Crayons

"Crayon." It's a term we locals use for the tourists who cross the ice, sometimes just assuming it's safe because they saw a video on YouTube, in droves once word gets out that the Straits have frozen over.  Often their colorful, branded gear matches their snowmobile - hence the name "Crayon." You can usually spot the locals by our mismatched, non-snowmobile specific gear, and our scratched up helmets. Hauling kids or supplies in a sled behind the machine? Definitely a local. Our snowmobiles are like our cars - we use them on a daily basis to get to and from work, to take kids to school, and haul trash out to the dump. Crayons often have special gear they only use for recreational snowmobiling. 

When I say "droves," I mean it. This was the pool table at the Mustang during lunch today. (We had a half day of school so a fellow teacher and I went out for lunch.)  This was Astor St, looking up the street from the Mustang door,

and this was looking down the street in the other direction. 

I do not mean to insult them! I promise I explained the lovely folks in the first picture why I wanted to photograph them. Tourists are great for business, but they do make getting a table as a local a bit challenging. 

Crossing

I'm thrilled that this winter has been much more like the winters of old - snowy and cold. Years ago the boats almost never ran all winter; they typically stopped on the second of January and didn't start up again until the end of March or early April. In the days before Amazon, we stocked up and we prepared. (Some of use still struggle not to stash copious amounts of everything we might need in the basement.)

Given the cold temperatures we've been having, Mackinac is lucky enough to have an ice bridge this winter. (That means the surface of Lake Huron has frozen  between the island and the mainland, and the ice is thick enough to hold the weight of a snowmobile.) Mackinac residents look forward to the ice bridge because it is the only time when our lives aren't governed by someone else's schedule (ferry boat or plane.) Not to mention this year a round-trip plane fare costs $118.00.

Now, do not take my words as a testament to the safety of the ice. THE ICE IS NEVER SAFE. Each and every time Allen and I go out there, we make sure we have information on the current conditions. Are there pressure cracks? Slush holes? Allen and I never venture onto the ice without that information. We take safety equipment with us and follow a set of self-imposed rules to help mitigate some of the risks. We've lived here for over 30 years and we never cross the ice without serious consideration. I DO NOT ENDORSE THE SAFETY OF CROSSING  - IF YOU CROSS THE ICE BRIDGE, YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK.  Now that that's out of the way...

That little blue dot was us as we went to St. Ignace this morning.

I had a doctor's appointment this morning, so Allen agreed to take me over, help shovel out the car, and the run to the grocery store to pick up a few things while I was at my appointment. Visibility was good and we could see all the way across (one of those self-imposed rules.)

Allen was nice enough to drive so I could get a few pictures, plus he had gone over earlier in the week and was more familiar with the trail. This year's ice is not smooth - not at all. There is a great deal of jagged ice causing the path to wind through the roughest patches. The zig-zagging and bumps combine to make for a fairly slow crossing; Allen said our top speed was under 30 mph (about 48 kph.) It was a busy day out there. We saw numerous snowmobiles coming and going.

This picture gives you  good view of ice piled up along the shore, as well as the Christmas trees marking the route.

When the island has good ice, lots of people take advantage of the ability to haul items across. We saw multiple loads of drywall and other supplies heading over to the island today. Hauling things yourself can save a lot of money on freight charges!

How long will is last, you wonder? It all depends; wind, temperature, air pressure, and the movements of the Coast Guard cutter all impact the ice. If we're lucky, we'll be able to cross through the end of March, but tomorrow could just as easily be the last day; only Mother Nature knows for sure. Either way, for those of us who live here, the ice is part of our lives. I'm not posting this as click bait, or an attempt to get views (my blog isn't monetized); I am simply recording this unique aspect of my life as a year-round resident of  Mackinac Island.

Done

It was cold on Mackinac today; so cold we had to have indoor recess. That doesn't happen all that often, but when it happens at the same time the ferry boat announces they "will resume service when conditions allow," we start to get our hopes up. Every one of us is quietly wondering - will we get an ice bridge this year?

