September 14, 2025 (Sun.) - Part 1 (Day) - Fort Michilimackinac
Today’s plan was simple: visit Fort Michilimackinac. But with the aurora lighting up the evening, Lynn decided to split the day into two posts—this one covers the daytime adventures.
The morning was slow and familiar—Lynn up around 8, Kirk around 10. After breakfast and a bit of lounging, we headed out to the Fort. It’s a short drive from the campground and overlooks the Straits of Mackinac, where Lake Michigan meets Lake Huron.
Before exploring the Fort, we stopped at the Lake Huron shoreline for bridge photos, visited the nearby lighthouse (we didn’t pay to go inside the lighthouse), snapped some fun “troll” pics under the Mackinac Bridge, then crossed over to grab bridge shots from the Lake Michigan side. Technically, both sides are part of the Straits, but we like calling them by their lake names. It was a beautiful sunny day with kids flying kites, racing remote controlled boats under the bridge and people just relaxing at the park enjoying the view.
After exploring the shoreline, we headed into Fort Michilimackinac ($16 per person). The site was surprisingly engaging—informative displays, staff in period dress ready to answer questions, and even working gardens and chickens that reflect colonial life. While they offer presentations and demonstrations, we happened to visit during a quiet stretch and missed those. Still, it’s fascinating to know the fort is an active archaeological site, with ongoing digs uncovering 18th-century artifacts.
It took us about an hour and a half to go through the fort and by then we were ready for lunch. We finally got a table at Darrow’s Restaurant—our second attempt. Kirk ordered the Sunday Broasted Chicken special, and Lynn went with a hot beef sandwich. Kirk’s chicken was decent but not as crispy as we’d hoped. Lynn’s sandwich? Delicious.
We swung by the campground office afterward. With the broken leaf spring Kirk found last night, we needed to extend our stay—and luckily, we were able to book another week. Looks like we’ll be in Mackinaw City until 9/24/25 and hopefully we can get it repaired by then.
The rest of the afternoon was all about relaxing—reading, napping, and a little TV. Dinner was low-key in the RV.
Later, it was Lynn’s hair-washing night, which in RV life depends on water usage and tank status. She timed it just right after Kirk dumped the grey tank. By 9:30 PM, she was done with her nighttime routine all snuggled in bed.
Then at 9:50 PM, Lynn got an alert on her phone: “The aurora may be visible in your area in the next hour.” Unlike last time—when she ignored a 2 AM alert—she wasn’t missing it this time, plus it was a reasonable hour this time! To be continued in the next post…
Weather – High 69*, Low 58*. Wind 1-16 mph. No rain. No humidity.
Traffic – None.
Food – Nothing notable.
Notable – Fort Michilimackinac.
