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Hunts' Guide to Michigan's UPPER PENINSULA

JUST OUT! A new edition of Hunts' Mapguide to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Over 300 entries, all conveniently located on maps and chosen because we think they are the coolest things to do in the U.P. (No ad tie-ins!) Great choices for restaurants, hikes, shops, adventures, museums, boat trips, waterfalls, vistas, road trips, and much more! To learn more click UP MAP GUIDE

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U.S. 2 FROM THE BRIDGE
POINTS
OF INTEREST

Father Marquette Memorial. Interpretive panels focus on how native people used plants and animals, and Marquette and Jolliet's 1673 journey from St. Ignace to the Missisippi. ... more

Totem Village. A disabled logger's 1950s folk art environment and museum paId tribute to Native Americans when mainstream culture looked down on them. Classic crafts, toys, books and music. Outside: a small woodland zoo. ... more

Souvenir Barn. A free bridge-viewing site on the roof of an old-timey souvenir shop. Outstanding view of Mackinac Bridge, Straits, and possibly freighters. ... more

Curio Fair. Another nostalgic tourist trinket shop, adorned by seashells. An 8-story high tower gives views of both the Mackinac Bridge to the south and forests to the north ... more

Totem Village Museum. A handicapped logger took up wood carving and created a folk art homage to Indian values, getting in touch with his own Ojibwa ancestry in the process ... more

Mystery Spot. Endless billboards build traveling kids' excitement for this classic roadside attraction, fun for adults and kids alike ... more

Gros Cap roadside park and St. Helena Island overlook. Take in a fine view, while picnicking, of St. Helena Island and its lighthouse 2 miles offshore ... more

Hiawatha National Forest/St. Ignace Info Center and administrative unit. A picnic spot and native plant garden outside. Inside, handouts and good advice about camping, fishing, berry-picking spots, and wilderness areas ... more

U.S. 2 FROM THE BRIDGE

Totem Village

The late Ralph McCarry's roadside attraction, started in the 1950s, is more folk art, or an outsider art environment, than a commercial tourist trap. It uses images and words to preach a heartfelt message. A heart attack meant that McCarry, in his late 1940s, was jobless. He became fascinated with wood carving and researched the area's early Indian life, and historic places. (He himself had worked in Tahquamenon lumber camps.) His collections of Ojibwa artifacts grew, and Totem Village supported him and his family.

Of course, totem poles are from natives of the Pacific Northwest, not the Great Lakes. McCarry had borrowed from popular American culture. Local Native Americans were pleased to be the subjests of any favorable publicity. They honored him as "White Wolf of the Chippewas" and held feasts at Totem Village. "He was part Indian himself and saw Totem Village as an educational tool to restore price in the Indian heritage," says proprietor Nancy Dandona. She feels like a caretaker of his creations.

Kids like the shop because a few dollars go a long way. Nancy chooses simple toys and souvenirs that encourage creative play. She also carries certified native crafts like quill boxes and beadwork, and books and music mostly about Eastern Woodland Indians.

The museum section starts with displays beautiful beadwork, pipes, arrowheads. Then come life-size dioramas, and finally the 40' by 60' totem pole area, over 20' high, with a replica of an Ojibwa medicine lodge, strewn with juniper boughs. Here are primitive renditions of a lumber camp, the first Soo Lock, and more. Some dioramas are decorated with hand-lettered philosophy such as "Be not puffed up but kneel and pray with your brother," and the Chief's Prayer: "Before I condemn a brother, let me walk in his moccasins for 3 months."

Beyond the lodge, paths lead outside, where bobcats, sprightly sika deer, peacocks, and thunder foxes are in large enclosures beneath cedars.

Two miles west of the Bridge on U.S. 2. (906) 643-8888. Open from May thru Oct. In season open 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Otherwise 10-6. Museum admission: $2/adult, $1/child, $5/family (in 2006). Wheelchair access: museum good. Assistance on one outdoor hill.

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