THE U.P.! – PART III

July 2018

We mentioned in an earlier blog that both St. Ignace and Mackinaw City depend on summertime and tourists for their livelihoods, and that between the 2 cities, separated by only the Straights of Mackinaw, St. Ignace has a slower pace and has respect for its heritage.  In downtown St. Ignace there are 2 museums, one paying homage to the Native American Tribe indigenous in the Great Lakes Region area and the other focused on the region’s white settlers.

The Fort de Baude Museum presents a history of the founding and growth of this region.  The first white settlers were fur traders who conducted a thriving business with the native Ojibwa peoples.  The museum goes on to describe and illustrate the importance of the lumber industry, the development of Mackinac Island (including its famous and infamous residents), the important men and women who had a vision and executed their plans for the area, and, of course, the opening of the Mackinaw Bridge as key historical markers.

The Museum of Ojibwa Culture presents the story of the Ojibwa nation, the culture of the peoples and the importance of family and ritual.  We were mesmerized watching a video in which a craftsman and his fellow Ojibwa built a canoe from scratch.  It might appear that the video would be less than exciting, but the knowledge of the craftsman, his attention to detail, the relentless focus on what his forefathers taught him, and how he then passed that knowledge along to the next generation made us stop and wonder if  we had neglected to teach our children about our past?  By the way, the completed canoe was perfectly seaworthy.

We were also fortunate that during our time in St. Ignace the Ojibwa peoples were holding a pow-wow and a proclaimed heritage weekend.  Teepees were scattered about the grounds adjacent to the museum, each representing lifestyles across generations.  The teepee owners were welcoming and expected to be engaged in discussion about their ancestry and custom.  There was a terrific drum circle, lots of dancing, story telling, and individual performances all related to the Ojibwa peoples.  Anyone and everyone attending were invited to participate in several of the dances as well, and you can bet we had ourselves up and moving.  The Ojibwa are a proud and gracious peoples.  We were honored to be able to participate in their pow-wow, and to have the chance to learn about their history and how they are living today.

We did visit one of the tourist traps described by Atlas Obscura as Michigan’s #1 unusual attraction – The Mystery Spot!  Legend is that in the early 1950s a few surveyors were exploring Michigan’s Upper Peninsula when one day they realized that none of their equipment was working properly.  The problems were only apparent in a circle about 300 feet in diameter on this spot about 5 miles outside of St. Ignace.  Behold the Mystery Spot – a place where “gravity does strange things.”  We just had to take the guided tour, and since the owners had added a miniature golf course, as well as a maze built in the woods, we bought the whole package!  A bit hokey, but a fun afternoon.

Have you ever had a pastie (or pasty)?  Although particularly associated with Cornwall, UK, pastie shops are as ubiquitous in the UP as Tim Horton’s in Canada!  A pastie is a baked savory pastry made by placing an uncooked filling on one half of a flat shortcrust pastry circle, folding the pastry in half to wrap the filling in a semicircle and crimping the curved edge to form a seal before baking.  The first pastie we ordered was a good 2″ tall and 10″ long, and filled with chicken, diced potato, rutabaga, carrot and onion, and could be had with gravy or not.  Other pasties were made with shredded beef or pork.  We did enjoy this UP treat on a couple of occasions.

And, just to round out our St. Ignace adventures, the casino has $50 of our money.

Barbara and Brian