Mackinac Island Temp closure

Dang, it looks like our annual Mackinac trip the weekend after labor day is off. :(
 
gprellwitz said:
Dang, it looks like our annual Mackinac trip the weekend after labor day is off. :(
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Maybe just move it up a week or two? This is second hand (from the Red Board), but I hear they aren't planning on actually starting the project until after Labor Day.

Bruce, can you confirm?
 
I spoke to the aiprot manager today. It's slated for the day after Labor Day. construction season is short. It's also on the Michigan DOT site.

You can fly to St. Ignace and take the car ferry- it's not a lot of $$$s.
 
My cousins were just there and I *thought* they said it was like $50 a person on the ferry.
 
Round trip on the ferry is $19/person plus $12 parking for 2 nights on Shepler's.
 
That's a big deal for the public. The airport is the #2 major way on and off the island with the frequent charter flights. They bring in workers and materials by air.

I wonder if they'll add some boats to the usual ferry fleet.
 
gprellwitz said:
Round trip on the ferry is $19/person plus $12 parking for 2 nights on Shepler's.
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If you fly into Mackinac County and take the ferry instead of landing at Mackinac Island, what would you be parking at Shepler's?
 
mikea said:
That's a big deal for the public. The airport is the #2 major way on and off the island with the frequent charter flights. They bring in workers and materials by air.

I wonder if they'll add some boats to the usual ferry fleet.
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How many major ways are there on and off the island?
 
roncachamp said:
If you fly into Mackinac County and take the ferry instead of landing at Mackinac Island, what would you be parking at Shepler's?
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Me? Nothing. Just put it there for completeness.

Actually, I might move our Mackinac fly-out to Labor Day Weekend and do it after 6Y9, or maybe the weekend before that.
 
bbchien said:
I spoke to the aiprot manager today. It's slated for the day after Labor Day. construction season is short. It's also on the Michigan DOT site.

You can fly to St. Ignace and take the car ferry- it's not a lot of $$$s.
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We have two seasons in the UP, winter and construction.
 
roncachamp said:
How many major ways are there on and off the island?
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Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
Three
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Nope.

Dave2 said:
I assume you are including snowmobiles :rofl:
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Having been there in March and discovering that it was still winter up there...

  1. Commercial ferry
  2. Commercial air charter (260HP Cherokee 6s) from St. Ignace or Petoskey
  3. Private boat
  4. Private plane
  5. Commercial barge
  6. Snowmobile
  7. Walking (Yes!. Usually only once but I was told a story.)

The story: The guy who owns the restaurant spotted two figures walking on the ice under the bridge from the Mackinac City side - where the ice doesn't freeze solid. They showed for dinner and said yeah, that was us.

He also told of driving the snowmobile - from the St. Ignace side where strait does freeze solid - fast enough that they glide over the open water gaps....until that plan doesn't go so well and you lose it...but then you can fish the craft out from under the ice with a grappling hook the next winter.
 
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mikea said:
Nope.



Having been there in March and discovering that it was still winter up there...

  1. Commercial ferry
  2. Commercial air charter (260HP Cherokee 6s) from St. Ignace or Petoskey
  3. Private boat
  4. Private plane
  5. Commercial barge
  6. Snowmobile
  7. Walking (Yes!. Usually only once but I was told a story.)

The story: The guy who owns the restaurant spotted two figures walking on the ice under the bridge from the Mackinac City side - where the ice doesn't freeze solid. They showed for dinner and said yeah, that was us.

He also told of driving the snowmobile - from the St. Ignace side where strait does freeze solid - fast enough that they glide over the open water gaps....until that plan doesn't go so well and you lose it...but fish you can fish the craft out from under the ice the next winter.
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That's two major ways, aircraft and watercraft.
 
A snowmobile would be an aircraft or a watercraft?
 
It just occurred to me that they have to do the runway work before winter, because in the winter the only way off or on the island are air or snowmobile.

They had a large crew of workers working on an expansion on the Grand Hotel the winter when I was there who commuted on the Cherokee 6s. They even fly in heavy building materials like tiles, bricks and blocks in batches.

They also have cars and trucks on the island when the tourists aren't looking.

In the summer they use barges and horse-drawn lorries to move the materials.
 
mikea said:
It just occurred to me that they have to do the runway work before winter, because in the winter the only way off or on the island are air or snowmobile.

They had a large crew of workers working on an expansion on the Grand Hotel the winter when I was there who commuted on the Cherokee 6s. They even fly in heavy building materials like tiles, bricks and blocks in batches.

They also have cars and trucks on the island when the tourists aren't looking.

In the summer they use barges and horse-drawn lorries to move the materials.
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Yup, here's the story in the local paper: http://www.mackinacislandnews.com/n...port_Runway_Rebuild_Slated_For_September.html
 
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