Part Three: Our Mini Michigan Vacation-Sleeping Bear Dunes

On the third day of our journey we took a drive to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.  Sleeping Bear got its name long ago from an Indian legend.  Apparently long ago in the land that is now Wisconsin, a mother bear and her two cubs were driven into Lake Michigan by a forest fire.  They had to swim, but it was a long way across the lake.  The mother bear made it and waited on top of the dune for her cubs.  The cubs didn't make it and the two islands off in the distance named Manitou Islands represent the cubs.

The drive to the Dunes was beautiful.

One portion of the Dunes involves a scenic driving tour called the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive.  Pierce Stocking was a lumberman in Michigan and conceived the idea of building a road in this terrain so others could enjoy the Dunes. 

A covered bridge starts the drive.

You could bike the drive because it is only 7.4 miles, but there are some very steep uphill and downhill grades.  I wouldn't make it on a bike, that's for sure.  We visited Traverse City during the summer of 2012.  That summer was so hot that the people of Northern Michigan were shocked.  They very rarely get temperatures in the high 90's.  As a result the sandy dunes were too hot to visit let alone walk on.  That is why we wanted to return on this trip.

The second stop of the drive is a view of Glen Lake.

A sand dune is basically a pile of sand deposited by the wind.  The prevailing winds move the sand across the plateau.  The wind was blowing so hard on that day,  it was easy to see how the dunes can change all the time.

This is the eastern edge of the dunes.

While we were there a couple was trying to take some wedding pictures.  The wind was so brutal they couldn't even stand in an upright position.  We nearly got blown off the cliff.  Thank goodness for having good enough balance to keep us from falling over the edge.  Of course, hiding behind a big sign helped us maintain our footing.

All they wanted was a wedding photo at the dunes.

We had sand in our eyes and ears and who knows where else.

We continued along the scenic drive seeing a variety of trees and vegetation.  Along the way we saw the ghost forest.  With the dry sandy conditions, it is hard to believe some of these plants and trees can survive.  They have adapted over the years.

Next we drove to another area.  At this point you could actually climb the dunes or at least try.  My husband and brother in law didn't even want to try.  My sister and I did.  It felt like walking on a stairstepper.  With every step, we slipped back a foot.  It was quite the workout.

After a nice lunch in a local establishment, we headed home.  It was a fun day.  We were even able to catch a virtual geocache.  If you want more information about the Sleeping Bear Dunes, the park service has info.  http://www.nps.gov/slbe/learn/nature/index.htm  There is so much to see and learn in this area of Michigan, you could stay a couple weeks and not see it all. 

Michigan Vacation 2017

Vacations are funny things.  We look forward to them, plan as many details as we can and then they are over so quickly.  You remember what happened, but in some ways they just seem like a dream after a couple days at home.  Thank goodness for photos.  Two weeks ago we traveled to Michigan.  We went for our nieces wedding. We rented a house for the week before with our oldest daughter and her family.  It was a lovely house in the woods near Glen Arbor Michigan.  There was plenty of room for everyone.  We visited all the little neighboring towns on Lake Michigan and took in many of the local sights.  The kids climbed the dunes (http://www.thecabincountess.com/search?q=sleeping+bear), tubed on a river, rode bikes along the many trails, shopped, we visited a lighthouse and best of all attended the wedding.

The beginning of the dunes.

Making S'mores.

The town of Leland (Fishtown).

The Grand Traverse lighthouse guiding sailors since 1852.

One of the majestic views.

The wedding was the most amazing wedding.  It took place at a ski resort.   My niece and the family worked very hard to make sure everyone was taken care of.  They had activities for the kids as well as adults.  They had games, a photo booth, s'mores and a fabulous meal with a brunch the next morning.  Most of the guests stayed at the resort.  The house we rented was close by so it worked out for us.  I even got to ride on a chair lift for the first time.  It was so much fun.  The ceremony overlooked Lake Michigan.  Everything was perfect.

Waiting for the wedding to begin

Even the bride and her dad took the chairlift up to the ceremony

My youngest daughter also attended with her boys.  They had some scheduling difficulties so she couldn't come for the whole week.  They took the car ferry across Lake Michigan and returned a couple days later the same way.  It may not save a lot of time, but it does save driving the long distance from Wisconsin.  For four hours you can just sit and relax.

