All good things must come to an end … or so the saying goes.
After a terrific week with Tim and Tricia exploring Mackinaw Island and the greater Traverse City Area – we bid good bye to the Tennessee Schulz Clan as they headed home.
Before hitting the road, Tim and Tricia treated us to a delicious breakfast of pancakes with butter and maple cream and scrambled eggs.
With an afternoon open, Noel and Kirk set off to continue our exploration of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore a bit more.
We needed a bite for lunch – so we found a local sandwich shop (The Shipwreck Cafe) that was about 0.5 miles away from the Visitors Center. It was really busy – always a good sign – and we split a sandwich and bag of chips sitting outside at a picnic table enjoying a beautiful Michigan afternoon.
After lunch – we made it to the Visitor Center. Noel got our required Sleeping Bear Dunes stamp for our National Park Passport Book – a necessary first step! At the Visitor Center, we enjoyed a 30 minute movie on the origins of the park, shopped for some souvenirs, and visited with a Park Ranger about what we should think about doing that afternoon. He highly recommended the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive located just a few miles away from the Visitors Center.
It was a brilliant recommendation.
There were 14 distinctive spots to stop and learn more about the history, ecology, and geology of the area along the scenic drive.
It was narrated by someone reading from their phone that sounded a lot like Noel. We both enjoyed the drive and learned a lot.
The last stop after we finished the scenic drive was to a trailhead that featured a dune that was safe to climb to see what it was like. We were eager to see how Noel’s two bionic knees would fare tackling a steep sand dune.
She passed with flying colors!
We made it part of the way up – but knew that we needed to be a bit careful and not over do it. However – we did stop and pose for a selfie on the dune to prove that indeed we were there!
After a cool drink of water back in the car – we headed up the road to an art gallery called Synchronicity located in Glen Arbor, Michigan that specialized in local and regional artists. Noel bought some note cards and Kirk bought two pieces of art for our house in Richland – so it was a bit of an expensive stop.
It was time to head back to the campground and start packing up after nearly a week spent at the Traverse City KOA.
We thoroughly enjoyed this area of the northern lower peninsula of Michigan – and will look forward to returning in the future for a bit of a longer visit.
Kirk’s Travelogue 