Well we had planned to take the boat and anchor over on Beaver Island , but with winds being an issue we felt like a break.We biked over to the Ferry terminal in town and caught the 8.30 am Ferry.
It was a 2 hour ride across and very relaxing .Sun was out and provided we stayed on the left side of the ferry , we didn't get the full brunt of the winds, The Ferry was called the Emerald Isle.
Walked over to the tours office and at 11 am we headed off in a white van (we being the only ones for the 1 1/2 hour tour of the northern part of the island).
Graeme didn't think he could handle the 3 hour all island tour and he proved to be right.
There are only10 miles of paved roads here. Rest is just dirt roads , evident when you see the local cars all dusty and dirty. No car washing going on here! Today pop is about 551 permanent residents.
Turns out our guide/ driver ( we never got her name) was a very recently retired university proffessor of education , and she was wonderful.
Had lived here in the summers for the past 11 years and had just built a permanent house on the Island. She had lots of information to share with us on our private tour. One piece of info , Monach butterflies stop on the island because of abundance of th milkweed plants the caterpillars eat.
Apparently it takes four generations of butterflies to make the full migration cycle. I think they end up in Mexico.
The history of this Island is indeed quite interesting .It has been settled first by native Indians, then Mormons, then Irish and lastly Jesuit Priests. The two most interesting characters are James Strang and Feodore Protar.James Strang , a Mormon decided to come to Beaver Island after failing to take Joseph Smiths place ( he was murdered).He brought with hm some faithful followers and as their numbers grew , he became arrogant and on July 8, 1850 , proclaimed himself king of the Island.
This lasted four years , then two disgruntled followers shot Strang and he died shortly afterwards.
Protar, was from Estonia and he ended up on the island in 1893 after yearning for a simple life.
He left his wife and child and became the Doctor for the island , although he had no formal medical training. He treated many patients in his time using simple remedies probably homeopathic .
He was loved by all.
After the tour, lunch was in order at the Shamrock pub and restaurant. Met a young Jamaican guy server who had lived in NZ for a few months and was very excited to meet and chat to us. Then we set out to all to the Whiskey Point lighthouse and check out some of the little museums and houses and also the Central Michigan University research building.They are studying the effect of invasive species on the local fish population.
Decided to stop at the Village pub for a beer then biked back to the boat for a left overs supper.
Watched a DVD called the Judge starring Robert Downy Jnr . Then time for bed.
Over and out,
E and G.
No comments:
Post a Comment