5/1/07 (Tuesday): Sunday we took a long drive in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (SBD). It was gorgeous!















The wildflowers are just beginning to open, and there were places where the ground was completely covered with wildflower foliage that hadn't bloomed yet.




I suspect by next weekend it will be a wonderland.
















Point Betsie Lighthouse is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the country, and I can see why. It sits on VERY high sand dunes overlooking Lake Michigan. The lake was deep navy blue at the horizon and turquoise closer to shore. It was dotted with white caps and had crashing waves on the white sandy shore. Breathtaking!










SBD covers a lot of territory. We did a 7-mile circle on a scenic drive within the park. It begins at this covered bridge and circles up through an area of forested dunes to the lakeshore, where the dunes are very high (900-1000 feet), then back down through another area of forest. The forest is a mixture of hardwoods, including beech and maple, with birch trees on the outer edges.


It was very windy and cold at the highest point over Lake Michigan, so we didn't stay very long!

From the high sand dunes, you get a view of the two Manitou Islands (I'm not sure whether they're called Big and Little Manitou or North and South Manitou islands). You can catch a ferry over to the islands, which we hope to do, maybe when our nephew, David, visits us.





Our trip ended in Glen Haven, where there's a maritime museum which isn't open for the season yet. We intend to go back and check out the area soon.






The ride home was bucolic--lots of cherry orchards and dairy farms. This set of barns caught my eye. The left barn is normal size, the other two get smaller. I'm not sure whether it's supposed to be an optical illusion or whether one's a barn, one's a workshop and one's a toolshed. Kind of interesting, don't you think?!



Julie and John are in our thoughts today--they left for Indonesia today! If you haven't yet seen their blog, Wirono's Wanderings, check it out by clicking this link. I think it's going to be pretty stiff competition for me!