The Chi-Cheemaun Ferry and the Mackinac Bridge

I’ve been doing some reading and exploring maps prior to our departure for the Great Lakes Loop in a few weeks. I seem to be fascinated with two points of interest on our trip. One is the ferry we will take across Lake Huron from Bruce Peninsula (Tobermory) to South Baymouth on the Manitoulin Island.

My first curiosity about the ferry is how the heck you pronounce that name. While I’ve been unsuccessful in finding a pronunciation, I have discovered its meaning. Chi-Cheemaun is Ojibwe for “big canoe.” It’s a big canoe all right, at 365 feet long. It can carry 143 automobiles and 638 passengers. It is the largest ship of its kind on the Great Lakes.

We will spend two hours aboard the Chi-Cheemaun. I am counting on a glorious day, as the view coming into South Baymouth is reported to be fantastic. We had to reserve our space and pay extra for that, as it seems the time we wish to cross is also popular with others.

From 2009 season

My other fascination is for the Mackinac Bridge. Here I had more luck with the pronunciation, which is approximately mack-in-awe. The Mackinac spans the Straits of Mackinac. It was dedicated the world's longest suspension bridge between anchorages. By saying "between anchorages", the bridge could be considered longer than the Golden Gate Bridge and also longer than the suspended western section of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge. (That bridge has a longer total suspension but is a double bridge with an anchorage in the middle.). The Mackinac Bridge is the longest suspension bridge with two towers between anchorages in the Western Hemisphere (source wikipedia)

From 2009 season

The bridge is about 5 miles long and while I’m excited about crossing it, I have a few fears as well. One concern is that I have no idea what kind of decking is on this bridge. I certainly do not want to see the water below my tires with my fear of heights. If the decking is grating, then the tires could slip around on the surface. If you add a strong wind to the day, things could get a bit dicey. However, worry, as a characteristic, usually proves to be unfounded, so for the moment I’m going with that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackinac_Bridge#Length

Reflection

I remember my first solo motorcycle ride. The clouds scuttled across the sky and a stiff breeze bent the tall grasses along the roadway. The engine rumbled beneath me, the road twisted ahead in an unending ribbon of mystery in ways I had never seen before. The smell of leather mixed with the heady scents of spring. My emotions were a mixture of exhilaration and fear. My mind occupied with a million rapid fire instructions and distractions causing my knees to jump from the adrenaline rush. The thoughts unfolding in kaleidoscope fashion as neuron transmitters fired this instruction and that.

“Watch where you want the motorcycle to go.”
“Counter steer through that strong gust of wind.”
“Look at the birds returning from their wintering grounds.”
“Smell the sweetness of the spring earth.”
“You control the motorcycle, it does not control you.”

Every instruction I learned in the motorcycle safety course played in an unending loop. After 77 miles I pulled into my drive, exhausted!

How things have changed. In one day over the weekend I traveled more than 300 miles, just to enjoy lunch at a favorite lake in Maine. With gentle Blaze beneath me, we need no self talk, just quiet enjoyment together.

Along the way we stop, I dismount, and together we have a moment of silent reflection, and send a prayer of thanks for the liberties we enjoy that allow such moments as this possible.

From 2009 season

Great Lakes Loop

I kiss all the babies one last time, hug my daughter and tell her she will be OK on her own and make my way back to New Hampshire. Andy and I are just settling in when the phone rings. It’s Lee, he’s working on our vacation plans and needs input. As the conversation progresses, I can feel the anticipation rise as we discuss this option and that. Our destination this year is to the Great Lakes. Yes, all of them, in one great loop.

We are hammering out the final details. First Lee is constructing a route. The major focus at this moment is time. Time as in the number of days we have to ride, how many hours in a day we want to ride, and the time, distance and obstacles we have to consider that may affect our time, and where we want to budget for more time.

When we are all in agreement about time, we will focus on where and how to spend it. There is Niagara of course, and a curiosity about Toronto where none of us have been. We want to take the ferry to the tip of Bruce Peninsula. We are curious about the area where three of the lakes nearly touch each other. We will spend an extra day here to explore. We want to take our bikes over the longest suspension bridge in the country at over 5 miles long. Why not? After all we went over the highest suspension bridge last year in Colorado. Once over the bridge we will ride for 200 shore miles along Lake Huron.

With all of us in agreement over these major points of interest, our next step is to investigate other possible sight seeing venues that fit into our time management. Here is a rough draft of our route as it stands today. If you know of any points of interest we should not miss, drop me a line. But don’t dally, our departure is mid July, and time, once again, is a factor.

From Great Lakes