Day Fifty-Three

Day fifty-three we went to Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes National Lakeshore.  It was about an hour’s drive from our campground, and we passed through Traverse City on the way.  Traverse City was in full tourist mode and people were everywhere, no vacancy signs were plentiful!  What a nice city right on the bay – beautiful setting!

The Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes looked awesome when we drove up!  Sam was bouncing in the seat ready to run!  A park ranger was onsite giving an informative talk about the area, and Sam picked up a Junior Ranger booklet to earn his first Junior Ranger Badge. 

We climbed up the first rise, which was 110 feet.  Whew!  A not so subtle reminder that I am out of shape!  J  After getting to the top, we rested for a while, and there was another dune to climb an additional 150 feet to the REAL top.  I opted for some sunning time while Sam and Jim climbed the second dune.  When they came back, Sam spent a while digging in the sand (his favorite thing to do at the beach).  Of course, Sam RAN all the way down the dune – along with every other child that was there that day!  J

We then drove a couple of miles to Glen Arbor for some lunch at a cool restaurant with an outdoor deck, cold beer, and excellent food!  Afterward, we drove to the Maritime Museum to check out the displays and grounds.  We stopped by the dunes so Sam could run up again (where DO they get all that energy?!)  On the way back to the campground, we stopped by the visitor center for Sam to turn in his booklet and get his Junior Ranger Badge – hurray!