With so many travel restrictions canceling vacation plans, many of us are discovering great little places of interest right here in Michigan.   That’s what Ron Rademacher of "Michigan Back Roads"  does for a living.  Ron was a guest on the 95.3 WBCK Morning Show with Tim Collins to talk about another one, the Sanilac Petroglyphs.  The Sanilac what?

Ron says it’s a chunk of sandstone the size of a two-car garage floor that has ancient carvings by Native Americans.  But Ron says this treasure was hidden for many years.

“In 1871, farmers were using fires to clear their land.  Those fires got out of control, destroying 2 million acres of forest and killing 200 people,” said Rademacher.  “In 1881, another fire swept across the thumb.  This fire burned a million acres in one day and killed 282 people.  The fires and heat were so intense that railroad rails were twisted, and entire towns were obliterated.  After the fire, strong west winds blew through, the topsoil was swept away, revealing the long-hidden carvings.”

There are hundreds of images carved into a large sandstone outcropping.  Ron says some of the more unusual images, like the six-finger-hand, and the archer with the conical hat, still offer puzzles to be solved.  “There are carvings that are readily understood, like the coyote, rabbit, and bird tracks.  There are spirals similar to those found in carvings all over the world.  Then there are the carvings that seem to be representations of fantastic animals or even, as some say, unusual letters and scripts.  The trail of coyote tracks that cross the sandstone is part of the carvings and run almost perfectly south to north.”  Some of the petroglyphs are difficult to interpret.   There are unidentified animals and symbolic shapes.

Ron says there are several interpretations of the meaning and origins of the carvings.  “One interpretation of the archer with the conical hat is that he represents a ‘holy man’.  The arrow represents knowledge and truth.  When it is launched by the bow, it sends these virtues into the future, through the education of the young.  The conical hat represents the two sides of human nature, the conscious and the spiritual.  One side of the hat represents hopes and aspirations.  The other side represents faith and prayers.  The conical shape of the hat symbolizes both being sent upward, to the heavens.  Again, this is just one of the many interpretations of this particular glyph.”

The sandstone outcropping is protected by a fence and a roof.  During the summer season, volunteers are on hand to allow visitors to get up close to the carvings.  They also offer an entertaining and educational program describing the carvings.  This program is the best way to get accurate information about the interpretations of the petroglyphs.

There is an excellent walking trail at this site.  The main trail is one loop of about a mile.  It winds through the forest and crosses the Cass River, via small suspension bridges, in two places.  The trail is narrow in places and can be rough, due to tree roots growing near the surface.  The forest and undergrowth are very dense where the trail crosses the river or passes near wetlands.  In a couple of places, beaver activity has dammed the river forming small ponds.  Then there are huge rock formations.  Giant slabs of rock are visible along the way.  Many of these were underwater at one time, back when the Cass River was nearly a mile wide.  Another unique feature of this trail is the towering White Pine growing just off the trail.  This tree is estimated to be over 125 years old.  It probably sprouted right after the last of the great firestorms in 1881.  Those firestorms, and the winds that followed, helped expose the petroglyphs.

Directions:  From Highway 25 on the Lake Huron shore, take Bay City-Forestville Rd. west to Germania Rd.  Go south about 1/2 mile and you will reach the park where these remarkable carvings are located.

Sanilac Petroglyphic State Park-Google Maps
Sanilac Petroglyphic State Park-Google Maps
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For more information, visit the State Park Website.

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