Tuesday 10-2 Site Seeing in Michigan

Site Seeing

Today we drove about 150 miles to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park. On the way we made a couple of stops. The first stop was the viewing park for the Mackinac Bridge, it's a huge bridge that takes you from the Upper Peninsula to the rest of Michigan. I tried to get a picture of the bridge but the weather did not cooperate, simply to grey. The overview park was very nice and included a memorial for people who lost their lives building the bridge and the south tower fog bell. After looking at the bridge we went to a monument to honor the missionary Father Jacques Marquette. We walked the trail and learned about his life in the area.

Memorial Statue honoring the fallen

A sculpture of the Mackinac Bridge

Going over the Mackinac Bridge

The last time we crossed this bridge with the Minnie the wind was blowing and Larry said it was downright scary, you had to drive real slow and the wind was pushing us all around. There are so many people afraid of driving on the bridge that the State of Michigan will provide a professional driver free of charge to drive your vehicle across. They drive about a 1000 people a year. Today we were lucky, the wind was down. There are two lanes on the bridge, one is regular black top and the other one is a metal grate. Due to maintenance one lane was closed. The speed limit for trucks and RVs is 20 mph. Larry said it was actually easy, no wind really helped. 

As we drove across the upper peninsula we had seen signs at restaurants advertising pasties. Soon after exiting the bridge we saw a breakfast restaurant with a pastie sign and decided to give one a try. Pasties are pastry dough stuffed with meat and vegetables and then baked. We had a beef pastry. We weren't that impressed, thought it was a little bland. But it is always good to try something new.

A beef pasty

Next stop was a self guided tour of the McGulpin Point Lighthouse. The actually lighthouse is the visitor center. The first floor was the visitor center and had a few rooms to walk through (a couple of bedrooms, kitchen, dining room and living room). Each room was decorated like it would look in 1688 when it was a working lighthouse. We climbed a spiral staircase that went to the second floor and to the light of the lighthouse. As we climbed the spiral staircase it got narrow and you had to watch your head. The outdoor observation deck was closed due to the wet weather. After walking through the lighthouse we saw the assistants house. There was a trail you can take that told you the history of the lighthouse and the facilities. It was a nice tour and the lighthouse was very well maintained.

McGulpin Point Lighthouse

One of the lighthouse rooms

A view from the lighthouse

On the way to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park we drove through downtown Charlevoix and saw a beautiful mural.

A mural in Charlevoix

Our final stop was at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park. We stopped by a day use area where you can put in a kayak or canoe and float four miles down the river to Lake Michigan. The river was not deep but there was a current to help you along. We stopped at the ranger station and got a site for a couple of nights. I used my America The Beautiful Pass and got the site for half price. Next year the park will be reservation only and it might be more difficult for folks like us who travel without plans to get a site, especially if you want to stay multiple days

Once we were settled in we went for a hike. We hiked an old railroad trail. It took us through a nice forest down to Lake Michigan, a bit over a mile each way. The trail was very easy to hike until you got near the lake and into sand. When we got to the lake there was a sign that said one side no pets are allowed and the other side pets were allowed. After taking a few picture we headed back.

After relaxing for a bit we went over and took a shower. The shower was very nice but the room isn't heated. When we got back we had dinner. After dinner we walked around the campground for about a half hour. The walk was very nice.