Lake Michigan: We Have Completed The Great Loop!

Lake Michigan:  We Have Completed The Great Loop!

Friday, July17- Monday July 20, 2015
Kick n' back on Drummond Island

                                          Drummond Island is left of center on map.

"To find the wilderness, go to the end of the road, then turn left and drive another mile."  At that point, you will arrive in Drummond.   It's the "Gem of the Huron".

                                                      Dream Chaser at the dock on the right, bow in.

By 4 pm on Friday, we had arrived at the Drummond Island Yacht Haven on Drummond Island in Michigan.  Drummond is an island community, 25 miles long and 12 miles wide, where you will find peace and tranquility.  Or, if its action you want...rent a four-wheeler and roam the island to the Fossil Ledges and then take the road to Marblehead.  If its unusual that you're looking for, make a reservation for an overnight stay at the DeTour Reef Lighthouse (off shore).

Drummond Island is a typical island in many ways with a market, post office, hardware store, medical center, restaurants, and tourist type shops.  Beaner's Place and Water Street Cafe, is a short walk from the marina.  Most of town and the restaurants serving meals are about 2 miles away, so we rented one of the marina's cars and ran errands.  We can report that Esther's Mexican Restaurant has great meals, and the Northwood's Restaurant and Bar is a favorite spot- busy day and night!  On display, in the Northwoods Bar, is the winning cardboard sled from the winter 2015 sled races held in the area.  Sounds like great fun!

One of the stores we stopped to check out was Port O' Call. The entrance is to the side of the building under the fishing boat!  This store is packed with all kinds of great things like toys, gift items, clothes, specialty food items, home-baked pastries, fudge, and ice cream.

           You just never know who may be bellying up to the bar in these island communities!

The Lighthouse Church, just a 15 minute walk from the marina, has a 10:30 am Sunday service.  Wonderfully friendly people, great pastor with an inspiring message, and good coffee! 

The Drummond Island Historical Museum, housed in a beautiful log structure, is a short walk from the marina and is located on a parcel of ground ground owned by the Seaman Family.  The foundation of the family's original 1850's home can be seen directly in front of the museum.
The Seaman family is the oldest family remaining on the island.  We chatted with a fifth generation grand daughter, and she filled us in on a number of things.
The Seaman family fled from Beaver Island in 1853 due to anti-Mormon sentiment.  The father, Murray,  had five children with his first wife and after she died, had 11 more with the his second wife, Betsy.  The island was inhabited by only native Indians when they arrived.  It was a hard life, and Murray died after ten years on the island.  Betsy was left with the children to feed, raise, home school, and provide for.   Since they were alone on the island, Betsy had no support.  In order to obtain supplies, Betsy sent two of her boys, ages eleven and six, 63 miles in a sailboat to the Soo for provisions.  They had to fight off bears on their way home.  Another time, Betsy paddled 27 miles across the water to a dentist in Thessalon, because one of her kids had an abscessed tooth.  Along with them (in the canoe) was a calf for payment of the dental services.  Members of the Seaman family farmed, lumbered, and sold land.  They carried mail and piloted the ferry from the island to the mainland.  They were noted to be the best navigators of upper Huron, familiar with shoals, and never got lost in the maize of islands. 
We were shown a picture from the 1800's of the primitive marina (where we are docked).  The marina was built next to a quarry and the picture shows slabs of limestone ready for shipment for use in the Sault Ste. Marie Locks. 
In spite of the island being closer to Canada than the U.S., Drummond Island was given to the US by the British after the War of 1812.  The story goes that the people in charge got the British surveyor very drunk and took him out surveying to the east around the island instead of north towards Canada.  Thus the water route on the east side of Drummond Island was named False Passage.  The British surveyor was very disorientated and placed the island in US hands.
The museum in fascinating and contains artifacts of the Indians, Finnish farmers, and Yankee settlers from the early period of history on the island.  Full of history!  Open daily 1-5 pm, the museum is worth the walk.

Our time on Drummond Island has been interesting and relaxing.  Perhaps, it is worth a return visit!


Monday, July 20, 2015

Today is a day of celebration! If all goes as planned, Dream Chaser will cross her wake!  In other words, we will have completed the loop by returning to the location where we began the Great Loop in August of 2013.
After a restful night and a quick breakfast, we began preparing for our departure.  The smell of bacon drew us outside to the dock where our neighbors were busy preparing breakfast.  One step off our boat, and we were in their kitchen.

Bacon was sizzling in an electric fry pan plugged into one of the dock outlets.  Every traveling boater needs an electric fry pan in their galley! Two couples from the Charlevoix area were setting up for a morning buffet.   Baxter, their tube riding dog, was greeting all who entered the vicinity, hoping for a nice "petting session".  We didn't even have to leave the boat, Baxter leaned out over the water so we could reach out and love him up.   Really a sweet dog!
We love these times of conversation with our dock neighbors.  Meeting people along the way has been a highlight of our trip. We chatted about looping, things to see in the area, and some navigation information regarding our route while breakfast cooked on the dock.  We also sampled their home-made bacon.  Delicious!
It was time to depart so we bid farewell.  Dream Chaser slipped from her dockage, headed back into Lake Huron, and pointed her bow towards DeTour, MI.

By 11 am, we entered DeTour State Harbor Marina, and Dream Chaser nosed into her slip.
(On August 3, 2013, we departed Madeline Island in Lake Superior, and Dream Chaser crossed her wake today at DeTour Michigan in Lake Huron.)                 
                   
                   Dream Chaser and her crew have completed the Great Loop Journey!

Lunch of tuna fish sandwiches took place on board Dream Chaser, and it was a low key afternoon of planning and reading.  After a late afternoon call to wish our daughter a "Happy Birthday", we borrowed the marina bikes and explored the DeTour area.

                         On our way to town, we saw two Sandhill cranes feeding in a yard.

Most of the few stores were closed, but we found a little restaurant with great whitefish dinners.  We struck up a conversation with a gentleman at nearby table who was working on the community's summer musical.   It was interesting hearing about his travels around the world and how music has led him on adventures for more than forty years.
The rain had poured down while we were eating dinner (good timing), and now that it had stopped, we were back on our bikes headed for the IGA to pick up some coffee creamer for Captain Steve.
After a nice evening walk, it was a quiet night of reading and an early lights out!

It had been quite an exciting day with our completion of The Great Loop!
Our last post for this bog will follow soon.