To the Lower Peninsula & Sleeping Bear Dunes

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Geo: 44.8975, -85.9853

Saint Ignace is on the UP where the
Mackinac suspension bridge which spans
the Straits of Mackinac to connect the upper
and lower peninsula is. It crosses the body
of water that connects Lake Michigan to
Lake Huron. We spent Friday night in Saint
Ignace at a neat old hotel called the
Boardwalk Inn. The inn was just across the
street from the city's boardwalk which
followed the water front along the shore
of Lake Huron. We arrived fairly early and
after checking in and needing to “get our
miles in,” we decided to walk along the
boardwalk. The upper end of the boardwalk
starts at an old chapel, now a museum,
where the body of Father Marquette is buried.
Father Marquette was a French Catholic
missionary to the Native Americans in the
early days of French explorers and settlers.

We did all of the approximately mile long boardwalk,
accompanied by about a billion mosquitoes. For some
reason the mosquitoes were just really concentrated on that boardwalk
along the waterfront. While there were a few along main street in
downtown, just steps from the boardwalk, there were not nearly as
many as along the waterfront. While we saw a good many mosquitoes
everywhere on this trip, the waterfront in Saint Ignace was the
worst. After the short walk along the boardwalk, we visited the
Father Marquette National Historic Site where we completed our
requisite miles.

On Saturday, we crossed the bridge in
the rain and drove along the southern coast of Lake Michigan through
the towns of Petoskey , Charlevoix, and Traverse City to the village
of Empire where we stopped at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National
Lakeshore Visitor Center. After getting some information about hikes
in the park, we drove on to Sleeping Bear Point and, though it was an
overcast day and we got sprinkled on a time or two, did about a three
mile trail there through the sand dunes along and just inland from
the shore of Lake Michigan. After getting our legs stretched on that
hike, we drove on the the very touristy village of Glen Arbor and
checked into the Glen Arbor B&B where we spent the next two
nights. This B&B was just ok, not great (one of the most expensive lodgings in
all our travels). Our low opinion of it was probably overly
influenced by the initial attitude of our hostess, Katie. The room
had a king size bed and two chairs that converted into single beds.
When we indicated that we would like to use one of the convertible
chairs as a bed, it was as if we should have alerted them ahead of
time and, because we didn't, Katie had let her housekeeper leave early
that day and so she, Katie, would have to make up that extra bed. It
was pretty apparent that we had inconvenienced her tremendously, even
though we volunteered to make up the extra bed ourselves. A perfect
example of poor first impressions coloring everything else. So I
probably looked for things not to like about the place, though there
were some, in my opinion, legitimate complaints. The room was large
with a private bath, TV and WiFi, but no refrigerator, no coffee
maker, and no microwave. Coffee was not available in the dining area
until 7:30 (which made for an irritable me until I got my cuppa) and
breakfast not until 8:30 which made for a late start to our day the
next morning. The village of Glen Arbor was definitely geared toward
the tourist, with overdone cuteness and overpriced everything.

Sunday was our one full day at Sleeping
Bear Dunes and the weather was lousy for most of that morning. Even
though it was rainy and foggy, we drove first back the Sleeping Bear
Point area and, since the weather was misty rain and fog, we visited
the Maritime Museum located there. There is a boat house with
several exhibits highlighting equipment used by the US Life Saving
Service back when the site was an active USLSS station. Also the
building housing the crews' quarters and other interpretive exhibits
was open for touring. Found it to be a very interesting place even
though we are not normally big fans of museums.

After our tour of the museum, we drove
south to the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, a 7.5 mile drive with
several viewpoints along the way overlooking some of the lake shore's
most unique scenery. Unfortunately we didn't see much more than fog
on the drive that morning, though we did come back later in the
afternoon when conditions were much better. One of the stops was a
walkway to an overlook at the top of huge sand dunes about 450 feet
above the lake. It was possible to descend the dunes to the lake
shore but signs warned against it since it could take over an hour to
climb back up and if you couldn't make it, they charged you if they
had to come rescue you. Nevertheless, there were foolhardy souls who
did it while we were there.

