Our plans were to stay in Traverse City again on Thursday, but we changed that up when both families we met at the TC beach told us we HAD to go to Sleeping Bear Dunes, a 45 minute drive away. So we packed up our bags, waved good-bye to Traverse City and headed a little out of the way to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park.
There are several things to do at Sleeping Bear Dunes. 1) take a scenic drive 2) climb some dunes and 3) swim at the lakes. We did all three.
The scenic drive is just that. A loop that takes you through the park and shows you some pretty scenery. There are several different places you can get out and get a great view of several different lakes or dunes. We enjoyed it. The kids thought it was pretty boring.
At one of the stops, you go on a path to the top of a pretty steep dune (featured below). Many people were going down and dipping in the water then coming back up. Natalie really wanted to go down so Henry told her to go ahead. She plunged down with excitement.
I believe that’s her in the bright pink shirt just below the two boys in royal blue.
Ainsley really wanted to go, but was afraid she’d fall…. that’s how steep it was…. Henry’s back was hurting him so I finally gave in to going with her. So while Henry and the boy played at the top, Ains and I started our journey down.
It’s hard to convey in pictures how steep the dune was, but here is one shot looking down.
It kindof feels like when you are traversing across seating in the nose bleed section of large stadiums. You know that thought that runs across your mind, “If I trip, I’m falling all the way to the bottom.” That’s what Ains was thinking when she wanted moral support.
This is our view from most the way down (sorry for the awkward shot of the lady’s rear, I obviously didn’t notice it when I was snapping the picture).
Natalie and I worked our way to the top in about a half hour…. making many pit stops along the way and counting our steps to keep us motivated. Ains scaled back up like a spider monkey barely touching the sand as she went. Natalie and I were pretty tired by the time we arrived at the top and my sugar level was in need of a jolt. So Henry grabbed our lunch from the car (we’d stopped at a grocer and bought lunch supplies being forewarned the dunes are pretty isolated) and we ate picnic style on the dunes.
The kids played in the sand waiting for Henry and I to finish up.
We then finished the scenic drive and went over to see the “Climbing Dunes”. After having just climbed dunes twice as steep, we decided to bag this one and head on to one of the many lake beaches. We stopped at North Bar beach. Unfortunately I used my real camera as opposed to my phone at the beach and can’t find my camera cable. So no pics for you. However, if you’re ever in Northwestern Michigan, Sleeping Bear Dunes is a fun, inexpensive activity sure to please any age.
Comments (1)
Ok the Lady butt had me confused but it made me giggle my bu** off LOL, loved the pictures and I think thats a really cool idea for the family! School started for all the kids this week and its weird we have gotten even more busy since they started in school.