Sleeping Bear Dunes Part II

Next stop was the National Maritime Museum and it was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip because I love museums. They had an old lighthouse station that was outfitted with exhibits and tons of old artifacts. It was devoted to the lifesaving crews that were stationed there and were a precursor to the U.S. Coast Guard. What a life they led! I stopped at the Glen Haven store which is restored to look like a 19^th century mercantile. Unfortunately, they had no food (except for Necco Wafers) so I ate more of my string cheese and crackers and drove on down a dirt road to yet another trailhead. I had a hike planned that I wasn’t motivated for but decided to do anyways since it was less than 2 miles round trip. It was a gorgeous overlook much like the one at Pictured Rocks except no demon insects thank goodness so I was glad I went. Of course there was yet another death defying sand cliff. As much fun as it would be to run pell mell down a sand dune and dive in a lake, I didn't want to face the return hike. I relaxed and soaked in the view and listened to a group of middle aged teachers debate the real meaning of words. For instance, did you know that dork=camel penis? One lady was convinced there was another meaning for the word twit but I got out of there before they could brainstorm that one. Apparently, Sleeping Bear has the largest collection of preserved farmhouses in the NPS. I stopped at one that was undergoing renovation to be turned into exhibit space. The guy said there wasn’t much to see but I was free to wander around. So I of course took that as an all access pass and found my way upstairs because the door was open. He runs up after me and tells me that I’m not allowed up there and ushers me out. I didn’t see anything too incriminating up there but if he didn’t want me up there then why was the door open!?I drove back along Glen Lake (stopping at Inspiration Point) and continued to the beach because I was exhausted and grimy and wanted a swim. Earlier I had seen an overlook where there was a lake, a sandbar and then Lake Michigan. It was so cool! When I found out it was a beach, I was even more excited so decided to make that my last stop. North Bar Lake was calm and warm but very deep. I look 3 steps in and then the bottom fell away. Then I walked across a dune and there’s Lake Michigan in all its glory. The waves were huge! This is what I thought the ocean would be like but it was even better because this was freshwater. However, waves scare the crap out of me. I went in up to my ankles and the waves sucked me right in and they are relentless. I was so hot and grimy that I didn’t care at that point. By the time I surfaced and turned around to look at the beach I was a couple hundred feet away from my towel. Oops. I then tried to get out which proved difficult but finally the waves spat me out in a most ungraceful manner (but at least my bathing suit was in place). Normally when I travel I hate lingering anywhere but I was beat so I laid out on my towel for a while and enjoyed the crashing waves (the pic doesn't do it justice).I was still hungry though and decided I needed real sustenance so I stopped at a little café in town for a sandwich. I was exhausted and starving but I had planned one more hike and because of where it was I thought it best to do on the way to my campground. It was a creepy hike because I kept hearing the tree branches above me creaking and swaying. I thought one would fall on my head. The overlook was pretty. It had a nice view of where I had just been swimming.

I ran back along the trail and nearly plowed over an Indian family. I sped down the road to check-in at my campsite and promptly devoured my delicious dinner. I considered going to fireworks (because it was July 4th) but the closest ones were about 20 minutes away and I was exhausted and facing a long day of driving the next day so I laid in my tent and listened to them. I gave up on my broken cot and just slept on the ground. It poured rain most of the night but luckily I stayed dry. The next day I headed out bright and early.

I made a stop in Frankenmuth, MI. Grandma Doyle said that they had stopped there on their way to Mackinac. It is famous for its Bavarian Inn where they have a glockenspiel (which I didn’t get to see go off). I wandered the gift shop and bought some strudel and a pretzel. It’s a cute tourist trap. Somehow that stop threw off Lee so I ended up on some back roads detour through farm country to get me back on the interstate. I always enjoy a good farm road though so I didn’t mind.

When I reached the Canada border crossing I had about a half hour wait which was a lot better than I was expecting. Driving across Canada it became increasingly hot and by the time I hit the U.S. border it was about 100 degrees (they kept exclaiming about the temperature on the radio while I was driving but I don’t understand Canadian). Ughh. I saw signs saying both the Lewiston and Fort Erie crossings were delayed a couple hours so I thought I’d take a chance and cross at the Rainbow Bridge which goes over Niagara Falls. However, that traffic was so backed up that I sat at a light and it kept turning green and red but traffic wouldn’t move. Thanks to Lee, I cut out of traffic ASAP and zipped through downtown and came out right across from where people were turning onto the bridge. I forced myself into line and waited 20 minutes to go back across which was awesome. I finally made it home about 5:30 pm after about 10 hours of driving. Overall, despite all my bitching about the state trying to harm its tourists, I’m glad I went to Michigan. It is a beautiful state with gorgeous coastlines and nice people but it was a bit too far to drive for a weekend trip (never thought I’d say that ;)