NORTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN LOOP, Part 5

Sleeping Bear Dunes to Traverse City, MI

August 7, 2018

By late afternoon we arrived in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore following route 109, having turned off M22 shortly after passing through Empire, MI. Off to the left of the road I noticed a paved bicycle path meandering through the trees, going up and down short inclines. I pointed it out to Laura, but since it was going up and down compared to our relatively flat road we decided to stay on the road. As we continued along, the path seemed to level out, and at one point it came close to the road so I quickly veered to the left and got on it. I am very glad I did. The path turned slightly back into the woods, and after a few hundred feet came out next to one of the largest dunes I had ever seen. We had stumbled upon the Dune Climb at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. I was immediately impressed with the size of the dune, rising up a good 300 feet, and pure sand. No rocks, no sticks, no shrubs, no trees, just sand. I was also a bit taken aback by the number of people climbing up the dune. In New England, the coastal dunes are generally off limits, so it was unusually to see people climbing about.

First view of the dunes.

We were planning on spending the next day in Sleeping Bear Dunes, so did not stop to explore. We continued riding along the path to the campground. It meandered through the coastal forests and meadows with hints of the dune showing through in some areas. Along the way we stopped to take in some of the views. The path eventually led us to the back entrance to the DH Day Campground. We rode up to the office to get ourselves a campsite. We were informed they were booked, but fortunately, as bicycle tourist, they could put us up in their maintenance building area. We agreed. Gotta love the "no turn away" policy of these campgrounds. We were also informed that we could stop by in the morning to see if they had any open campsites for the next night. Looking out the window there was already a line of cars forming for sites the next day. Apparently it is a normal occurrence for people to sleep overnight in their cars at the campground entrance to get a campsite the next day. We thought maybe we would move on the next day. Having the one night was good enough.

The dunes showing through the forests.

Former landing at Glen Haven.

Camp site in maintenance area. Picnic table, fire pit, electricity and water. Can't complain.

August 8, 2018

Following a restful night next in the maintenance area, we slowly got ourselves feed and packed, under no hurry as we had contacted a Warmshowers host the previous night to see if we could stay the next night. Although we had not heard back yet, we were hopeful we would get the green light. As we were leaving the campground, we decided to swing by the park office to see if they had any sites available, not expecting there to be any given the line of cars forming the previous night. Well, it turns out they did have a few sites available, and, since we had not heard back from our Warmshower host, we decided to take a site and stay an extra night, as originally planned. Wouldn't you know at the time we were headed to our site to unpack, we received a message from the Warmshower host that we could stay with them that night. Oops. Contacting them, we easily arranged for a stay the following night, so all was good.

We spent the day visiting the Dune Climb and Lifesaving Station. The Dune Climb was an interesting experience since, as I mentioned before, we are typically not allowed to climb on the dunes in New England. Arriving at the climb you are presented with a wall of sand that goes up about 200 feet. We climbed, and were already breathing heavy within the first few steps. People were trudging up, others were running down, and kids were going in all directions. Reaching the top we were presented with the view that we were not actually at the top, but had to climb up another 100 feet or so to a few thickets of trees from which we could turn and get a nice view of Glen Lake to the east, and Lake Michigan to the west and north. We took a break and had some lunch under some trees. Following lunch we hiked through the dunes for a bit, climbing through some sandy passes and admiring the views and vegetation. We did not reach Lake Michigan, not that we intended to, but understand there is a long drop to the beach below.

Here are some pictures from our time in the dunes:

After wandering around in the dunes for a while we headed over to the Lifesaving Station which has now been converted to a museum, the most complete Lifesaving Station museum of all Lifesaving Stations in the country, we were told. We listened to the park ranger describe all the equipment and methods used by the rescuers to save sailors from the Lake, and the rigorous training they went through to always be prepared. There were typically seven men working at each station. The lowest man, number seven, had the unenviable task of walking the shoreline keeping an eye out for stranded vessels. This man had to keep walking until he met the seventh man from the adjacent Lifesaving Station, usually about five to seven miles. When meeting they would exchange coins, unique to each station, to prove they met. They would then turn and walk back.

We also witnessed a reenactment of the use of the breeches buoy. This was simply a ring buoy with shorts attached, in which a sailor could sit in while being rescued. A line is shot to the stranded vessel, and another line pulled out and secured to the vessel. A loop is then formed which allows the rescuers to pull the breeches buoy out to the ship, then grabbing the other side, pull the breeches buoy back with the sailor inserted. A lot of hard work getting it set up properly, but fairly effective. This reenactment was carried out by the assistance of many children in the audience. It was fun to watch.

Listening the the park ranger talk about the history of the Lifesaving Station.

Watching the breeches buoy demonstration.

Enjoying a dip in the lake at the end of the day.

August 9, 2018

It was a short day today to get to Suttons Bay where we would be staying with our first Warmshowers host. Good thing it was going to be a short day because we got side tracked in Glen Arbor, a quaint little town with several eclectic shops to wander through. We had a nice conversation with a couple about bicycle touring, as they too tour on a tandem bicycle, and had toured through parts of New England a few years ago. It is always fun to get other people's perspective on bicycle touring, particularly if they ride a tandem.

We finally got on the road and made our way to Suttons Bay, about an hour before we had scheduled to show up at our host's house. We spent some of the time in the harbor side park watching all the comings and goings of people and boats. At the allotted time, we rode over to the house, a little apprehensive about our first Warmshower host stay. We were quickly put at ease as we met Pete and Jan. They welcomed us into their home and showed us our room for the night, a nice windowed sun porch with a comfortable bed and space to unpack and spread out our gear. They had to go out for the evening and left us to our own accord. We took showers and went back out into town to get a bite to eat at the local pizza joint. It was a delicious meal, following which we headed back to the house. Pete and Jan had returned and we spent the next couple of hours sharing travel stories and watching their cat do tricks. Overall and enjoyable evening.

Drying out the gear during a lunch stop.

Coffeeshop stop.

At the waterfront in Suttons Bay.

Glass yard sculptures.

Warmshower hosts Pete and Jan.

August 10, 2018

In the morning we were fed a delicious breakfast of buckwheat waffles and provided a dice game, Cosmic Wimpout, to take with us on the road. Thanks Pete and Jan! After saying goodbyes we headed towards Traverse City. The previous night we received a text from our friends John and Barbara who were vacationing for a week and were in the area. They wanted to know if we wanted to meet for lunch out on Old Mission Peninsula North of Traverse City. Since we would be riding through the area at about noon, we decided, why not. The ride from Suttons Bay to Traverse City was uneventful as we were able to ride along the Leelanau Rail Trail which connected the two locations. Once we got through Traverse City we headed out onto the peninsula. We arrived at the same time as John and Barbara and we had a nice "civilized" meal as we are generally used to sitting on the side of the road or park eatting peanut butter and crackers. They were even so kind as to pay for our meals. Thanks John and Barbara!

Lunch with Barbara and John at the Jolly Pumpkin.