On Friday I left southern Michigan for northern Michigan. The mayor and council of Traverse City was anticipating the reopening of their economy and did a lot of work to provide a safer city when it comes to SARS-CoV-2. I really wanted to see this new arrangement. The city closed off blocks of shops and restaurants to create open space for dining and shopping. Then they rerouted one-way streets into two-way streets to allow traffic to continue to move along. There was also a mandated mask-wearing when in public. That ordinance was everywhere in town.
When I was traveling on the highway to Traverse City the traffic was rather light. There weren't as many trucks on the road, but, the car pattern was about the same. Needless to say I expected little to no real activity in Traverse City upon arrival. The festivals had been canceled. So, with light traffic why expect anything else. The road to Traverse City from I-75 was not heavily traveled either. It was a Friday afternoon so any business commuting hadn't begun. Schools were out of course.
When I arrived at Traverse City the reality I expected was nowhere close to the reality I found. Hotel after hotel had a sign by the road stating "No Vacancy." There were parking lots full of cars. These hotels are resort hotels. "Turtle Creek" which is the hotel before arriving to Traverse City is a casino. It had some cars in the parking lot but not the usual. But, the city of Traverse City was packed. The city was jumping.
So, the absence of cars on the road doesn't' mean that people are home if there is a chance for a vacation. What I found was a city thriving with activity regardless of canceled festivals and closed theaters throughout the city. There were no festivals or concerts at Interlochen either.
I made my way to the bay which I have watched with interest for years for a variety of reasons, mostly based in climate observations. When I got to the beach the water was very high. Far higher than it was when I last saw it. I went to the marina and the water was very high there as well. The boat launch was nearly completely underwater. None of the pleadings of mayor or governor brought relief. HOWEVER, the tourists marveled at the flooded area, took pictures (of which I have many) and put their boats in the water. The marina was full as well. There were sailboats, kyacks, pontoon boats, jet skis, motorboats, and fishing boats. Those are the boats in the water. The boats in the marine were elegant.
Did I mention that the hotels in town during their busy season get $300 to $500 per night and hotels such as "Indigo" receive more than that for their accommodations. But, the tourists were not exclusively wealthy people because the campgrounds, especially the private ones, were full.
The delightful aspect of all this is the fact people and their children were really enjoying themselves. Probably for the first time in a long time. It was delightful to see. The hotels cater to families as well as couples and singles.
So after observing Saturday Night in town I took a ride. For all the activity in Traverse City, there was none anywhere else except a smattering of folks at Turtle Creek. The drive to Grayling was silent and lonesome.
When I left Grayling to get on I-75 it was about 1:30 AM. I drove about 90 minutes south, took a quick bathroom break, and then drove back to Grayling. The town is named after an extinct fish by the way. It wasn't extinct when it was named though. Grayling, the town and not the fish, even today has a proud fisherman heritage and is a sponsor to many tournaments. But, as to my travel. There was no one on the highway. I-75 was vacant. Not a soul was about except for me. That as well surprised me. That has not been my experience at all with northern Michigan. There are usually trucks no matter the weather in small numbers anytime I've traveled there. Not this time.
While in Traverse City there was the usual activity of the EMS service. Nothing extraordinary. The COVID-19 population has mostly been small and the local authorities were extremely successful in contact tracing to end the spread.
Now I am into Sunday and about 12 hours later from my nighttime drive I left Grayling.
Just a word about the flooding at Grand Traverse Bay. See if this sounds right. A mayor and governor make pleadings for assistance with lowering the lake levels through the ability of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, but, none is allowed. Not only do the levels continue to fluctuate a great deal day to day, but, the high watermark is increasing. There is mud deposits in the parking lot from the previous higher flooding episode. The police monitor the activity at the boat launch every few hours.
There is now permanent flooding into the marine parking lot. With this trend, the city will be receiving floodwaters after next Spring. It will not be contained only in the marina.
