and burned what they couldn’t move when they heard that the Americans were winning the Revolutionary War. One of the most preserved areas was the powder magazine, an underground area where powder kegs were stored. The sod roof collapsed in the flames, snuffing out the fire and preserving for all time the relics within. Archaeological digs, taking place every summer since 1959 (making it longest on-going archeological dig ever), uncover thousands of artifacts. In one exhibit at the fort called “Treasures in the Sand”, they have a showcase about the fort’s culture and changes through time. They have lots of original artifacts that show what life was like. Another of our favorite parts of the fort was a room in the rowhouse where the cooking demonstration took place. Dad, Abby, Lindsey, and I (Ben) tried some sagamity, leftover from breakfast. Sagamity is corn meal mixed with sugar and water and cooked over a fire. It was alright with enough cream and brown sugar. However, Mom and Caitlin thought that no amount of sugar could make that taste good! Later, we tried some butter on homemade rye bread, baked in a Dutch oven with coals below and above. All of us thought it was fantastic!

          After this light snack, we drove on, looking for a lunch stop. We decided to try the famous Michigan miners’ food: PASTIES! Both Mom and Dad remember eating Dad’s mom’s pasties. It sounded good, so we wanted to try it. We split three pasties among the six of us—one veggie and cheese, one beef, and one chicken. They were fantastic, but I thought a little dry; a little ketchup solved that problem. We realize that this would be a great meal to be carried in to the iron mines in the Upper Peninsula, where they were invented. Small, tasty, and easy to carry – perfect!

          Next, we drove to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Mom’s cousin Tina and her husband Shane were planning to meet us there.            As we pulled into the visitor center parking lot, we saw them waving and running over. They rode with us in the RV to the Dune Climb, one of the most famous hikes in the area. The Sleeping Bear Dunes got its name from an Indian legend. A mama bear and her two cubs were swimming across frigid Lake Michigan. The mama bear made it safely across, but her two cubs drowned close to the shore. The mama bear climbed a bluff (a huge dune) and sleeps waiting for her cubs, whose graves are marked by the North and South Manitou Islands. We climbed a huge slope of sand and then ran around trying to find a spot where we could see Lake Michigan. We followed Shane onward and upward and finally spied the lake. All of us kids took off our shoes in order to run barefoot through the sand. It felt good on our feet. We all loved running and jumping down the steep sandy slopes of the dune. Shane, who is a photographer, got some good action shots. We all felt like little kids, but it was a ton of fun!

 

          Exhausted at the bottom of the hill, we de-sanded and then climbed into the RV and drove to a campground. Unfortunately, we had forgotten to call ahead. We found out that our RV was so tall, we were in danger of having parts of our roof torn off since there were so many big, low branches. We drove to our second choice, Indigo Bluffs RV Park. While driving over to the second park, Lindsey was trying to get to the upper bed and slipped. Since I’m the great brother I am, I tried to catch her. However, Lindsey wanted to sit down and ended up sitting on my right hand, bending my fingers backwards. It hurt, but a little ice and time is making it feel better.

          After a delicious dinner of cheesy pasta and veggies, Tina and Shane wanted to introduce us to a game called Catch Phrase. Like Taboo, you try to help your team guess a word quickly without using the word. It was really fun but a little stressful because of the loud timer that is passed from person to person like a hot potato. We had a lot of fun and had to stop playing a couple times because we were laughing so hard. We played two rounds, and the team of Mom, Shane, Caitlin, and I won both times. Tina and Shane headed off to their rustic cabin an hour north of us and we all headed for bed.