Long time island residents tend not to talk about the ice bridge much - we don't want people to think that we encouraged anyone to go out onto the ice. Each and every time anyone ventures out there they are risking their lives, so please know: even though I may talk about looking forward to an ice bridge, my choosing to cross the ice should never be taken as an assurance that it's safe - it isn't. 

Hopeful

Local lore says the lake has to steam seven times before she freezes and we get ice. Today makes steam number one...

Ice Storm!

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to share these pictures, but we've been busy cleaning up after the ice storm. (We have to get all of our broken branches and trees put out by the road by April 20. Starting on the 21st, the people hired by the city are coming through with a woodchipper to get rid of all of it.)

Thankfully Mackinac is in pretty good shape!

As you can see, a lot of ice built up during the storm causing numerous trees to fall and knocking out power to much of northern Michigan - including Mackinac Island. All night long it sounded like a warzone. We heard near-constant popping, bullet-like sounds as small branches broke off the trees all around us. Every few minutes there were loud cracking noises as larger trees broke under the weight of the ice and collapsed. It sounded like buildings disintegrating as the trees, encased in ice, snapped and tumbled to the ground. We have a number of large trees growing around our house, so at any moment one of them could have hit us. Neither Allen or I slept very well that night.

By morning, the ice covered everything,

and I mean everything; an inch thick in some places.

Allen and I were very lucky. 

  

A large branch took out the corner of our chicken yard, but the house came through unscathed and the chickens were fine, too.) We lost lots of smaller branches, but nothing bigger around than my thigh.

Many of our neighbors weren't so lucky. 

All in all, Mackinac Island fared pretty well. We did lose power, but only for a few days. (I have friends in Petoskey and Gaylord who were out for over a week.) Our fire, police, and state park staff were out constantly cutting trees to keep the roads open for emergency vehicles, and the boat line even ran a special boat to get the electric linemen and women over to the island. 

The city opened the Mackinac Island Community Hall as a warming center and charging station for anyone who needed it. Allen kept us going at home by breaking out the camp stove so I could have a hot cup of coffee every morning. The house got a little chilly - I think it got down to about 57 (about 14 C,) but we managed. We crawled under my mom's house and shut her water off, just to be safe.

School was cancelled on Monday and Tuesday due to a lack of power at the school, and again on Wednesday due to safety concerns over students traveling on ice-covered roads. In my 32 years of teaching on Mackinac Island, we've never cancelled three days in a row! But we've also not had a storm like this in my years here.

The days after the storm were beautiful, with bright sunny skies. The ice sparkled like crystals in the trees. When the wind blew, it cracked and shattered, and then clinked to the ground like cacophony of  shattering glass. It was an eerily beautiful sound. 

Thank you to everyone who has reached out to see how we're doing. Mackinac is recovering. This summer the lilacs probably won't be as spectacular as in years past, but they are hard to kill. (Allen refers to them as the zombies of the plant world.) In a year or two, they be as beautiful as ever. We're cleaning up, and the island will be open for business as usual this summer.

 

No Complaints

"Snow" days are virtually unheard of on Mackinac Island, but we do occasionally get "ice" days. After a night of rain, some of the Island's roads were glare ice, so there's no school today. The only thing that would have made this message better would have been getting it before I arrived at school. LOL. 

Being the find-the-silver-lining kind of person that I am, I used the morning to prep and copy things for next week, grade papers, and input grades into my gradebook. And, I was home before the Noon Whistle blew. Now, I get the rest of the day off - lucky me!

Wandering

We've had some sun lately, so I went exploring down on the beach near the school. Don't worry, I didn't venture out onto the ice.

While it was quite cold walking along the shore, everywhere I looked I found beauty. Just one of the little bonuses of living on Mackinac.

Glorious

Today was a glorious day - calm, quiet, and sunny; a perfect start to a new month. And even though it's only March first, it really feels more like mid-April. The winter of 2024 has certainly been an odd one weather wise, that's for sure, but Mackinac looks beautiful in almost any weather.

Lovely

Today was a beautiful spring day on Mackinac - the perfect day to get out for a walk. My husband suggested we head to Sunset Rock to check on the ice.

