Today, we walked the length of St. Ignace’s long boardwalk along its waterfront, and ate lunch in one of the gazebos along the way. The city is on the Lake Huron side of the Straits of Mackinac, with Lake Michigan on the other. The Straits separate Michigan into two land masses (upper and lower or north and south). And, of course, as human nature is, this simple geographical fact creates a tangible vibe in the identity of the Upper Peninsula folks or UPs (pronounced you-pees) as the locals refer to themselves, to distance themselves from those Michiganians who live south of the Straits. You see “UP,” “UPs,” “UPers” on all the items in the souvenir shops and in business names. Besides celebrating this fact, St. Ignace also embraces its indigenous heritage via plaques on the boardwalk, a museum, and in souvenir items. Various indigenous cultures inhabited the area for thousands of years before the first exploration of the area by French explorers in the 1600s. The people the French explorers first encountered in the the area were predominantly the Wendat that they called the Huron. St. Ignace’s Michilimackinac Cove (now its marina) was a famous landing place for 17th century adventurers, explorers, voyagers, traders, coureurs des bois and missionaries, who followed indigenous routes to the location.
Les explorateurs étaient vraiment des aventuriers. Ils ne savaient absolument pas où ils allaient arriver. Les voyages étaient rudes.
Votre chatte a aussi du sang d’exploratrice.
Beautiful scenery and interesting history lesson.