"Do you know how Arch Rock was made?" he asked me. He turned around, leaning over the back of his seat. He had parked the horse drawn carriage and had all of us intrigued, ready for the story he was about to narrate. "Well..." he started.
He turned to face the front, speaking into his microphone as he continued conducting our tour of the island. He spun a tale of a princess, from the Tribe in the Sky, who fell in love with the Prince of the rival Tribe from the Earth. They had run away together against the will of their fathers, and when the Princess had been found, the Chief of the Tribe in the Sky chained her to a large limestone rock to punish her. She cried many tears for lost Prince of the Earth, whom her father had banished back to his tribe. Her plentiful tears eroded away the middle of the Rock, leaving a large arch formation. When her father came back to release her, his heart ached at the sight of her sadness. So, he went to speak to the Chief of the Tribe from the Earth. They agreed that the love between their children was true, and gave them their blessing.
He turned back around, seeing all the smiling faces in his buggy. "And so they got hitched, popped out a couple of kids and had a dog named Chester," he winked.
Growing up in Michigan is magical. I know, some of you are squinting your face at your screen right now thinking I swallowed too much lake water or got too much sun. But think about it. There are so many wonderful memories associated with summers in Michigan. I remember the time I found my first Petoskey stone. My grandma was so excited, we got lunch to celebrate. Or when they finally get the Ferries to Island up and running for the season. There are so many reasons to be grateful to be a Michigander.
For instance, there aren't many places frozen in time like Mackinac Island. A place where no cars are allowed and you travel by horse-drawn carriage. Where Superman and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman time travel and find love. Where a small stone church sits, ready for a wedding or a prayer. Where Arch Rock overlooks a beautiful lake. (I sound like a Pure Michigan commercial. Tim Allen, if you need a writer, I'm your girl.) Apparently, there are people all over the nation, and the world, who come to Michigan to see the Island that sits "Somewhere In Time." I mean, they made a movie about it, so it's got to be pretty cool right?
My family thinks I'm crazy for loving this so much, but every time we head up North, I always make them stop at the Shoe Tree in Kalkaska on M131. You go past a McDonald's that's on the left side of the road, a little further down the road on the right is an old abandoned gas station and if you see a pink pig on the right-hand side of the road, you've gone too far! There are shoe trees all over Michigan, but this one is my favorite. I think that's because it means we're getting closer to Mackinaw.
There are lots of national parks, beaches, dunes and lakes to visit too. Torch Lake is stunningly blue with some great sand bars to drop anchor on. We camp at Tahquamenon Falls State Park in the summer. You can hike to the Upper and Lower falls from there. It is also only an hour drive from Munising, where you can visit Pictured Rocks National Lake shore. We rented a pontoon and floated around the whole lakeshore and saw a sunken ship. Also in Munising, you can do the Glass Bottom Boat Tour to see the old sunken ships in Lake Superior.
Michigan road trips are the best. Most of the time, you end up at a lake. (I guess that's what happens when your state is made up of two peninsulas.) We make the trip to Grand Haven quite frequently in the summer. You're either going to swim, get Pronto Pups, or go for the Coast Guard Celebration. All options are good. (Bonus, you can go in the winter when the lake freezes over and walk on the ice out past the pier. Terrifying but so awesome.)
All in all, summer here is wonderful. Lots of sun, lots of beach time, and lots of memories. Obviously, I only spoke about a few, but if we really dove into how amazing Michigan is, we'd be writing a book. And so when summer turns to autumn and the leaves change colors, we can begin our Color Tours and look back on the wonderful weather while we dread driving in snow storms. So next time someone asks where you're from, show them your Mittens and point out your town. Whether you're a Yooper from da UP eh, or a Troll from the below the Bridge, I think it's safe to assume we all think it's great to be a Michigander.
