August 9th
ST IGNACE TO SLEEPING BEAR DUNES NATIONAL SEASHORE
We made our way down from St Ignace to Platte River Campground
in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park on Friday. The trip down through the towns of Petoskey,
Charlevoix, Eastport and Elk Rapids was beautiful.
The towns were having weekend festivals and
farmer’s markets creating lots of traffic opportunities on the narrow two lane
roads going through town. Still, if
you forgot you were in a 25’ wide, 35’ long box towing a car, for a second, you
could actually enjoy what was going on around you!
The Platte River Campground is a beautiful campground in
typical National park style. For an
extra $5/day we hooked up to electric and since we were using our geezer
passes, the site rental was almost free!
The next couple of weekends are the last “hurrah” for many
families as their children return to school, so the campground is full, and it
is full, of families with kayaks and bicycles towing trailers and pop ups. It is all about families in here.
I had a difficult time getting in here. Started 6 months from the date we wanted to be here at 10AM. If you haven't tried to get into a popular National or State park, it reminds me of an Ebay Auction! Apparently this park was on Good Morning America several years ago and the popularity has gone up even more! This area is so fabulously beautiful, it is worth planning ahead and getting into here
THE HOMESTEAD RESORT & SPA
Drove over to Glen Arbor to find The Homestead where Dave’s niece
is getting married. Glen Arbor is a
destination and the Homestead is on Lake Michigan.
Glen Arbor between Big Glen Lake and Lake Michigan in the middle
of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Big Glen Lake was full of bathers and boats and the town is full of
summer tourists. The
lake reminds me of the Bahamas with crystal clear water and that beautiful blue
green color filtered by the surrounding sands.
It is considered to be one of the most beautiful lakes in the Great Lakes
region.
Looking across to the Dunes
According to local legend, it was recognized as one of the
most beautiful lakes in the world by National Geographic Magazine although that
cannot be proved. Oh, well, Michigan
claims that is also true of other lakes and I’m sure they are not that far off
the course.
Glen Arbor is not a very large town so getting around the
little streets is a challenge.
The population of Glen Arbor is small, as of 2008 it was 798
people however I’m sure I saw that many in town yesterday! Obviously in the summer it nearly
triples.
Weather has been exquisite, perfect wedding weather.
Saturday Marge ((Dave's sister)& Stephanie (Dave's niece) cooked a wonderful breakfast for the bridal party and associated "aunts".
Suzanne Pratt joined the family celebrations!
Max (Ronni's mom) and Marge rented a very nice house on Little Glen Lake. This lake is only 12’ deep whereas Big Glen Lake goes to 130’.
Jen supervises Dee in making the mimosas (which were mostly Vodka)
Max, mother of the bride, looking cool and calm!
Gus, Ronni's brother!
Lois with her mangled fingers! Don't ask! Don't eat any of her pickles either!!
Ronni ... the beautiful bride to be!
Rest of the day was catching up with family
who are spread out through this area staying in various motels and at the
Homestead.
The wedding was on Sunday at 4PM so we took the opportunity to
drive the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, a 7.4 mile scenic route with
spectacular overlooks of Lake Michigan.
Do you see her???
Sleeping Bear Dunes is named after a Chippewa legend of the
sleeping bear. According to legend a
huge forest fire on the western shore of Lake Michigan drove a mother bear and
her two cubs into the lake for shelter, determined to reach the opposite
shore.
After many miles of swimming, the
two cubs lagged behind. When the mother
bear reached the shore, she waited on top of a high bluff. Exhausted the cubs drowned in the lake but
the mother bear stayed and waited in hopes that her cubs would finally
appear.
Impressed by the mother bear’s
determination and faith, the Great Spirit created two islands, North and South
Manitou Island to commemorate the cubs and the winds buried the sleeping bear
under the sands of the dunes where she waits to this day.
Our first stop on the drive was at a Covered Bridge. Usually you see these in New England and
Pennsylvania. The sides of the original
bridge were consumed by porcupines which relish man-made structures more than
native wood of the forest. I recall they
also like tires….as in Vermont!
Bridge into Glen Arbor where I took the pics of the Dune!
We stopped at a view of Glen Lake from the Dunes. We were looking over at this view from the
causeway going into Glen Arbor.
The Dune Overlooks are great, you can see how steep these
dunes are going down to Lake Michigan.
It’s always interesting to see people sliding down the dunes to the
beach and then watch them struggle to get back up. There is a hefty charge to be rescued from
these dunes if you can’t get back up on your own!
Straight down to the beach on Lake Michigan!
They are having sooo much fun going down! Wait till they have to come back up!
Five years ago we were here with my grandson Alex. I walked a little ways down to get some good
shots and realized that the climb back up was exceptionally steep. I asked my 10 year old grandson to grab my
hand as his legs were a lot younger than mine!
Together we got me up!
Today it's all about pictures of the experience ... not the experience!
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