The Grand Voyage!

A: Hampden, ME

B: Great Barrington, MA

C: Erie, PA

D: Cheboygan, MI

E: Kingsford, MI

Four days and 1,500 miles later...

The Mighty Mac

The Mackinac Bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere with a total length of  26,372 feet; suspension length of 8,614 feet.  The bridge is approximately 200 feet above the water at the highest point and just a few feet shy of 5 miles long.

The idea of a bridge connecting the two peninsulas began in February of 1884, but ground didn't break until May of 1954. The bridge opened for traffic on November 1st, 1957 all according to plan.

The Mackinac Bridge is the fifth longest suspension bridge in the world. The longest suspension bridge is the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan with a suspension length of 12,826 feet. 

The total length of wire used to build the Mackinac Bridge is 42,000 miles. That would be like driving across the United States (east to west) 14.5 times!  

The bridge weighs a whopping 1,024,500 tons! That's over 2 billion pounds!

The building of the bridge employed over 11,000 people working as engineers, construction workers, and in quarries, shops, and mills.

The bridge cost $99,800,000 to build and was funded through bonds. These bonds were paid up by July 1, 1986, however, there is still a fare to cross to help cover the cost of operating and maintaining the bridge. It is $4 for a standard car to cross the bridge. 

Even when the bridge "moves", it can only move in the direction in which the wind is blowing. We didn't notice any rocking or moving of the bridge while crossing and it was really windy.

It was absolutely amazing to cross and experience how giant the bridge actually is. I wasn't nervous or scared at all, just in awe. :)

On the Lake

When Jesse got out of work this afternoon, the three of us went to Cowboy Lake Park so Jack could get some exercise. Since there were no fishermen on the lake, we walked down there to check it out. It turned out to be a perfect fetch location for Jack.

The tire tracks make a road for trucks drive on to place their ice fishing shacks on the lake. Yes, what you are seeing in this picture is a frozen, snow covered lake.

Jack was loving it! We can't let him out off leash where we're living, but it's nice to have so many wide open spaces so close.

I'm excited for summer to experience all of these places for swimming and hiking!

Cowboy Lake Park

This morning Jack and I decided to go for a walk at Cowboy Lake Park by the airport in Kingsford. The website had said there was a 1.5 mile groomed loop so we bundled up and set out.

 Now, it had snowed overnight and has continued to snow all day so far but I have only seen one snow plow and only the major roads have been plowed. Definitely feel right at home. :) 

When we got to the park, I couldn't really find an opening in the woods or any semblance of the beginning of a trail. Jack didn't care, he was bounding and rolling around in the fresh powder. It didn't take me long to find out that wherever the trail was, it was definitely not groomed. There seemed to be a packed down foot trail that went along the Menominee River, so we started down that. Had I been equipped with snowshoes it probably would have been fine, but since I was not, I was sinking every few steps or so and it was VERY slow going. As always, Jack was completely unphased and enjoying the freedom. 

As you drive in, you are facing a power plant, to the left is where I was struggling in 3 feet of snow and crust, and at the other is the opening of Cowboy Lake. Once we made it back to the road, I leashed up Jack to walk down to the lake. I knew there were probably ice fishermen out and since Jack is so insistent on making friends, I didn't want to take any chances of him running out onto the frozen lake. 

I was surprised to see so many geese out and about once we got down by the lake. Although the calendar says it is spring, it is still very much winter weather. Jack jumped up with all four paws in the air when the geese started honking at him. He just stood there frozen staring back at them with all the fur on his back standing on end. Once they flew away, I unhooked Jack and said, "Find the car!"  He booked it all the way to the jeep and sat there until I caught up to let him in. 

On the way back, I wanted to see if I could find my way to the house without using my gps. Unfortunately, I missed a turn and wound up in Wisconsin. No joke. There was a bridge that went over the Menominee River and then a big building that had WISCONSIN painted on the side. Jesse had said we lived close to the state line, but I didn't think THAT close. Sure enough, I turned around and pulled out my phone...5 minutes away from the house. Pretty neat. Now I can officially say that this trip has brought me through 8 states - Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, AND Wisconsin. 

Road Trip Wrap Up: Day Four!

I may not stay awake long enough to complete this post... We arrived at the house in Kingsford early this afternoon and have not stopped running around since. Unfortunately we won't have internet until Friday so I won't be able to post any of the pictures from my camera until then. The Mackinac Bridge blog post will have to wait!  We are all settled in and Jesse starts work tomorrow. Jack and I get a day of relaxation (and getting over my cold) tomorrow before the job hunt begins on friday. Keep your fingers, toes, and eyeballs crossed! If not, I will have to be a stay at home puppy mama.

Central Time

We are now in the Central Time Zone!  The transition was rather anticlimactic. There was a little sign that came out of nowhere (so I obviously didn't have time to take a picture, womp) and then our phones went back an hour 5 minutes later. No bright red dotted line on the pavement the way it appears on the map or a globe. So it is noon here in Powers, MI and most likely all we will be doing with the extra hour is unpacking and grocery shopping. 

Upper Peninsula

We made it across the Mackinac Bridge and are now driving along Lake Michigan on the Upper Peninsula! 

