It was raining when I woke up. The skies were thick and gray. As I lay there I thought that is was going to
be no fun packing up in the rain. I
wondered if I should hang around until the rain stopped…and then it did. In the lull I quickly got dressed and started
the process of breaking up camp. The
mosquito tent I folded and rolled up after shaking out the majority of the wetness. Then I rearranged all the gear from sleeping
mode to transportation mode. The clear
window lasted through breakfast and then I was on the road before 8 am.
The first part of the drive was through the wilderness and
some farm lands. I made turn off and a
stop for a hike at Leelanau State Park hiking trails (it is quite a distance
from the camp ground area) and with my
umbrella set of on the trail. The damp
brought out all the mosquitoes and they defeated me! About 1 km into the trail to see the view to
Lake Michigan I accepted that in spite of bug spray the bugs were winning! I turned around and hiked back out.
The rain let up and clear skies peaked through, I wondered
if I should go on the ferry to South Manito Island? It is an all day trip, going out at 10 am
and returning for 5 pm. That means if the
weather turns bad while on the island you are stuck! I drove to Leland, with the skies
clearing. But once I got to Leland the
clouds closed in again. I pondered and
then decided to not go! What fun is a
day on an island walking around in the rain!
Call me a wimp if you wish, but I prefer to leave my options open in the
face of inclement weather.
I enjoyed a lovely stroll through Leland’s historic fish
town! It really was very interesting and
as the ferry sailed off and the cloud cover remained I congratulated myself for
not being on board. I found this little
shop with smoked fish. I so wanted to
have some for my lunch but they would not let me buy a small portion…you had to
get the whole fish or nothing. Since the
smallest fish they had was enough to feed 4 people and since I have only a
cooler and fish can spoil quickly I had to forgo on the flavor of smoked fish.
Now I started the scenic drive south on M-109 to explore the
Sleeping Bear Dunes and the coastal regions of Lake Michigan.
The Legend
Sleeping Bear took its name from an
Ojibway legend about its formation. According to the story, a mother
bear and her two cubs were driven by forest fires from what is now Wisconsin
and forced to swim across Lake Michigan. When the mother bear reached
the Michigan shore, she turned to discover that her cubs had
vanished. The Great Spirit was so touched by her plight that he had her
fall off to sleep there, creating Sleeping Bear Dune, and marked the place
where her cubs disappeared by creating the Manitou Islands.
|
I stopped along the way for some scenic, run down ruins and
for scenic view towards scattered farms among the hills. In Port Oneida I stopped at an old cemetery
so see some of the stone markers from the 1800’s. I decided just on a whim to follow that road
toward the coast and found at the end of the road a stairway down the dune to
the water’s edge and from there lovely views along the coast in either
direction. To the south, just barely visible
in the haze of the day was the outline of Sleeping Dune.
In the town of Glen Arbor, I stopped to look at the Crystal
River and the road sign leading to Burdickville and thought of the roads not
traveled, what lies along that path? Then
I followed a town road toward Lake Michigan to see the local beach at the end
of the road.
I followed the signs to the Historic town of Glen Haven and
then spotted a sign leading to the Sleeping Bear Point trail so I decided to
investigate. It looked promising so I
packed my picnic lunch and my folding chair and towel and put on my old "walk in
the sand flip flops" and set off along the trail. I saw families with small kids also on this
trek so I figured it was leading to a good spot.
Along a straight stretch then a steep climb
up a dune, then down between the dunes and up and over another dune, and there
spread out before me a glorious vista of blues and turquoise was Lake Michigan
in all her glory!
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| view to Lake Michigan at Sleeping Bear Point |
The sun decided to
come out and it almost felt like I was on a Caribbean beach! I set up my chair and just drank in the
beauty of the scene.
I tested the
waters with my feet, there is a definite northern chill in these waters, but I
can imagine on a normal hot July day it would be most refreshing. However, since I will be remembering this
summer as the July that wasn't, I just
enjoyed a relaxing sit down in the very moderate temperature, with the breeze
it was not even warm enough to break a sweat!
All too soon I had to accept that it was time to return to
the car and continue on my journey south.
Returning through Glen Haven I stopped for a few roadside photos of the
mostly abandoned buildings, before driving south on M-109 to the Pierce Stocking
Scenic Drive. On the way I passed the
“Dune Climb” and watched dozens of people making their way up this amazing
dune.
As I entered the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive with at least
2 dozen other vehicles to pay my $10.00 park entry fee I was amazed at how
popular this drive is. But then I
remembered that today is Saturday and as such this would be a popular day
outing as well as a destination for those staying in the area. I headed into the park and stopped at all
the markers to enjoy the amazing variety of forest and dune and scenic
vistas. Fortunately the weather remained
sunny and clear for most of the drive, it was just as I was leaving the park
that the clouds started to gather once again.
By the time I reached my next stop, the Robert H Manning
Memorial Lighthouse in Empire, the wind was gusting and the sky was looking
troubled. Next on my list was the Point
Betsy Lighthouse.
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| Point Betsy Lighthouse |
As you can see from
the pictures the sky was dark with cloud cover and the wind was gusting! It was at this moment in time that I was
thankful for skipping the ferry trip to the island.
The views from the lighthouse were awesome and
evidence of blowing sand is the defining characteristic of the landscape.
With the skies looking fierce it was time to get to some
accommodations. Here is where the fun
part of the day started. All the
campgrounds I passed were full with weekend campers. After no luck at several I decided to head
toward the nearest Walmart. Here is my
logic, a town big enough to have a Walmart will have more options for
lodgings. I started the drive and passed
numerous cabins and motels all with No Vacancy signs up! Finally I passed a sign “rooms and camp
sites” and no "no vacancy" sign up! I pulled in and
inquired, no rooms left, but one camp site was available.
With dark stormy clouds overhead I would have
preferred a room, but then beggars can’t be choosers. It was 5 pm as I settled in for the evening, preparing for rain just in case…and then at the last moment the skies cleared
and the sun came out. Go figure that
out. I said another thank you to myself
for choosing not to go on the ferry to the island. I shuddered to imagine, getting off the
ferry at 5 pm and then starting the search for a place to stay the night in this
area with everything filled to capacity!
The evening was filled with the sounds of children happily
playing until dark. I remember well
those long summer evenings when bed time seemed to never come because it was
“still light out”! I relaxed on my cozy
mattress reading and doing Sudoku puzzles until it was time for my sleepy head
to get comfy with the pillows.
2014 – 07 – 26
Renate Dundys Marrello
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