After our initial visit through the
scenic drive, we drove on south through the village of Empire to the
Empire Bluffs trail. The weather had begun to clear as we drove
south so when we arrived at the trailhead we hiked the short 3 miles
round trip to a sand dune bluff overlooking the lake. Again signs
warned against descending the bluff. After this hike we returned to
the scenic loop and were able to enjoy the sights along the way
there.

On Monday we checked out of our lovely
B&B and drove to Pyramid Point where we hiked about a three mile
loop trail first to another bluff atop a sand dune bluff overlooking
the lake with views of North and South Manitou Islands in the
distance and then on through a maple-beech forest and a meadow before
returning to the parking area.

After this hike we drove on to Traverse
City where we were able to check in early to our extravagant lodging
for our last night – Motel 6. Actually it wasn't bad – one of
the better motels in that chain. Since we were early, we did our
normal test drive to the airport that we would leave from early, very
early, the next morning, and then on to the downtown area. We parked
in a lot near the waterfront where we walked a bit before being
chased by rain clouds to the restaurant where we had an early dinner.
Ate at the North Peak Brew Pub, a very nice establishment with good
beer and food. Back to the Motel 6 where we packed up everything for
our early, very early, flight home the next morning. Left the motel
around 4:00 AM for the Cherry Capital Airport and our 5:40 flight to
Detroit where we connected to GSP, arriving on time around 10:30 AM.
The early arrival home was almost worth the early departure. All in
all, a worthwhile trip though it would probably have been more
enjoyable if the weather had been better.

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Photos

The Boardwalk Inn
The Boardwalk Inn was originally built in 1928 as the Travelers Hotel and is the oldest lodging establishment in St. Ignace, Michigan. Neat place.

Father Marquette's Grave Site
Rev. Father James Marquette was a missionary to the Native Americans in the late seventeenth century. He trained specifically to minister to the natives, even learning their language. He died on a trip exploring the Mississippi River for the French in 1675 at the age of 38.

Father Marquette & me.
On the Grounds of the Museum of Ojibwa Culture where Father Marquette is buried.

The Boardwalk in St. Ignace
Where the mosquitoes outnumber people by billions to one.

The Mackinac Bridge
At a total length, including approaches, of five miles, the Mackinac Bridge is currently the fifth longest suspension bridge in the world and is the longest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere. The bridge opened to traffic on November 1, 1957. It crosses the Mackinac Straits to connect the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan.

Crossing the Bridge
In the rain.

Hiking at Sleeping Bear Point
From our hike among the dunes.

Dunes at Sleeping Bear Point
From our hike among the dunes.

Sleeping Pear Point
More dunes with the lake and South Manitou Island in the distance.

Sleeping Pear Point
More dunes.

Sleeping Pear Point
Rain headed our way.

Empire Bluff Trail
Looking North along Lake Michigan's shore. The small lake just inland is called South Bar Lake. This one was taken with the camera in our cell phone.

Empire Bluff Trail
Same scene but taken by Anne with our Cannon digital camera. We tend to take pictures of the same thing all the time. Sometimes one is better than the other, but most times they are pretty much the same.

From Alligator Hill
The Coast from our hike in the Alligator Hill area. Several trails here were closed because of downed trees from a storm in late 2015.

Stop # 9 on the Scenic Drive
This is the Lake Michigan overlook along the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. The sign not withstanding, several yahoos went down and came back up. Actually, the sand was wet from the morning rain so not as hard coming up as it would have been if dry.

Another from stop # 9
The Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive was built in the 1960s and finished in 1967 by Pierce Stocking. A lumberman with road-building experience, he wanted to share the beauty of the area with others. He operated the facility until his death in 1976; afterwards it was purchased by the National Park Service and added to the park.

One more from the overlook
A picture of me taking a picture.

The cliff at the Overlook
Gives you a bit of an idea of how steep the dune is, though your really had to be there to fully appreciate it.

At the Dunes Overlook
From along the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive.

From the overlook
South and North Manitou islands are in the way off distance.

South Manitou Island
From our last hike at Pyramid Point.

At Pyramid Point
From our last hike at Pyramid Point.

Pyramid Point Trail
The Meadow.

The Traverse City Waterfront
It was windy and threatening rain, but we enjoyed the short walk around the waterfront.