My Cousin K. is crazy for lighthouses, so we began our four day road trip with a visit to Petite Pointe Au Sable Lighthouse in Mears, MI.
We then continued north along the shoreline to Sleeping Bears Dune National Lakeshore and the Empire Bluffs Trail.
The hike was rated as a moderate 1.5 mile round trip.
Sumac!
I was agog with all the wildflowers in bloom in August.
The moderate hike had quite a bit of elevation, but we were rewarded with views of Lake Michigan to the left and North Bar Lake to the right.
Our Cousin's daughter M. joined us for this four day adventure. Here she is with my sister L. I think the 15 year old had a pretty good time with 3 middle-aged women!
Quite the vista clear to South Manitou Island!
Yarrow
Goldenrod of some sort, maybe...
Red Osier Dogwood blooming in August.
This amazed me as the shrubby tree blooms in June in Oregon.
The dunes are high and steep.
Most of our hike was through the forest...
Beech and Maple forest.
Interesting wildflower with large rhododendron-type leaves.
Again, this Oregonian was surprised to find a wild violet blooming in August.
There are only four National Lakeshores in the United States, and Michigan has two of them. Sleeping Bears Dune National Lakeshore includes 65 miles of protected lakeshore.
Some of the dunes are 450 feet above the lakeshore. I took this warning seriously...
...others...not so much!
Loved the faded blooms of this witch-hazel like shrub.
Big, fat rose hips.
Evening Primose.
False Solomon's Seal
Sleeping Bear Dunes includes an old farm - I loved this big old barn.
After exploring Sleeping Bear, we traveled up to Traverse City where we spent the night.
5 comments:
You have no idea how much I love seeing these pictures. I have been to Sleeping Bear dunes many times plus Traverse City almost won out over WA as a place for us to retire. They just get too much snow for older people and we were afraid we would spend the winter inside. However, I have so many happy memories of Traverse City. One summer I worked as a camp counselor on Torch Lake and we got cherries from Traverse City all the time.
What a great post Beth. So pretty.
Great pictures. Sleeping Bear Dunes is only about an hour up the Lake from me so I've been there many times. Brought back some good memories, I haven't been there for a few years now.
Fantastic post Beth. Love it!
MaryO1230
Looks like a great place to visit! Last summer a blogging friend and her family went around visiting lighthouses... it is enjoyable to see them since I doubt I will ever get there myself! Those 450 foot dunes are something else!! Wow! Thanks for sharing it with us! Hugs!
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