Sunrise on the Cheboygan River

Good morning from Cheboygan, MI! This is our last morning of traveling and we expect to arrive in Kingsford, MI this afternoon. I seem to have caught a cold and since I couldn't fall back asleep this morning, I decided to catch the sunrise on the river.

Jack was very amused by the ducks until he realized he had no way of getting to them from the back porch. Since then, he has been whining out the door to get at those ducks. Silly dog.

Cheboygan, MI

Since there isn't a full size tub in the house we are moving to, tonight was really the last night we could give Jack a bath ourselves for a while. That being said, bathing an 80 pound dog in a hotel room is a terrible idea. Thankfully there are two beds so we can switch over to the least soggy one at bedtime.

Now that we are all dry (ish), it is definitely time for bed. What a long day today was!

Road Trip Wrap Up: Day Three!

Things we learned today:

1. Jack looks absolutely ridiculous when his lips take flight with his head out the window on the interstate. 

2. It goes from sunny to snowing just as easily in Michigan as in Maine. 

3. Every lake is small when compared to a Great Lake. This is Mullett Lake. Not small, but you can actually see the other side.

4. Chicago dogs improve in quality the closer you get to Chicago.

5. Billboards ruin scenery and important photos.

6. ...but sometimes they can be clever and humorous which make up for the tacky ones.

Evening Update

To further cut back our driving time tomorrow, we decided it would be best to stop for the night in Mackinaw City; the town right before the Mackinac Bridge. After calling 6 of the 11 hotels we found out that only 2 were open and neither of those were pet friendly. One gentleman tried to see if there was something he could do but you can't really hide an 80 pound Lab puppy that insists on befriending everything that moves.  We decided to still stop in Gaylord for supper, but then continue on to Cheboygan for the night. We ate the Alpine Tavern & Eatery and were not disappointed. The waitress's husband is originally from Maine and they had both lived in Portland for a while - small world. Jesse ordered a chicken plank dinner (fancy chicken tenders) that came with a ski (not joking, it was an actual ski with little divets cut into it) holding various dipping sauces. I ordered a burger (still slightly wishing I had gotten one at lunch so I needed to curb the craving) that was stuffed with cheddar cheese and bacon. I had never had a stuffed burger before and it was phenomenal. So yummy.  Now we are en route to Cheboygan, MI on the shores of the Cheboygan River. It's weird to think that tomorrow we will have reached our final U.P. destination. Here's to the last two hundred miles!

Lunch Update - Saline, Michigan

Jack had an absolute blast at the dog park. He made friends with a beagle named Savage and a golden retriever named Ike. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures because it was so windy it felt like all of my exposed skin was burning. Jack didn't seem to mind. A nice puppy mom recommended Dan's Downtown Tavern in Saline for an excellent burger. We just ordered and I can see the cook form the burger patty himself at the grill right on the other side of the bar. Now I'm wishing I had ordered a burger, but I guess  I'm still pretty excited for my Chicago dog. When in Rome, right?

We're in the Mitten!

We officially in Michigan! Just 45 minutes or so until Ann Arbor where we stop for lunch and scope out a leash-free dog park. We are still using Eastern Standard Time. I'll have to check when we switch over to Central. I had forgotten to change my watch when we "sprung ahead" for daylight savings so I guess that saves me a step. :) 

"Sightseeing" from I-80 in Ohio

There haven't been many attractions for a while in Ohio worth stopping for (with the exception of Cinnabon in a rest stop coming up in a few miles). I've resorted to taking pictures of the farm fields as we cruise by.

This is my first time in Ohio, but I definitely have some experience with farm fields. If you look all around here, the land is completely flat. In Maine, the farmers had to work with the natural curvature of the lands; valleys and hills. There is none of that in Ohio. 

I love that there are so many silos and water towers. Definitely not what you would see as you drove by potato fields in northern Maine.

Welcome to Ohio!

First thing I noticed upon entry to Ohio is there was about as much snow on the ground as May in Maine.  It's 25 degrees here which isn't too bad for 9 am.  

Last night we decided to change our travel plans. I was too curious about the Mackinac Bridge to bypass it. Instead of going up Wisconsin and around to the Upper Peninsula, we will be traveling through the mitten! 

Our travel goal is to stop in Ann Arbor, MI for lunch and stay in Gaylord, MI for the night. We are passing through Geneva, OH now and should be arriving in Ann Arbor by 12:30! 

End of Day Two!

On to more adventures tomorrow!

Road Trip Wrap Up: Day Two

So, I had planned to post a daily wrap up at the end of each day with captions to go along with pictures I took on my digital camera. Sleep was more of a priority last night and today was much more entertaining anyway.  :)

We left Great Barrington, MA a little after 8 am and wanted to drive across the entire state of New York before stopping in Buffalo, NY for lunch and a walk around U.B.  We then took a little detour to check out the American side of Niagara Falls. It was SO cold and really misty, but there was virtually no crowd and the view was so amazing!  Definitely a place I would like to visit again.  Now, we are settled in Erie, PA for the night!

How we all felt at 8 am.

The Hudson River

Heading to Niagara Falls!

The Niagara River

The Falls!

It was so cold!