- po rannom kupani vyrazame do Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, staci sa iba presplhat cez jeden kopcisko a potom si uzit paradny zjazd v takmer 60 km/h
- po cyklisticky priatelskej 22 prichadzame do Empire, nachadza sa tu Visitor Center pre NP, takze po chvili uz vieme co chceme/mozeme navstivit
- najvacsie teplo preckavame pri North Bar Lake, ktore je periodicky prepojene s Lake Michigan (zavisi to od entuziazmu deti a ich motivacii prekopavat v piesku kanaly)
- splhame na miestnu malinkatu dunu a v rozzhavenom piesku si takmer spalime nohy
- v podvecer sa presuvame na Scenic Drive, odkial si prezerame cele Sleeping Bear Dunes a prvy krat vyuzivame nase volne pasy do narodnych parkov, co sme si vysluzili v Cuyahoge
- Scenic Drive je nadherny, ale treba tu zdolavat superprudke kopceky, ale stoji to za tu namahu, duny su nadherne, nachadzame tu aj prastaru lipu a posledna zastavka je na pobrezi jazera Michigan, na svahu obrovitanskej duny co spada priamo do vody, vietor tu vytvara mensiu pieskovu burku a prejst cez nu je znacne bolestiva zalezitost, piesok boda ako stado zmutovanych komarov, ale opat oplati sa to je to nevsedny zazitok, nehovoriac o tych vyhladoch na okolite duny a jazero, ostavame tu az do nadherneho zapadu slnka a potom si uzivame nocny zjazd po Scenic Drive, ktoru opustame ako uplne posledny
- prespavame zadarmo v kempe (volny pas nam tu plati aj pre kemp) kusok od Glen Arbor
-Started early so we'd be awake to say goodbye to our fabulous hosts -hope you had safe travels all the way back to Missouri!
-Had breakfast of fish sausage (from Leland) and oatmeal on the shore
-biked to the visitor center at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. It was nice to see rangers again :-D
-Bought more stickers for our penniers (thanks again for the sticker fund mom!) and read the legend of the sleeping bears in the gift shop.
-refilled water bottles and ate a few snacks at the visitor center before heading over to North Bar Lake which is/n't connected to Lake Michigan depending on how many enthusiastic beach goers have built damns/canals. We swam during the hottest part of the day, had more oatmeal improvisations for lunch and walked the beach appreciating the colorful water depths. Barbora swam the width of the lake 5 times, Martin took a nap and SJ laid in the hot sand.
- We packed everything up to head to the scenic drive in time for "the golden hour" and used our National Park passes for the first time! The loop through some of the parks most beautiful dunes included more than 10 stopping points to look at/out/over the amazing forests and dunes. While writing this I couldn't remember how many stops there were and tried to find it on google...instead I found:
"While bicycling is permitted along the Scenic Drive, it is recommended
for expert-level cyclists only due to the steep terrain, sharp curves
and heavy traffic present. We recommend that anybody contemplating
bicycling the Scenic Drive first take a car through it to see if your
skill level is up to it." Sleeping Bear Dunes - link
We agree!!! :-D Even though the drive is paved, you're weaving through the dunes themselves. It was worth it though to watch the sunset from "#9" the overlook which includes a pier on the top of the steepest dune.
Watching the sunset somewhere gorgeous of course means riding to and making camp in the dark, so we put on our tail lights and headlamps and made our way to the NPS group campground. Thinking of CVNP and CVEEC all day today-as we set up our tent and sleeping bags there was a group of about 30 kids and camp counselors around a fire. Peace to everyone at summer camp!
Pictures:
over the hills and far away
North Bar Lake
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
across the dunes on Scenic Drive
on the overlook - Scenic Drive
sandstorm?
sand and water - Scenic Drive
Sleeping Bear Dunes
overlook on Scenic Drive
SJ's meditation in sand
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