Even though it was a quick trip, my grandsons had so much fun.  After brunch we all went to the beach.  Lake Michigan is so big it felt like we were on the ocean.  They swam and played in the sand.  We had a wonderful day.

When the wedding was over and everyone had gone home, we spent some time with my sister and brother in law.  They have second home in Traverse City and know all the best places to go.  We love it there and had a great time.  One day we visited beautiful Charlevoix,  Michigan.  It's another tourist town, but it was gorgeous.

Charlevoix Michigan had some unusual architecture.  They had what was called Mushroom houses.  They actually do look like mushrooms.  This one had a thatched roof.

While returning to our car we cut through the library parking lot.  Even that was very nice.  They had a gorgeous butterfly garden.  It would be exciting to have a similar garden.

The day before we came home we went out on Traverse Bay on a Tall Sailing ship.  There was very little wind but enough to push the boat along smoothly.  It was so relaxing.  They served ice cream, and we just sat and enjoyed the beautiful views.

Finally after enjoying good food, beautiful sunsets and unforgettable views, it was time to go home.

The only rainy day we had was the day we drove home.  It just misted and never rained very hard so it wasn't bad. 

A rainy day made the lake very rough and dreary.

Now we are back to our old routine.  We are happy to be home but also looking forward to our next adventure. 

Summer Vacation 2023 - Part 2

Just a short time ago Wisconsin had record breaking warm temperatures. With temperatures in the 80's I wasn't thinking how close to fall and winter we were. Today the high is 55 degrees and reality has set in. I want to write about the rest of my summer vacation before I have to shovel snow.

In part one of my summer vacation I wrote about our great trip to South Dakota. My oldest grandson was staying in my house so I had no worries about leaving. It made it even more relaxing not being concerned about leaving the lights on or forgetting to unplug something. When I returned home it was as if I hadn't left. I was home for a couple weeks and then it was time to visit Traverse City Michigan.  

My sister and her husband live there and their children get together for a week every summer.  For the past few years my daughter and family have joined them in the fun. This summer was no exception.  We all had a wonderful time. Traverse City is so gorgeous and has become a popular place for well known celebrities. My sister has a famous neighbor but I won't mention the name. They need private time but I have to say I spied on them for an embarrassing amount of time.

The kids filled their time with many different activities. Those over 21 went on a wine and ale tour. I didn't go so I don't really know how it worked, but I do know they laughed a lot and had a great time traveling from place to place on a trolley/bus and sampling the products. We all met for pizza afterward. It was fantastic.

Most of the time the kids did their thing, and we did ours. We sat on the beach near the Mission Point lighthouse at the tip of the Old Mission peninsula, we ate out a few times, we watched my nieces darling little girl and spent a lot of quality time chatting.  For a few of the major activities we went to watch the fun.

Traverse City Michigan has an outdoor experience called Wheels on Rails. They have modified rail cars with bicycle pedals allowing participants to pedal along existing rails that are out of service. I didn't actually see this activity, but the pictures looked like so much fun .

They climbed the Sleeping Bear dunes. It was quite a workout but everyone made it. I remember trying it several years ago, and it isn't easy to climb in sand.

Some of the younger kids had a parasailing experience over Traverse Bay. They were nervous but had a lot of fun. At my age I would never have been brave enough to do it, but it was great to watch from shore. 

We attended a minor league baseball game. Traverse City's home team is called the Pit Spitters. The city is known for having a National Cherry Festival and produces 40% of the nations tart cherry crop so I guess the team name is based on spitting out cherry pits.  They played the Kenosha Kingfish. Of course I cheered for the Wisconsin team. There were a lot of empty seats, but it was a great night for baseball.

Right up there with parasailing was the most unusual activity of the week. The entire group took curling lessons at a local curling club. Most had never played before and knew nothing about the sport, but they caught on quickly. Many of the group are very competitive so it was fun to watch. Afterward the club provided a great dinner.

I am sure I missed some of the things we did during the week like getting ice cream and shopping, but overall a lot of fun was packed into one week. A lot of memories were made again this year.