ST. IGNACE, MI -- 2,279 miles.

That's how far a group known as the Genesee Sno-Finders traveled via snowmobile in January of 1979.

Embarking from Goodrich on Jan. 6, brothers Dallas and Douglas Fisher and fellow winter enthusiasts Richard Moore and Loren Matthews arrived at Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park on Jan. 13.

The trip across the northern part of the United States included an unprecedented crossing of the Mackinac Bridge via snowmobile; something that has been prohibited for most of the bridge's existence.

At least until this weekend when The Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum in Naubinway and the St. Ignace Visitor's Bureau team up to host an event in which vintage snowmobiles can be driven across the Mackinac Bridge for (almost) the first time.

Mapping a route

To commemorate the event, Dallas Fisher took some time to look back on his trip in 1979.

The origins of the journey began in the winter of 1978. The Sno-Finders were nearing the end of a trip in which the foursome circled the border of the Upper Peninsula.

"When we got back to St. Ignace we said what are we going to do next year?" Fisher said. "Out of nowhere Dick said, we're going to Yellowstone."

The group spent the next year preparing for the journey. Dallas was in charge of contacting snowmobile clubs along the route while Douglas mapped out a course that took them through the U.P., Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.

Eventually the trip turned into a fundraiser for the American Diabetes Assoication as well. The idea was inspired by Douglas' daughter, who had been battling the disease throughout her life.

By the time they had reached Yellowstone the group had raised $9,000 for the ADA. Dallas' niece's life has improved dramatically since those days as well. Now in her 50s, she has a new pancreas and exponentially improved treatment options.

Crossing Mighty Mac



The four set out on their Yamaha Exciter sleds the morning of Jan. 6. Initially, they followed an abandoned railroad grade before reaching Bay City where they had permission to travel through the city.

Armed with a bundle of trail maps, Douglas led the way. But somewhere on their way north to the bridge the maps were lost.

"That became quite the story over the years," Dallas said. "People would ask, how did you get to Yellowstone without maps. He told everyone, you go north, cross that big bridge and turn left."

In reality the group used road maps to find their way. Crossing the Mackinac Bridge on snowmobiles was another story. The group had previously written to the Mackinac Bridge Authority requesting to do so.

They received their reply on Nov. 14, 1978 in a letter sent from Lawrence Rubin, executive secretary for the MBA, to Sandy Burgis, field director for the American Diabetes Association.

"We would be pleased to accommodate these men in their effort to raise funds for the worthy caused mentioned in your letter. Please notify our operations manager, Mr. Benson Wiggins, at least 24 hours in advance of your intended time of crossing," the letter reads.

Even at that time, crossing the bridge on snowmobile was prohibited. The group often joked in the years since the crossing that someone on the Bridge Authority must have had diabetes and allowed the crossing.

"We called it snirt"

The rest of their journey is filled with stories on the road. Like when they arrived in North Dakota to find that much of the state was without snow. The areas that did have snow tended to be borrow pits or ditches along the desolate highways, but even those were filled with more dirt than snow.

"We called it snirt," Fisher said.

Fisher recalled waking up in a small North Dakota motel and trying to start his machine in temperatures measuring well below zero.

He remembered a friendly DNR officer near the Wisconsin-Minnesota border, who, perplexed by four men riding Yamaha sleds in the middle of Arctic Cat country, asked where they were coming from.

"I own the only Yamaha in the state," Fisher remembered the officer saying.

Seemingly appreciative of their choice in sleds, he then invited them to a nearby inn where their meals were paid for and their lodging taken care of.

When they arrived, the inn's lonely marquee read, "Welcome Michigan snowmobilers," Fisher recalled.

Their journey across the United States was filled with friendly people willing to help. Big things, such as offering free lodging and advice on which routes to take, and little things, such as loaning a tool for sled maintenance or a smiling welcome to one of the small towns littered along the route.

"Every little town we took a picture and had people send it to a lady with the ADA for our scrapbook," Fisher said. "There were so many cool things that happened."

The trip of a lifetime

The foursome arrived at the southeast entrance of Yellowstone outside Cody, Wyoming on Jan. 13. After traveling more than 2,200 miles, the group took a quick drive through the park before coming out the other side and loading the sleds onto a trailer driven across the country by a friend from Clio.

Dallas Fisher is now 79 and no longer rides. He and his brother are the foursome's only survivors. Moore and Matthews have both passed away. Fisher called this weekend's event on the Mackinac Bridge "awesome" and feels fortunate to have been given the opportunity to experience a crossing all those years ago.

Fisher and his family have made several more-conventional trips back to Yellowstone in the years since the snowmobile expedition. He often thinks about his cross-country journey in the winter of 1979, which turned out to be the grand finale to the Sno-Finders annual winter travel tradition.

Is he glad he did it?

"Oh hell yes," Dallas said. "If I was younger, I'd probably take another stab at it."