There has been no exceptional precipitation lately and flooding south of this area where the dam broke is now completely dry. There is no dam to maintain any pond levels so when the water receded it left the once pond and river completely, absolutely dry. There is no force of nature working on Grand Traverse Bay or any other bay or waterfront on any other Great Lakes beach. This is all manmade tragedy.
Now I could simply say Trump is trying to punish Michigan, but, I think it is far more than that. Why would anyone allow such flooding and fluctuations of beaches, now eroded and tourist economies? Doesn't make sense.
UNLESS.
There is a bigger picture that does not include beaches and tourism. The Saint Lawrence Seaway does not provide passage for Panamax ships, like the big huge container ships from China. But, to create a Saint Lawrence Seaway for Panamax ships is silly. The ships would come through the Panama Canal and meet up with all kinds of well-established ports on the USA seaboard that can accommodate them. Why go through all the trouble of increasing the capacity of the lakes for such behemoths?
UNLESS.
Those behemoths aren't coming up the eastern USA shipping channels but from the Pacific. I strongly believe in that warped sense of wealthy playground is Trump's desire to build a seaway from the Atlantic through the USA to the Pacific allowing places in Washington and Oregon to become the western entry of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Knowing Trump's maniacal imagination regarding wealth, I think that is exactly what is going on and it is time for the Great Lake States to begin lawsuits against the USA and Canada to better manage the lake levels.
But, as to my travel on Sunday.
Driving to Grayling there was some traffic, but, I can't honestly say it was any more than usual during vacation time. When I left Grayling and started down I-75 the interstate highway that was completely absent of traffic 12 hours ago was now full of vehicles, none were trucks. Not one single semi was on the road, but, the entire highway was full of SUVs, pick-up trucks, RVs (the big ones), and cars. See, the reason the traffic was light wasn't that citizens of conscience were toughing it out at home, it was because they were frolicking in Traverse City with some of the best eateries in the country. They arrived last Sunday and were checking out today.
As minutes went by and then hours there was no change in traffic patterns. There were some cars heading north, but, they were beginning their vacations. The heavy traffic heading south all reluctantly left Traverse City about the same time. I have some pictures, but, I have to get them off the phone. It is simply hard to believe without seeing it. There was a bottleneck at one point where ongoing construction slowed things down to three lanes rather than four, but, except for that, the volume of cars was consistent the entire time until Route 23 bifurcates off I-75. During all that time and over all that distance, I saw five semis. Only five. Three northbound, one on an on-ramp, and one on an off-ramp of I-69.
I suppose this little composition has many issues, but, the real one is the title of it. In the next two to three weeks Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula need to pay attention to any outbreaks of COVID-19. Traverse City mayor and council did all they could to make it happen correctly and minimize and end the spread. There really isn't much more to ask of citizens. Everyone in public wore masks. From what I can tell they stayed mostly in family groups and didn't commune with others a great deal.
I am dearly hoping the folks that came north from southern Michigan enjoyed their vacation. I sincerely do hope all plans and precautions worked well for them. However, I have this knot in my stomach that perhaps this weekend was the beginning of an uptick in Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. The reason for the knot in my stomach about this disaster of a virus is that last week while the Republicans were stating all sorts of horrible things about the Governor, she stated her staff was seeing a minor increase in their numbers.
I think the Governor's concern about increasing numbers may very well be correct. Not all the people vacationing in Traverse City came from southern Michigan, but, many were. It is hard for me to believe there wasn't some distribution of SARS-CoV-2 into that northern region of Michigan. There were a lot of people on the roads and that didn't start at Grayling. The flow was well established by the time I entered I-75 which is north. Michigan is a fishing haven. The vacationing wasn't consolidated in Traverse City.
We will have to continue to be vigilant for a few more weeks and hopefully, all the precautions that were at work in northern Michigan will stem any increase in numbers.
Until later.
BUT, if the numbers increase the idea of opening the economy before the virus is eradicated is fool hearty.
