Snowy Owls have recently been observed in Cheboygan, St. Ignace and on the Mackinac Bridge. It is still early December, but these beautiful arctic visitors are starting to appear throughout the Midwest in good numbers. During the past several winters snowy owls have been frequent visitors to Mackinaw City, and there should be prime opportunities […]

Veterans Day originated as “Armistice Day” on this date 100 years ago…November 11, 1919 – on the first anniversary of the end of World War I. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance, and November 11 became a national holiday beginning in 1938. In 1954, the holiday was changed to “Veterans Day” in order […]

Since first opening in 1957, the Mackinac Bridge Authority has counted the number of deer taken south across the bridge during Michigan’s firearm deer season. This information helps the DNR index the size of the deer herd in the as well as the success of the firearm deer season in the Upper Peninsula. Over the […]

The Great Lake region is rich with gangster history, steeped in the Prohibition era of the 1920s and early 1930s. Of course, when one things of mafia leaders, Al Capone immediately comes to mind. But, another leader in underground crime was John Herbert Dillinger (born June 22, 1903 in the Oak Hill section of Indianapolis)…who […]

Probably the most recognizable butterfly in North America is the monarch, with its distinguishable and vibrant black and orange color palette. Did you know that during the summer, millions of these beautiful winged creatures (if you recall from biology class: lepidoptera from Ancient Greek lepís “scale” + pterón “wing” – the order of insects that […]

Mackinaw City is considered the “Crossroads of the Great Lakes” for good reason – it is central to dozens of unique locations and activities along both the Lake Michigan and Lake Huron shorelines, as well as the vast woods and waters of both the Upper and Lower Peninsulas. This autumn, bring the family, friends or […]

Celebrate the changing of the seasons along the shores of Lake Huron during the 4th Annual Mackinaw City Beer & Wine Festival on Saturday, September 7. Dozens of the finest craft beer and wines will be served throughout the afternoon and early evening at Conkling Heritage Park. Festivities run from 1-9pm, with $5 admission including […]

As it was for the 2018 Annual Bridge Walk, the Mackinac Bridge will be closed to public traffic from 6:30 a.m. to Noon on Monday, Sept. 2, 2019 to accommodate the 2019 Annual Bridge Walk. The walk begins at 7 a.m. You may start walking any time after the governor’s party starts the walk at […]

Certain American cities or regions are known for their specialized cuisine – Philly for its steak sandwiches, New England for its clam chowder, Texas for its bar-b-cue, Atlantic City for its salt water taffy. Here in Michigan, we have Coney dogs in Detroit, pasties in the Upper Peninsula and fudge right here in the Straits […]

By Dianna Stampfler, Board Member – Michigan Hemingway Society One hundred years ago, on a hot August day in 1919, a 20-year-old Ernest Hemingway and his two friends, Jack Pentecost and Al Walker, boarded the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad in Petoskey set out for the Seney in the central Upper Peninsula for the last […]