Tuesday, August 10, 2021

 Day #16

Fried southern style hash browns, scrambled with eggs and garlic was our hearty breakfast this morning, before heading out to Mackinac Island.

Driving out of the campground, we turned right to get to north 75. We knew that turning left was four miles to Thumb Lake Road as that was the way we drove in and wanted to explore a different route. The GPS was showing Penfield Road went through, so we took this road. A sign said that the road was a “seasonal road and was not plowed in the winter”.  Well, it wasn’t plowed in the summer either and we soon learned that a seasonal road sign really meant “STOP, GREENFOOTS FROM THE SOUTH, you may have drove over Curtis Creek, but this has got it beat” Enjoy the video below!

After that we stayed away from any seasonal road. Traveled lots of dirt roads as they were the main travel roads. Seasonal roads were goat trails for ORV and snow mobiles!

Heading north on 75, the fog greeted us. The closer we got to Mackinaw City, MI the foggier it got, barely seeing 50-100 yards. Stopping at the visitor center, the lady there was great, sharing lots of helpful information. Because of the fog, we decided to not go to Mackinac Island, instead drive the lake road through the “Tunnel of Trees”.

Turning onto the Wilderness State Road, south of Mackinac City, we came upon what we think was a bald eagle perched in the top of a tree, next to the lake and loons. The bald eagle stayed in his perch for as long as we were parked there.

This drive took us to the Legs Inn for lunch.  Cross Village township is home to the Legs Inn, an authentic Polish & American cuisine restaurant. I wish I had taken my camera with me, but the eclectic décor that the brochure describes as “unmatched ambiance”. Polish immigrant Stanly Smolak, became friends of the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and in 1921 settled in Cross Village, building the Legs Inn.  The Inn continues to be owned by his descendants for the past 91 years.

Two huge portions

The food was truly amazing with huge portions. Doug had a sampler plate of beef, pork and rice stuffed cabbage, beef pirogue and a stew beef, polish kielbasa stew all topped with a polish tomato sauce. (Think Campbell tomato soup). 

I had the beef, pork and rice stuffed cabbage topped with tomato sauce and seasoned sour kraut – (A-MAZZ-ENING) We took half of each of our plates home for another meal, because of course we had to try authentic Polish dessert.

In this picture, as you can tell by Doug’s expression, his apple crepe with lemon sauce, was delicious.

Down south, I would call my dessert a “mixed berry cobbler a’ la mode”. Blueberry, Raspberry, Blackberry and apple were cooked into the crumble crust of this cobbler. Just a note on the size of my cobbler – that is half of the serving. The other half was already boxed and ready to take back with us.

The “Tunnel of Trees” was recommended by several people that we had ask what we should see, including the lady at the visitor center. The 20-mile, single-lane road, with the only lines being a white line on either side, allowed just enough passing room with the vehicle you were meeting. We were expecting massive, matching trees that arched over the road – you know like a tunnel! The tunnel part was how close the trees were to the road. It was a beautiful drive along the coast line. The way people described the homes along this route, we expected 5-6,000 square foot home, like in Biltmore Forest area of Asheville. We may have seen two homes like that. All the others were probable built in the 1960-1980s and were maximum 2-3,000 square feet. Some meticulously groomed landscapes, while others had not seen a lawn mower or trash dump in months. 

The views of the fog-shrouded lake were sparse along this cliff road, with the mountainside sometimes dropping 80-100 feet.

Just south of Cross Village is a township called Good Hart. The general store made up the one building township. The general store also housed the 50-box post office.

As we pulled out of the PO parking lot, four deer crossed the road. I caught the last one with my camera – a momma and three fawns.