Let Sleeping Bears Lie

I have now arrived at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Another national treasure, another Junior Ranger badge.

I stayed in the campground at the park – it has got to be one of the nicest national campgrounds I've ever stayed in. Lots of space between the sites and really great neighbors. Everyday, it was Happy Hour, sitting around the campfire. If it is 5:00, you had better have your wine Sippie Cup filled and ready to go. I was actually not the only one sitting there with a wine Sippie Cup – great minds think alike, I guess. All I gotta says is life is good.

There were several good trails that meandered around the campground – one led to the beach and the other was a delightful little jaunt through a mixed hardwood forest. The main draw here though are the Dunes, which were about ten miles up the road. The first day, Miko and I wandered down an unmarked secret trail that the Ranger Lady had told us about. It led to a sandy outcropping(well, it was really a serious, no nonsense cliff) overlooking Lake Michigan. I later learned that it was 450 feet above the beach, that is like a 30 story building. Weather-wise, even though it is fall, it was a hardcore summer day – temps were in the nineties. Miko and I sat on our ledge for quite a while (me way far back from the edge, Miko right on the edge – silly dog) enjoying the nice breeze coming in over the lake.

Someplace, way down there, is a bald eagle flying by

When we got back to the RV, I jumped in the car and headed for Cherry Republic in the little town of Glen Arbor. This part of Michigan is a major cherry producer and Cherry Republic is about all things cherry. The best part is that they have tons of samples – you could almost make a meal out of the sampling. I bought cherry white wine that was actually very dry and sampled cherry salsa, cherry BBQ sauce, cherry honey and of course many different types of cherry chocolate. It was a very satisfying day.

What a difference a day makes. I woke up to a gray, overcast and very brisk day. I think the temperature had dropped 25 degrees. Miko and I walked down to the lake from the campground and then I loaded up my new foldable bike in my Cooper, said goodbye to Miko and headed out to bike the Heritage Trail - a 22 mile bike trail. I again have to thank the Ranger Lady. She showed me a spot at the Dune Climb, where I could access the trail about halfway along it's length. As she was telling me about it, she was pointing at the map. She said – this section flat, this next section flat, here at the end is ice cream. She was an excellent Ranger Lady.

The Dune Climb - no, I did not climb

This is my maiden voyage on my bike – I haven't really ridden for a few years so I'm rather wobbly. I seem to have an issue where if I turn my head to look at something, it seems to cause the bike to veer in that direction and I had some rather close calls with the ditch. Also, I distinctly remember the bike sales guy saying to me – don't worry, you will get used to the seat after a while. Methinks he lied to me a bit.

Rode by this porcupine - my foot just missed his head.  He was as surprised as I was.  By the time I could stop the bike and get the camera out, he was up the tree

It was a lot of fun riding bike again. I tooled down the path, ending up in a little historical town called Glen Haven. Most of the buildings were closed, some because the summer season has ended and others because they were having an infestation of bald faced wasps who are known to be extremely aggressive. I continued down the path and somehow I find myself at Cherry Republic again. I guess it is time for lunch.

Miko and I also did the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, a 7.4 mile drive that wanders through dunes and maple oak forests. There were about 12 stops along the way, each with their respective narrative sign telling us what we were seeing.

That strip of land in the distance is called Alligator Hill, because it looks like an alligator (try squinting)

A sign said something along the line of - While it might be fun to run down the hill, it will take you three hours to climb back up or many dollars in rescue fees.

The Legend of Sleepy Bear Dunes: 

Long ago a great famine had spread over the land. Longingly, a mother bear and two famished cubs walked the shore on the Wisconsin side, gazing wistfully across the great lake at Michigan, which in those days was the land of plenty (as it is today). Finally hunger overcame their timidness and the bears launched out, trying to swim to Michigan. As they got closer and closer to the Michigan shore, the mother's words of encouragement urged on the weary cubs. When only twelve miles from the land of plenty, the mother's heart was rent as she saw a babe sink and drown. With the remaining cub she struggled to gain the beach. Two miles of slow dragging and the second of her beloved cubs also perished.
The mother reached the beach, alone, and crept to a resting place where she lay down facing the restless waters that covered her lost ones. As she gazed, two beautiful islands slowly rose to mark the graves of the cubs. The Great Spirit Manitou created two islands (North and South Manitou Islands) to mark the spot where the cubs disappeared and then created a solitary dune to represent the faithful mother bear.

The lump off in the distance is Mama Bear. She looked much more like a sleeping bear before erosion and time kicked in.