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Welcome to the inaugural MI_SUMMER_FUN series. In this series, there are 14 caches plus one mystery bonus cache. In order to locate the bonus, you need to visit this cache and 13 others in this series first. At each cache you will find a bonus code that will substitute in to the following phrase (observe the capitalization) and form the final coordinates (there is a checker at the bottom of the cache page).
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CAcHESUMmeRFuN
The Mackinac Bridge has long been a sight that travelers look for when heading to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Often, families compete to see who can be the first one to spot the Mighty Mac. We take it for granted now, but for years tourists, workers, and hunters drove to Mackinaw City or St. Ignace and then sat and waited to drive their car onto a ferry which would transport them across the Straits. Just before the opening of the deer hunting season, cars would be backed up for hours waiting their turn to drive onto a ferry.
Many dreamed of a bridge across the Straits of Mackinac and construction actually began just before WWII. The north end of the Bridge is called the causeway and is the flat part of the bridge. Construction was halted as the country turned its focus to the war. After the war, serious talk began again and turned into a massive, multi-year building project that was finally completed in 1958. The Bridge was dedicated in June and 68 people walked across it. The following year the event was moved to Labor Day where it has remained.
Through 2017 walkers began their journey in St. Ignace and walked to Mackinaw City. During this time people drove across the Bridge and local buses ran back and forth, bringing walkers to St. Ignace. The exception to motorized traffic was the year 1992 when George and Barbara Bush joined the governor and his wife for the Bridge walk. Once the President was on the bridge traffic came to a halt (as requested by the Secret Service). We remember standing and not moving for a couple of hours waiting for the Bushes to finish their walk.
In 2018, a new twist was added. Walkers could start on either end, walk to the middle of the bridge and then turn around and head back to where they'd started. The truly ambitious could be Double Crossers and walk a total of 10 miles as they crossed the bridge over and back. Our family has walked the Bridge for over 35 years and a few hardy souls in our group did the 10 mile walk the first time it was offered.
Weather has often played a factor during Labor Day. There have been years when the walk started late as we waited for high winds to die down or when the walk ended early because a storm was approaching. We've walked carrying water bottles and wearing shorts and t-shirts, we've walked wearing winter coats and everything in between. A memorable year was when we started to feel disoriented and had some motion sickness – we couldn't feel the bridge moving but it was swaying quite a bit and we didn't end up putting our feet down where we thought we were going to. Looking ahead of us, we could see everyone staggering as they walked. It's been a fantastic experience to walk across our beautiful Straits of Mackinac on the majestic Mackinac Bridge. We hope the everyone gets to try it at least once!
This is a 2 stage multi that includes a simple field puzzle. Stage 1 will bring you to a sign by a pedestrian bridge. For stage 2 you will need to read the sign and figure out the follow clues. The cache can be found at: N42 55.ABC W085 22.XYZ
A=Grand River Times article is from April 18, 183__.
B=Time line of Grand River starts with the year 183__.
C=St. Joseph River is 20__ miles long.
Check sum for ABC=13
X=The pedestrian bridge was built in _019.
Y=The Grand River drains an area of 55__2 miles.
Z=Kerekee's houseboat on the Grand River 19__0's
Check sum for XYZ=12
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The series this year focuses on fun summer activities that you can (maybe) only do in the great state of Michigan! The caches in this series are:
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This year's MI_SUMMER_FUN team was comprised of the following cachers (listed alphabetically). We hope you enjoy the series!