As I write this I’m at the Orchard Beach State Park in Manistee, Michigan. The heat wave and humidity that had blanketed this region last week is now a distant memory. When I left the RV Park in Traverse City last Sunday [21st] it had become much cooler and drier. Ready to move on that morning, I got back on Rt. 31 S for just a few miles before I turned north on Rt. 37 to head up the Old Mission Peninsula. The peninsula, which juts up the Grand Traverse Bay, is about 20 miles long and three miles wide at its widest. The bay on the east side is called the East Grand Traverse Bay, which means, obviously, that the bay on the west side is called the West Grand Traverse Bay. Rt. 37 is the only major highway that traverses the north/south route of the peninsula. As I drove up to the tip I noticed a lot of orchards and vineyards along the way.
The restored Mission
Point Lighthouse, built in 1870, is located at the “Dead End” of Rt. 37 and
since I had to turn around right there I decided I might as well stop and walk
around for a while. The gift shop had a
free local map and when I noted all the side roads I knew immediately I was not
going back south on Rt. 37. Kinda hard
to get lost on this little sliver of land, I figured.
I turned left
here. I turned right there. Goodness, there’s the historic Old Mission
Inn, built in 1869. The chairs on the
big porch provide a wonderful view of the East Grand Traverse Bay. There’s the Haserot Beach and the Old Mission
General Store, the original store and trading post since 1839.
Orchards. I wanted to see orchards. So I turned west, crossing Rt. 37 over to the
West Grand Traverse Bay. Referring to
the local map, I got on a couple of narrow farm roads and was soon in the
middle of groves of cherry and other fruit trees. I found a place to pull over for a close look
at the bright red cherries and to take pictures. I picked one up from the ground, just to feel
the texture. I did not pick a cherry from
a tree. Mama taught me well!
With the bay on my
right, serving as my guide, I headed southward to return to Rt. 31. People live on this peninsula and there were
many lovely homes along this drive.
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| The rocky shoreline of East Grand Traverse Bay, as seen from the site of the Mission Point Lighthouse, Old Mission Peninsula, Michigan. |
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| A grove of cherry trees on Old Mission Peninsula. |
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| Cherries! |
Back on Rt. 31, again
for just a few miles, I then turned onto Rt. 22 N to visit the Leelanau
Peninsula. First the “thumb,” then the
“tip of the mitt,” and now I’m on the “little finger” of Lower Michigan!
Route 22 traverses
along both the eastern and western sides of the peninsula. It splits at Northport, but, by way of a
couple of county roads, I drove all the way up to the peninsula’s tip and got a
site at the Leelanau State Park. After a
short walk on a path to check out the water I then walked over to the Grand
Traverse Lighthouse, which is situated right here within the state park. Since all the sites here are rustic (no
hookups), I opened the propane tanks for the fridge. Still wary about my camper’s batteries, I
kept the dinette slide-out closed. But I
did heat up some soup on the propane-fueled stove! Since I have a propensity for screwing up
anything I try to cook – and probably have the cleanest stove and oven in
camperdom - my success with the soup is to be celebrated!
Monday morning [22nd],
and on the western side of Rt. 22, I drove south though a lovely landscape of orchards,
vineyards, wineries, woods, and lakes to the Village of Empire and stopped at
the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Visitors Center to get campground
and other information. From there I took
Rt. 109 towards the Glen Arbor Village and turned into the D. H. Day
Campground. It was about noon and there
were three parties ahead of me. I looked
at their vehicles and they appeared to be tent campers. Holding my breath and keeping my fingers
crossed, I soon found out they had just a few spaces left! Named last year the “Most Beautiful Place in
America” by ABC’s “Good Morning America,” the Sleeping Bear Dunes is a popular
national lakeshore and the limited number of unreserved spaces are quickly
snatched up. Feeling extremely lucky, I
got a site for tonight and tomorrow.
Before setting up at
my [rustic] site I went to the Glen Arbor Village to look for a WIFI
hotspot. I found it in a coffee shop and
hung out there, with a Frappuccino, for about an hour. Again I opened the propane tanks but not the
slide-out. With hours of daylight left,
on this sunny and warm day, I went to the beach with my 3rd book of
the trip. The various hues of blue on
Lake Michigan, indicating water depth, are most evident on a sunny day. From where I sat, aqua was the color of the
water closest to the shore and dark blue beyond. Nearby are the North Manitou and the South
Manitou Islands, accessible only by ferry.
I went in the refreshingly cool water twice.
