Dan and Vicki Coyote Travels

Unsalted and Touchdown Jesus

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

South Bend, Indiana, United States

Unsalted – Saw this banner … The Great Lakes are very proud of their 'fresh water'!

MACKINAC ISLAND, Michigan

Our travels east brought us to St. Ignace (pronounced St. Ig-niss). After checking out all three ferry companies (we hate making decisions, but the competition does keep the cost down), we headed up a few miles and settled down in an Ojibwa casino parking lot for the night (boondocking). The next morning we packed up what we needed and headed to the ferry for a day long excursion to Mackinac Island (pronounced Mac-kin-naw … French influence here). We and our bicycles sailed across. The boat trip included a tangential trip under the Mackinac Bridge. This bridge is FIVE miles long and connected the U.P. of Michigan to the trolls below in the Lower Peninsula. Those who live in the U.P. call themselves Yoopers. We even saw a t-shirt that said, "Yooper Border Patrol, Protecting our Stuff". The bridge demarks the split between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron (pronounced hurine – honest).

The Island is beautiful and even the guidebooks don’t prepare you for the sights to see and the interesting natural environment … once you leave the touristy fudge and souvenir shops and restaurants. To accomplish this we climbed on our bikes and headed out on the eight-mile trail that circumnavigated the island. Note: 8 bike miles are 17,000 steps, or pedals. As there are no automobiles on the island, bicycles, horses and feet are the modes of transportation. Picture of Dan with Inukshuks on the east side of the island with Lake Huron.Pictures also of an Arch from inside we had to hike up the hill from the bike trail to get this shot. And the grotto with Vicki is called Devil’s Kitchen.

At the end of our bike ride, we asked a carriage driver the best restaurant in town and Blake sent us to the Seabisquit. A rotund gentleman with the darkest skin and the largest snaggle-toothed grin, showed us a great place to sit and shared stories of the island. He had lived and worked there for 20 years. Joe wins the prize for friendliest person we’ve met so far. Best Whitefish Reuben we’ve ever had (only one I’ve ever had).

The tree on the island in the picture with the orange berries is called a Rowan Tree. We call it our grandson tree.

After 9 hours on the island, we headed back on the ferry and hit the road … over the Mackinac Bridge, five mile bridge. After a quiet night in a Walmart parking lot in Cheboygan, it took 7 hours to travel the entire length of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula heading south and 25 miles into Indiana arriving at Potato Creek State Park near South Bend, and signed up for three nights. The second night the campground was completely deserted… school must be starting tomorrow.

NOTRE DAME

Sunday morning found us at Mass in the Basilica of Sacred Heart in Notre Dame University. For those who have been here … you know! For us, it was a jaw-dropping experience. Later that day, we had a private tour of the church (we were the only ones there) by Joe N. and he asked us how much time we had … we said nine weeks. So he became another good friend showing us spots of beauty and points of interest that are not in the guide book. We talked theology and art and sculpture and history.

Those of you from here … here’s something you’ve not seen! Note that the organ is BRAND NEW, only just installed and astonishing, not ready for full performance yet. We heard it playing as they were ‘voicing’ it. Picture only … as words elude us.

However, ND is not just a spectacular church or even great football, so we came back the next day for a tour of the Notre Dame Campus. At the visitor center we talked to a student, Danni, who said she was a townie (born in South Bend). We shared stories of our travels … she went to Ireland last semester for a student semester there. And on the campus we met a couple from Pennsylvania, Steve and Shawn, who shared with us the amazement of the university grounds… 175 years of landscape and building atmosphere.