September 2-3, 2017 Saturday – Sunday
What you notice first in Mackinaw City are all the T-shirt stands, fudge shops, hotels, and restaurants. But you soon realize that the village has done a great job showcasing the history of the area. There is a two-mile pathway that displays forty-six markers that feature historical displays outlining the history of the city and the Straits area.
Saturday was the Third Annual National Rally & Pipe Out Paddle Protest in Mackinaw City, Michigan and two of the canoes were launched at our marina. It was interesting to get their perspective on the pipeline and to have a close-up view of their canoes.
From our boat, we can see the remains of the Mackinaw City Railroad Dock and the old Coast Guard Icebreaker Mackinac WAGB-83. The railroad dock is where trains were loaded onto ferries to cross the Mackinac Straits. The A-frame device adjusted the height of the tracks to match the decks of the ships for loading and off-loading the trains. The icebreaker, once known at the Queen of the Great Lakes, is now a floating museum. It was fascinating to tour the ship, see the six massive diesel engines, and learn how the ice is broken. They do no bash through the ice, they are designed to ride up on top of the ice. As the ship moves forward, the hull rides up over the ice and the weight of the boat crushes the ice. This process repeats as the icebreaker clears a channel.
It was interesting to see three of the guns from the most famous ship in the Union Navy, the U.S.S. Hartford in Mackinaw City. You may remember me mentioning the U.S.S. Hartford in December as Rear-Admiral David G. Farragut’s ship in the Battle of Mobile Bay.