It turned out to be
cloudy, breezy, and very cool on Tuesday [23rd]. While I will always prefer my travel days to
be sunny and warm – for beach and photography reasons – I was grateful that
today at least was not humid and it did not rain. I set out at 9:30 a.m. stopping first at the
nearby historic Glen Haven Village. This
used to be a bustling lakeshore village, populated by lumbermen, fishermen, and
visitors. Extending yards out in the
water was a long dock where ships would anchor to drop off and pick up cargo
and passengers. Wood pilings of that
dock can still be seen in the water and some buildings, including an inn, still
stand. They’ve been restored/renovated but
at the time of my visit they weren’t open.
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| The beach at the Glen Haven Village, with South Manitou Island in the background. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. |
I then went to the
Dune Climb and climbed the 110-foot high sand dune. It was tough going and I had to stop about 10
times to catch my breath. I tried to
nonchalantly make it appear I stopped to look around (heh, heh) and it was
quite satisfying to see other people stopping for a moment, too!
Getting up that dune,
I saw that the sand leveled out for some yards and then there was another dune,
but not quite as high. I made it up that
one and saw still another dune! By that
time, the clouds had gotten darker, the wind had picked up, and it had become a
lot cooler. I was in t-shirts and shorts
and wearing my sneakers. Off to my right
was a dune that had patches of dune grass and other vegetation on it. A narrow sandy path led up to several
elevated ridges and, since it looked like an easier climb, I went that way up
to the highest ridge. From there I could
see Lake Michigan. I think the people
that crossed that third dune reached the shore itself. Feeling pretty good about my considerable efforts,
I headed back down to the parking lot.
The return was a whole lot easier and it was fun watching kids of all
ages and nationalities having a great time.
It is universal, this joy that kids exhibit with wild abandon. We adults could learn from them!
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| The "Dune Climb," Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. |
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| Looking back the way I came. Glen Lake in the background. |
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| Looking up and over a ridge to Lake Michigan and the South Manitou Island. |
My next adventure was
an auto tour on the scenic 7.4-mile Pierce Stocking Drive. There were 12 points of interest and I
stopped at most of them to look around and to read the descriptive guide I had
purchased. Needless to say, the most
popular stop, and the one with the packed parking lot, is the Lake Michigan
Overlook. Here, at the top of a high
ancient glacial bluff, a mixture of sand and stones, was an impressive view of
Lake Michigan and the two Manitou Islands.
The way down the bluff to the rocky shore is extremely steep. A lot of hardy souls went down easily
enough. There was only one way back - up
that same steep bluff! Many people
resorted to getting down on their hands and knees and crawl back up!
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| The Pierce Stocking Drive, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. |
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| A very steep bluff down to Lake Michigan, from the Lake Michigan Overlook, along the Pierce Stocking Drive. |
To wrap up this
fantastic day, I went to Glen Arbor for a late lunch. I haven’t been eating out much so this was a
rare treat for myself. Being that it was
too cold for the beach, there were lots of cars and people in the village. The coffee shop was my last stop before I
returned to my camp site for the night.
As I backed in I thought, “Aw, MAP, open the dang slide-out.” So I did.
This morning
(Wednesday 24th), the first thing I did was close the
slide-out. No problems at all! I had decided last night that if it wouldn’t
close due to insufficient battery power, I would just start the truck and let
it charge up the camper’s batteries while I got ready to leave. It sure was a relief to discover I didn’t
have to do that.
As I approached the
exit of this wonderful Sleeping Bear Dunes campground, I was very surprised to
see this long queue of cars – maybe 12 total – outside the registration
office. People were standing around
outside, waiting their turn to go in the office. It was only 8:30 a.m.! Maybe they had reservations but I am glad
this is not what I experienced when I arrived last Monday!
Look for it,
girl. If you look for it, you’ll find
it. Just as I drove through Empire, back
on Rt. 22 S, I saw it! Making my entrance,
there were four gentlemen ahead of me.
They all had white hair, or grey hair, and various degrees of
baldness. One fellow had a comb-over. I figured on one hour so I sat down and read
a People magazine. When it was my turn,
I told the barber – “Clipper #2, all over!”
Ten minutes and $7.50 plus tip later, I was on my way with my newly
shorn head!
Although the Leelanau
Peninsula pretty much ended just south of Empire, I was still hugging the Lake
Michigan shoreline and decided to pull into the first scenic turnout I
saw. Unlike yesterday, the weather is
clear today and the sky is blue, and I wanted to see those blue hues of Lake
Michigan. Climbing up a lookout platform,
I wasn’t disappointed. As there was no
wind either, the water was calm…almost like glass. Seagulls were gliding above the water, some
plucked something from the water, a few floated on the water. Nothing really unusual about all this, except
that this time instead of looking up at them, I was looking down.
