From Epoufette to Doran Park

From Epoufette to Doran County Park (Stanwood MI)
I pulled up stakes this morning and headed south across the Mackinac Bridge. Wow it was as great as walking it the day before and you can see forever from the top of the bridge. I spent some time on the southern end of the bridge and visited the town of Mackinaw City.
The city was founded in 1715 as a French trading post as was much of the area around here. It was not before the British defeated the French that this area came under British control. It was an area of commerce due to the Straits of Mackinaw between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron and the trade was beaver pelts. There was a fort here and several lighthouses were erected along the coast to help prevent ship disasters. Most of the commerce in the early 1700 and 1800’s was by ship and boat. Roads were at best poor in those days if at all. But, due to again the Great Lakes you could with portages in places navigate all the way to New York and the European marketplaces with your furs going out and trade goods coming back.
They have the lighthouse and even a building used to produce a huge foghorn with steam power as well as a fort with reproductions in it and reenactments of the period.
I did not bother to visit the icebreaker museum but they also have a decommissioned Coast Guard Icebreaker now used as a maritime museum here. It is hot here and I wanted to get on my way.
I traveled down I-75 to I-127 and then to I-55 and then I-131 going south and west bordering Lake Michigan. I have called my cousin Vicki and her husband Bill in Benton Harbor and actually they live in St. Joeseph which is right next to it. I will visit with them tomorrow and possibly Thursday and then go to the Detroit area and viit wit hmy cousin David and his wife Miriam. David and I were about the same age and grew up together as kids visiting often as his family lived in Detroit and we lived in Windsor just across the river from them (although we were two countries apart the distance was only about 1 mile).
The terrain was rolling hills today with most of it being forested. I even ran across a stretch of Christmas tree farms. Right now I am in a campsite on Lake Hardy I believe (at least it is the Hardy Dam), and my spot overlooks a channel for boat docks and then just a short ways away is the lake. I even took a swim today and some more photos of swans. There must be two dozen of them here.
Well time for Scruffy’s walk.
1 A history of the fort
2 Lighthouse and foghorn building
3 Road scenery
4 Last look at the Mackinac Bridge
5 Swans on the lake