It was a wonderful day on Mackinac Island! Mackinac Island was the second National Park (after Yellowstone), but it was closed in 1895 by the Federal government. Then, Michigan established it as its first State Park, so this year, the Island is celebrating its 125th anniversary of being a State Park! And, we are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary! How appropriate!
We took a ferry that treated us to a trip under the Mackinac bridge which is the 5th longest suspension bridge in the world at 5 miles long and 552 ft above the water! There were spectacular views of the bridge. And, I discovered we were actually in Lake Huron (I always thought it was Lake Michigan--oops!) 
The Grand Hotel is the island's principal landmark and greeted us as we approached. It's the showplace of the island, built in 1887, and where "Somewhere in Time" was filmed. (Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour).
The Island banned automobiles in 1898, so the only mode of transportation on the island is walking, biking or horse-drawn carriage. 
It's amazing to experience the "quiet" without cars! We brought our bikes with us (which cost an additional $12 each to load on the ferry!) and decided to focus on exploring the island. We rode the entire perimeter of the island which is a little over 8 miles. The road is M-185...the only state highway where cars are banned. The only drawback to no cars is the challenge of dodging horse poop on the road!. It was pretty funny! There were some awesome sights along the way, as we rode along the shoreline. That's Jim in the picture!
Arch Rock is an impressive structure that spans 50 feet and rises 146 feet above the water. The arch was formed over thousands of years by wind and water eroding the soft rock below. We climbed a lot of steps to get to the top, and got another view from below.
We also found Devils Kitchen, a cave of brecciated limestone (a new term for me!) 
There were lots of bike riders--Check out the dog crate on back of this bike--we didn't tell Spot that he could have joined us if we'd known they had dog carriers! (He would be mad.)
We had lunch at a Bistro overlooking the water, and it included a hibiscus-vodka-lemonade that was yummy! Another yummy is Mackinac's well-known hand made fudge,. Of course we had to visit and sample the product. We left with a bag full of assorted fudge...I hope it makes it home!
The scenery on the island was stunning and there was so much more to see, but we'll save that for another day. It was the perfect place the celebrate a special anniversary!
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