The Minis take Michigan - 2023 Michigan Road Trip Day Six: Sleeping Bear Dunes
August 24
I started the day making a breakfast skillet cookie so we could fuel up for our day of exploration. Bill came over and ate with us, then we all got cleaned up and ready to head out.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Our primary destination for the day was Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
First we stopped in at the visitor center where the ranger was just starting a 20-minute film about the park. Because today was so gloomy and overcast, the ranger reminded us that we would have trouble seeing the scenery, and the best way to learn and see some of the views was through the film. We were convinced, so we went inside to watch.
Visitor Centers
Those short films at visitor centers are so informative. It really is worth the time usually to take a short break and learn about the history and natural resources of the park. We learned about the white cedars on South Manitou Island, which can be as old as 400-500 years. They also told us of the plight of the endangered piping plover and threatened pitcher’s thistle.
Legend of Sleeping Bear
The film also told the Anishinaabe’s Legend of Sleeping Bear:
Once, long ago, in the land called Wisconsin across the great lake, there was terrible hunger and many people died. A bear and two little cubs were trying to leave that place and come around the lake where there would be more food.
They walked for many days on the beach together, but after a while the two little cubs began to whimper with hunger, and so the bear decided to swim across the rest of the lake.
They waded into the water, one cub on each side of the bear, and they swam off into the lake a long way. After a while the cubs began to get very tired, and so the bear said, “Try hard, the land is not very far.” And very soon they did come in sight of land.
But gradually the cubs got weaker, and only ten miles away, one cub sank into the water. Soon after, the other also drowned.
The bear’s heart was broken, but she could do nothing. She waded ashore and lay down, looking out on the water where her cubs had died. Eventually, both of them came to the surface as two little islands, and so the bear still lies there atop the dunes, looking after her children.
After learning the legend, I no longer expected to see actual bears, awake or sleeping. Apparently, bears do live in the southern part of the park but are quite shy and rarely encountered.
Pierce Stocking
We chose to enjoy the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. Apparently, Mr. Stocking was a lumberman who wanted a way to access the gorgeous views and share them with others, so he built the road. Although, with the misty skies, a lot of the scenic views weren’t very scenic. However, we did get to drive through the covered bridge, and we parked and walked to the dunes where people can climb alllll the way down the dune.
A tiny geology post!
The reason the dunes are so steep, is that they aren’t just hills of sand. The slopes were actually created long ago by glacial action, and then the sand accumulated against the slopes.
How’s that for a tiny post?
Lunch break
When we’d had enough dune fun, we headed up the coast, and started thinking about lunch. We found an “upscale deli” called Market 22. Why? Well, because it’s located on Highway 22, just across from Little Traverse Lake. We ordered sandwiches. We had a bit of a wait, as we were warned. Boy oh boy was it worth the wait! Tony and Bill got reuben sandwiches, I got a turkey, ham, and bacon. The sandwiches were out of this world! We had locally-made Northwoods sodas, root beer and orange cream. After all those calories, we wondered if we should have done some dune climbing exercise!
They also serve pizza that looked fantastic, and beer and wine. We highly recommend giving them a try if you are in the neighborhood.
More scenic driving
We worked our way up to Northport and back south to Traverse City, and back to camp. All in all it was quite a few miles of beautiful driving. As with most of our days, we ate such a big and terrific lunch, that nobody was really hungry for dinner!
Thank you, Bill and Zappo!
We have to acknowledge Bill and Zappo for being great travel companions for this trip. Bill is excellent at researching areas and figuring out the cool stuff to do and see. Also, his truck is larger and, because Zappo likes to ride along, Bill does most of the driving on our day trips. It’s like having our own personal tour guide!