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| Lake Michigan, seen from an overlook platform, somewhere along Rt. 22. |
For tonight I got a
site at the Orchard Beach State Park in Manistee. The state park is also on top of a bluff and
there are steps leading down to the beach.
I didn’t go to the beach today but did admire the view and the sunset from
the top of the bluff. Earlier, as I was
driving through the state park to pick my site, this fellow got my attention
and informed me that the brake light on my camper’s right side wasn’t
working. Nor was the turn signal. How long it’s been out like this, I do not
know.
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| Lake Michigan, as seen through my kitchen window, Orchard Beach State Park. |
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| The colors of a setting sun on the sand and trees, Orchard Beach State Park. |
Route 22 ended at Manistee and I continued south on Rt. 31. Heeding the advice I got from someone yesterday, I stopped first at the local Chevrolet dealership to ask if they could look at the camper’s brake light. It wasn’t broken. Just a loose connection, apparently caused by all the jostling and bouncing around that happens when I travel around in the camper. They tweaked and tapped the little round red thingie, but this is on my list for David, my Galaxy Campers guy, to look at when I get back home.
It’s a good thing I
ignored my initial thinking that maybe I’d skip the Ludington State Park [in
Ludington, MI] today and go somewhere else.
Once I passed through the town and saw all the sand dunes around Lake
Michigan, I perked up. Further, it’s a
good thing I ignored – completely ignored - the “No Vacancy” sign at the park’s
registration office. It was 11:00 a.m.
and the woman in there was all smiles when I walked in. I said “Hi, I see your sign but I thought I’d
ask if maybe somebody has left and there’s now a vacancy?” She checked her computer and, yes, there’s
three at the Pines Campground! I picked
#42.
Dubbed the “queen of
Michigan State Parks,” Ludington State Park is located on the shore of Lake
Michigan and “…is comprised of nearly 5,300 acres of scenic sand dunes, over
five miles of Lake Michigan shoreline vistas, ponds, forest and Hamlin Lake.” It is also home to the restored Big Sable
Point Lighthouse, one of the oldest lighthouses on Lake Michigan. A posted notice at the office advised that
fawns were born in May and June and to please leave them alone because, even
though their mothers will walk away when they see people, they have not been
abandoned. Another notice advised that
the raccoons are cunning and fearless and campers, especially tent campers,
should leave their food and trash inside their vehicles.
A bite of lunch
first, followed by about an hour of writing.
At 2:00 p.m. I set off for a walk.
First stop (but, of course!) the beach and the restored Beach House,
constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the late 1930s. The sandy beach and water looked so enticing
but I decided it was a perfect day – sunny and in the mid-70s – to walk on the
bike paths and other trails and see things other than Lake Michigan.
The first bike path I
got on followed the shore of the Big Sable River where people were lazily floating
by on inflated tubes. I had my
binoculars with me and used it every time I detected movement. As I began my walk through the forest
section, I spotted a deer. She saw me too but wasn’t spooked at all. I saw birds, two that I recognized as a robin
and a woodpecker, and a yellow and a blue bird that I couldn’t identify. On the way back to my campground, I saw
another deer and her fawn. The fawn
walked around, nibbled at the ground, and then laid down among the leaves. I lost it and then found it. It certainly is amazing how a fawn's light brown color and white spots
camouflage it so well.
It was 6:00 p.m. by
the time I returned to my camper. It was
a very satisfying and pleasant four-hour walk and I was glad I took this time
to see the geological diversity of the area…and some of the wildlife!
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| The beach at the Ludington State Park, Ludington, MI. |
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| Listen up, people! |
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| Sand dunes, trees, Lake Michigan, Ludington State Park. |
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| A fawn in the woods, Ludington State Park. |
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| One of many ways down to the beach! |
FRIDAY,
JULY 26 –
I had learned
yesterday that inclement weather was in the forecast for today. The morning started off nice enough and after getting some groceries I got back on Rt. 31 S and, less than an hour later,
arrived at the Silver Creek Luxury RV Resort & Campground in Silver Lake,
MI. The resort has WIFI, which I need so
I can post my blog, and cable as well for the TV. The lady in the office said they were full,
but then she said, wait a moment…somebody is supposed to check out and they
haven’t yet. Eventually those folks left
and I got that site for tonight. About
30 minutes after I got settled in the camper, it rained.
I think I’m going to
make a “weekend route diversion” away from the shoreline tomorrow. Maybe I’ll head for the woods…
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