By Frank Boles
On a hot, muggy summer’s evening in mid-Michigan it isn’t
hard to dream about escaping to an island somewhere on the Great Lakes. One can
imagine escaping the summer doldrums, sitting along the beach, enjoying the
breeze, watching the sun set, and reflecting on just how good life is.
Maureen Dunphy, author of Great Lakes Island Escapes: Ferries and Bridges to Adventure,(Detroit:
Wayne State University Press, 2016) spoke at the library on July 17. The book
began one day while she and her husband were on Mackinac Island enjoying a
do-it-yourself happy hour and began thinking about other Great Lakes islands
they could visit. She decided that she wanted to live the dream, and she went
looking for a book that talked about Great Lakes island vacations that began
somewhere other than the Star Line dock. She discovered that no one had written
such a volume. How many islands could there be, she reasoned. Maybe thirty or
forty at most? And how much fun could someone have going to them and writing
about the islands and the experiences of visiting them?
It turned out in writing the book Dunphy visited 136 islands
that can be reached either by publicly accessible bridges or by travelling on
regularly scheduled ferries. The book describes them all; although for purposes
of the presentation Ms. Dunphy talked about five delightful destinations; one
in each of the five Great Lakes.
One of the trips she described was going to Lake Superior’s Island
Royale. The national park that protects the archipelago of about 450 islands,
of which Isle Royale is the largest island. It is one of the most challenging
places on the lakes to reach by public conveyance. Ms. Dunphy went by a ferry
that leaves from Minnesota: a 6.5 hour cruise that completely circles the
island. (for those sentimentally inclined for a storied three hour cruise,
leave from Copper Harbor, Michigan – but three hours is not enough time to
circumnavigate Isle Royale). She admitted some trepidation about such a long boat
ride but the time passed magically as she watched the extraordinary views and
scenery the cruise offered. She did remark, however, that the day was sunny and
the lake calm. A 7.5 hour cruise on a roiling Lake Superior might not, she
conceded, be as magical.
The natural beauty of the island struck her, but so too did
the ability of people to reach and enjoy this remote spot. Reading from her
book, ”Isle Royale is where you go to return the wilderness to your soul.” But
wilderness doesn’t necessarily mean roughing it with backpacks, tents, and
freeze dried food for supper. Dunphy stayed in a lodge maintained by the
National Park Service with a “wonderful” restaurant and a conveniently located
bar and grille.
Similarly, not everyone who visits the island plans a
marathon adventure. A family of five, one of whom regularly used a wheelchair,
had made the trip and took advantage of the handicap trail next to the lodge. A
married couple, respectively 94 and 92 years of age, were also guests in the
lodge. When asked why they had come, they responded, “well, you know, we just
decided if not now, then when?”
Each of the islands Ms. Dunphy described had its own charms
and challenges. All of those in her book reminded us of the joys of getting
away, and of living on “island time.” As she remarked in closing, island time
begins at the ferry dock. The published schedule is more a suggestion then a
completely reliable form of documentation. Fog, engine trouble, or a
“fender-bender” between the ferry and a yacht docked nearby that require the
Coast Guard to write up a report for the insurance company (it really happened),
can all cause you to learn quickly how time, and life, work on an island.
It was a pleasant talk, one which those who heard it likely
will recall the next hot, muggy summer night they experience. As they wait for
a Canadian cold front to sweep across the state, they may pull out a copy of Great Lakes Island Escapes and begin to
plan their own escape to an island on the lakes.