Here we go again! I mentioned to Rob that I would love to go to Mackinac Island during the Lilac Festival. And he gets extra points if we can stay at the famous historic Grand Hotel. Well, that’s all he needs to start planning.
The biggest hitch is getting to the starting point in Indianapolis. Fortunately, we have the best opportunity to visit grandchildren en route.
We met our group of 48 people at 6:45am for an all-day bus ride to northern Michigan. Rob wanted to get there early (6:00am) to get a good seat on the bus. There are lots of canes and other mobility devices. And when our tour director started talking on the bus, it was unusually loud. Certainly glad that I had my ear plugs.
We watched the classic movie, Somewhere in Time, starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Plummer. It was filmed entirely at The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. In fact, there is a weekend dedicated to the film where fans come from all over the world. Read more about it here:
Next we watched an Esther Williams “aquamusical” called This Time for Keeps. In fact, the swimming pool at The Grand Hotel is named the Esther Williams Swimming Pool. I had a hard time staying awake during the movie.
We arrived in Hillman, Michigan, home of the Thunder Bay Resort, nestled within a beautiful 350 acre back drop of pine trees. Known as “one of Northern Michigan’s most unique travel destinations”.
Thunder Bay Resort began in 1971 and was originally slated to be a golf course but has expanded to include an elk preserve.
We settled into our huge suite. It even had a back door to a deck to view golfers.
Three types of Elk
There is only one true species of elk in North America (American Elk), which scientists generally classify into four living subspecies.
- Rocky Mountain Elk: The most abundant subspecies, famous for their large, sweeping antlers. Normally found across the western states and mountainous regions.
- Roosevelt Elk: Named for Theodore Roosevelt, it is the largest subspecies in body size, typically found in the Pacific Northwest.
- Manitoban Elk: Generally found in the northern Great Plains.
- Tule Elk: The smallest subspecies, which are uniquely found only in California.
- Hunted to near-extinction during the Gold Rush, the population dropped to just 2-4 individuals. Today, thanks to extensive conservation efforts, there are over 5,000 Tule elk.
- Historically, two additional subspecies (the Eastern Elk and Merriam’s elk) roamed the U.S. but went extinct in the late 19th century.
There is a ten-foot-high fence (Think Jurassic Park) in order to keep out the white-tailed deer especially because they carry bovine tuberculosis. It is a highly contagious zoonotic disease. Zoonosis refers to infectious diseases that can spread between different vertebrate animals and even humans.
One bull has a harem and must fight other satellite bulls to keep them. Once the mating season is over, the matriarch runs the bull off.
There are 40 Rocky Mountain Elk in the preserve, and they were brought here from the Rocky Mountain herd.
In order to get an elk hunting license, one must be a Michigan resident. Then one puts their name into a lottery and if one is not selected, the name goes in again.
So, for example, if you have been in the lottery for nine years and have not been selected, the name is in there 9 times. If you are selected, you can only tag one elk. There is a lifetime limit. One man has been trying since 1990. Three hundred licenses per year are issued from 40,000 applicants!
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