Left Indian Lake to try for a spot in Wilderness State Park near Mackinaw City, right on the water. Now that we’re back across the bridge and back in flatland23, we’ll have to drop the Yooper vernacular. Sorry.
Warning: there’s about a two mile stretch of Wilderness Park Road that looks like it was pushed together slightly from both ends; it has a perfectly formed undulating surface with just exactly the right space between humps to make your trailer and tow vehicle seesaw and gyrate like a mechanical bull. The posted speed limit is 35, but believe me, there’s no way you’re gonna drive it faster than about 20 MPH and keep all your wheels on the ground. When we finally got there at the office, there were several parties already in line checking in, which was OK, because while I was waiting I got a chance to let my liver settle back into position.
When I got to the desk, I asked, “Do ooh ooh yoo ooh ooh ha ha have any si si sites oh oh open for th-th-th-ree nights ss ss?”
“Rough road, huh?” she replied.
As it turned out they had quite a few sites open, so she marked us up a map with all the open spots so we could take a drive through to scope them out.
Our spot was pretty small, and when we got the pod pulled in it was just big enough for it and truck, but not big enough to put the rDome out without totally rearranging everything, or possibly the use of a chainsaw. A short trip to the camp store for some firewood and ice and we were settled in for the day. We were in the Lakeside campground, which is the older and smaller of the two campgrounds in this huge 10,000 acre park. The sites here are pretty small, as I mentioned, and some are uneven. Most are suitable for tents, popups, or pods, although we did see some pretty big rigs cleverly wedged in, as we’ll explain later. The other campground is the Pines campground, across the main road back in the woods, and it looks newer, with larger level paved sites, but not on the water. Either one would be a good choice.
There’s plenty to do in the area. You can go shopping in Mackinaw City if you’re so inclined, where you can get some famous Mackinac Island Fudge. (Side note: in 1998 we went to Sedona, AZ, and the first store we saw when we drove into town was “Kilwin’s Mackinac Island Fudge.”) Colonial Fort Michilimackinac is there in town. Or you take the ferry to Mackinac Island, getting a cool view of the Mackinaw Bridge and several lighthouses in the process. You can’t take your car though; only bicycles and horses allowed on the island. You can also buy more fudge on the island if you run out. They also have an excellent selection of Minnetonka moccasins, and you can stock up on rubber tomahawks as well. When you disembark from the ferry, you’ll be struck by the two predominant smells on the island: fudge and horse poop.
I kid about the island because I’m a native Michigander and so have an automatic license to do so. It’s actually very beautiful. Rent a bike and circumnavigate the island. Take a horse drawn guided tour, or, if you’re really brave, rent a rig and drive your own. The horses know where to go anyway. It’s not all shops; there’s beaches, rock formations, some beautiful old homes, as well as the harbor if you’re a boat person. It just so happens there’s another fort there too: Fort Mackinaw. Lots of skirmishes involving the French, British, and the upstart Americans back in the day.
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