By Amanda - 6/21/06

We had originally planned to go to Mackinac Island today, but it is raining a bit today and they are calling for more showers today. Instead, we went to an 18th century sawmill, an old saw pit, and a naturalist talk at Old Mill Creek. The saw mill was used for cutting logs to make log cabins. Mill Creek, the creek that the water-powered mill runs on, was the largest creek for miles which is why the mill was built far outside the town. There was also a saw pit demonstration which Rachel got to volunteer to help with. It showed how logs were cut and split into boards before the invention of the saw mill. Logs were cut, and then axes were used to chip the bark off of the 12-foot log. A broad axe was then used to cut the log into a square shape, and then it was cut into roughly 1-2 inch boards. It was a long process, and 2 men could cut about 18-20 logs a day. The saw mill could do many times that. Then we went to a naturalist talk, and learned about the beaver, raccoon, skunk, deer, and bear that inhabit the park. Three forest types are actually fighting to be the dominant type, and in about 300 years from now, we will be able to find out which one wins! In the evening, we went into Mackinaw City and walked the streets and Mackinaw Crossing area to shop for souvenirs and get ice cream. Despite the rain, we were able to have a great time.