SOMEWHERE BACK IN TIME - ON MACKINAC ISLAND
By Jamie Ross
(For Travel Writers' Tales)

“Giddy-Up big fellow” I say, and with a flick of the lines, I coax my dapple-grey Percheron carriage horse into a trot.

This is the only place I know where you can hire your own self-drive horse and buggy. So I tap into some long-ago experience, driving teams and winter sleighs in Banff National Park, and take the reins of the solid draft horse named Skye for a splendid tour along the coastal road of Mackinac Island. Skye is attentive and responsive, but also seems quite patterned to the job I have hired him to do. He is a professional, an old hand at taking care of greenhorns. We clip-clop around the island roads for a couple hours, dodging cyclers, joggers, and pedestrians, and then return Skye to his home at Jack's Livery Stable – a gallon of oats for my horse and a beer for me. Managing your own horse and carriage is a wonderful, old-fashioned way to experience the Mackinac's pretty backroads and byways.

An enclosed horse-drawn hansom taxi transfers me from the ferry terminal to the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island

Mackinac Island (pronounced Mack-in-awe) sits in Lake Huron, between Michigan's Upper and Lower peninsulas, and is a short hour drive from the Canadian border at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Exploring this unique island, it becomes quickly apparent that everything about this place is a trifle old-fashioned – like the ferry ride across the Straits of Mackinac transports visitors through a time-portals, sending them back to the 1920's. It is an island filled with charm and character. Mackinac Island State Park makes up most of the island and no cars are allowed; so visitors walk, rent bikes, take a saddle horse or hire a horse-drawn carriage to explore the small 4.35 square miles (11.3 km2) island. There are only 600 year-round residents living here, while during the summer there are more than 500 horses.

At Fort Mackinac interpreters in authentic Prussian-style uniforms circa 1895 demonstrate musket firing.

An enclosed horse drawn hansom picks me up at the ferry terminal and transfers me to the Grand Hotel, a magical, spectacular, opulent accommodation straight out of the golden age of hotels. You know the type; afternoon tea in the parlour, a game of croquet or bocce on the manicured lawns, a cocktail hour gin and tonic savoured while sitting in a comfortable rocking chair on the world's longest covered porch, dressing up in jacket and tie for dinner in the hotel's lavish dining room, and then dancing the night away in the ballroom while being entertained by the big-band sound of the Grand Hotel Orchestra. The Grand first opened its doors in 1887 as a summer retreat for vacationers who travelled to Michigan by train, and then came to the island by steamer. Over the years the hotel has undergone some expansions, but the atmosphere of the place has remained stuck in time.

There are no vehicles allowed on Mackinac Island - visitors and the 600 year-round residents count on the islands more than 500 horses for transportation.

You could while away an afternoon just exploring its grand rooms and spacious corridors, from its tea parlous and shops to the exquisite dining room where tuxedo-clad servers swirl about looking after the guests. I join a tour being given by the hotel's knowledgeable historian, Bob Tagatz, that allows access behind-the-scenes to the great hotel's backrooms and quirky history - to the frantic kitchen and into the secret rooms and hidden cabinets where the hotel stashed Canadian liquor during prohibition. Throughout its history, the Grand Hotel has hosted dignitaries from around the world, five U.S. presidents amongst them (including JFK and Harry Truman). Mark Twain loved to visit – in fact, it would come as no surprise if I were to come across the renowned writer lounging on the spacious porch admiring the splendid view.

The magnificent pillars on the famous porch frame that view out over the Straits of Mackinac. You can understand the historical significance of this island sitting at the crossroads of the Great Lakes, firstly as a trading post and then as an important military outpost. Fort Mackinac is a walled cluster of military buildings on a coastal bluff high above the straits. Believing Fort Michilimackinac at what is now Mackinaw City was too vulnerable to American attack, the British moved the fort to Mackinac Island in 1780. Americans took control in 1796. In July 1812, in the first land engagement of the War of 1812 in the United States, the British captured the fort. It was returned to the United States after the war, and the fort remained active until 1895.

Downtown Mackinac Island - where fudge shops, ice cream stands, souvenir stores and rental bike liveries can be found in abundance.

The impressive fort is worth a visit today. The stone ramparts, the south sally port and the Officer's Stone Quarters are all part of the original structure. The other buildings in the fort are of more recent origin, dating from the late 1790s to 1885. The buildings have been restored to how they looked during the final years of the fort's occupation. Interpreters depict U. S. Army soldiers from this same period, dressed in distinctive Prussian-inspired uniforms they offer demonstrations shooting muskets and a cannon out over the straits.

Far below the fort is Mackinac's downtown, where fudge shops, ice cream stands, souvenir stores and bike liveries can be found in abundance. With over 70 miles (110 km) of natural and paved trails, Mackinac Island is the perfect place for biking, or exploring on horseback. And if peddling, riding, or driving your own horse does not suit you, opt for a guided historic horse and buggy tour with Mackinac Island Tours.

My horse Skye is ready to take me for a tour. Mackinac Island is the only place I know where you can hire your own self-drive horse and carriage for a tour of the island.

Mackinac Island is truly a place that time forgot. The special atmosphere forces you to slow down – from the time you arrive and step off the ferry until your day of departure, when you head back across the Strait returning to the present.

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IF YOU GO:

Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau: www.mackinacisland.org
The Grand Hotel: www.grandhotel.com

Photos: by Jamie Ross .