July 9 - Pere Jacques Marquette S.J.

Waking this morning, I ate breakfast at the Huron Inn, packed and readied to leave town.  Before I pulled out, I visited the Museum of Ojibwa Culture, which is operated by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

The museum was pretty well done, with not only the usual artifacts (although there were lots of them), but also a timeline of Ojibwa migration from the east coast to the Great Lakes in the 14th and 15th centuries. Their allies, the Hurons, were also included in the history.

I enjoyed the displays and video describing the Ojibwa Family network system.  Every member of an Ojibwa family contributed to survive.  The family was not a nuclear family like today, but rather an extended network from a member's clan, where the social system was composed of relatives, including not just the parents with their children - but aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins and often many adopted members from other tribes as well.

Outside, the Anishinaabe Sculpture Park was quite artistic and there were panels explaining the several clans’ histories.

The museum stands right beside the location of Pere Jacques Marquette's gravesite and the location of his 1671 mission.

The monument was built by the Knights of Columbus, of course

The Good Father died of dysentery two weeks before his 38th birthday after exploring through the Mississippi drainage, and his remains were removed to here in 1677.

Father Marquette belonged to the Society of Jesus - The Jesuits - who were very active in the missionary work in New France, and elsewhere around the world, for good and/or for ill.

Leaving town and driving west on Highway 2, I stopped near the town of Moran to buy some smoked whitefish at Gustafson's.  All along this route, I noted that the lake levels remain high.

The Wisconsin NPR station stated that new record-high water levels were set on Lake Superior, Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario in June, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The new record June levels are between three and four inches higher than the previous records for the month, which were set in 1986.

I decided to give one last try for the Cerulean Warbler, so angled southwest as I came out of Michigan into Wisconsin.  I made it as far as Waupun, near the Horicon NWR where I worked back in 1978.  I checked into the Inn Town Motel and walked around the corner to have a broasted chicken supper at the Goose Shot on Main Street.

Saint Ignace eBird Checklist is Here

Manistique Roadside Park eBird Checklist is Here