Great Lakes Day 13: Colonial Michilimackinac, Lighthouses

 Today was a sunny, beautiful day! First day with no rain in over a week.

We went to McGulpin lighthouse and grounds. We walked down to the shore of Lake Michigan.

Megan and U with McGulpin Rock and Lake Michigan. See the Mighty Mac way in the background?

McGulpin Lighthouse. We really enjoyed touring it as we were able to go into all of the rooms and really get a feel for what it was like to live there.

View from the top of the lighthouse. There was some really nice fall color!

Megan outside the adjacent building.

We then went to Colonial Michilimackinac which was really interesting. We learned about the people who lived here (not just the approximately 80 soldiers--there were around 2000 people in the summer and 200 in the winter). One of the officers had a chipmunk named Tim. They also had 2 types of dogs, a pair of swans and a parrot as pets. Soldiers who wished to marry had to get permission and the prospective wife would be interviewed to see what she could add to the community. We learned about the food they ate, including that infant and child mortality went down when they started drinking tea and coffee (because the water was boiled). 

Firing the cannon.

Some of the charred remains from the powder room. When the fort was moved to Mackinac Island, they burned the structures that remained at Colonial Michilimackinac so that they could not be used by invaders.

Rifle firing

Inside a waginogan that the Natives lived in during the time.

Outside the waginogan.

Matthew and Megan trying out the beds in the barracks. They said they were scratchy.

Captain Matthew reading a declaration.

U on the elevated walkway with some of the grounds of the fort behind him. You can also see where they are excavating a row house. Once they are done with that, they will build a replica.

Communal bathroom...

Original well with water still in it.

View from one of the watchtowers.

Matthew and the cannon at one of the gates.

Matthew really enjoyed sitting on cannons.

A view into one of the yards from the elevated walkway.

Silver punch bowl from the DePeysters, one of the British commanders of the post.

Info about the bowl.

Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse. 

Dinner at Mama Mia's.

Special mayo.

Some memorabilia from the construction of the Mackinac Bridge.

Views from our hotel room.

We roasted marshmallows and ate s'mores on the beach.