The blue sky was perfect,

and the white ice looked gorgeous against the Straits.

Though, I'm sure in a short while it will all be gone...

 

Hopeful

The Canadian ice breaker was back at it this morning. Check out this video to see the ice breakers taking out the ice bridge yesterday. 

We're all hopeful that the boats will start running soon...

Windy

Due to this weekend's high winds, open water is now only 150 feet or so from the tree-lined trail on the ice bridge. That means no more ice travel this season. I've actually not crossed at all this year. It's not that I'm opposed to crossing the ice; I just haven't needed to go. And given the inherent risk associated with going out on the ice, if I don't have a good reason to go, I don't.

Icy

We probably had 15 or so tourists on snowmobiles drive past the school this afternoon. (After having driven across the ice bridge.) Lots of them stopped to admire this gorgeous view. One of my students, who recently moved to Mackinac from Hawaii, asked how I could tell the people were tourists. I explained: a sure fire way to tell if someone is a tourist is to look to see if their coat or helmet match their snowmobile. If they match they're a tourist; if they're wearing Carhartt or things are mismatched they're probably a local. Oh, and if they're riding with kids, they're a local for sure!

Just Passing Through

Saturday afternoon the Coast Guard passed by the Island on their way through the Straits. Had I been thinking, I would have opened my Marine Traffic app which would have told me which vessel I was looking at. But, of course, I was too busy enjoying the view.

All Set

Some of Island guys spent today planting our used Christmas trees into the ice to mark the trail across the ice bridge. Lots of tourists assume a tree line means the trail is safe - it isn't. Any time anyone decides to cross the ice, they are risking their life. Many of us choose to take that risk, but if you are thinking about crossing the ice, never just assume it's safe. Ice conditions can change quickly.

Photo courtesy of Sam Barnwell

Blue Ice

Last night lots of ice blew up on the shore across the street from the school.  We know it was blowing at least 55 mph (about 88 kph) because the bridge was closed to high-profile traffic for about an hour last night.

It may have been right across the street, but we had to take a "field trip" to check out the blue ice the kids had heard about on the news.

I did some research, because you know,  I'm nerdy; I wondered why the ice is blue some years but not others. Apparently the  ice isn't really blue - it just appears blue. It's all about how much light can penetrate the ice. On years like this one, when the ice freezes slowly there are fewer air bubbles and larger ice crystals. That combination allows light to penetrate deeper into the ice. Six times more red light is absorbed by the ice than blue light (remember, white light is made up of all the colors of the visible spectrum.) Since that red light isn't reflected back to our eyes, the ice looks blue.

 

Gone

We had an ice bridge for about a week this year. (This is not a photo from this year, as I wasn't willing to venture out on it - I just didn't feel it was safe enough. This picture back is from 2008. Another way you can tell it's an old photo - the driver isn't wearing a helmet.)

The temps in the high 30s (about 3-4 degrees C) caused the ice to quickly deteriorate. On Thursday morning (the 25th) a commuter actually went through the ice on his morning trip to the Island. Luckily he was able to get out of the water, but he did lose his snowmobile. By Thursday afternoon the United States Coast Guard had given 72 hours notice that they intended to break up the ice. It is nice and windy tonight, so hopefully that will help get the ice blown out of the harbors and the boats can start running again.

Tourists

 

When you see a lineup of fancy snowmobiles like these at the Mustang, it can only mean one thing - tourists are crossing the ice. We've had a couple of weeks of below-zero temperatures, so the Straits have frozen over.  We'll see what happens as Mother Nature is supposed to bring us temps in the mid 30s next week.

On Again Off Again

When you live on Mackinac Island in the winter time, a trip to a dentist appointment requires a snowmobile ride to the airport, a quick flight to St. Ignace in a small plane, and finally a car ride to the appointment. Luckily the weather today was conducive to flying, and we got the opportunity to check out the Straits from the air.

Of course, since we were on the mainland, a trip to the grocery store was also a necessity.  A one-way flight costs $35.00 per person and that includes 50 pounds (about 22 kg) of freight.