More of the Area Near Sleeping Bear Dunes

Our second full day at Sleeping Bear Dunes, Platte River Campground, was a road trip to Traverse City so Connie and Larry could get their mail. We took the back roads to Traverse City. The countryside is beautiful--forests mixed with farmland. Once Connie and Larry retrieved their mail, it was on to Sam's for a little shopping.

Shopping activated our appetites, so, Connie found a brewery with a restaurant on the peninsula leading to the lighthouse. No, we didn't go to the lighthouse, but we did enjoy lunch at Jolly Pumpkin--Old Mission. It was located in what looked to be large, old house near the lake.

On return to Platte River Campground, Bob and I planned our hike for the following day. We decided to hike from the campground. We did around 8 miles of the Platte River Plains Trails. The trail started at the end of the campground loop and went through the forest on a wide trail.

 We came to a dune that overlooked Lake Michigan. Bob made it to the top first, so he was looking down on me.

 After our view from the dune, we hiked the last 1/4 mile in deep sand to get close to the lake.

We hiked along the lakeshore until we got to the next leg of our hike which took us to the primitive campsite in the forest. From there we followed the difficult cross county ski trail, just a narrow path through trees with small ponds along the way. The trail widened as we neared the campground.

On Sunday, we drove to Frankfort to check out the town. Connie and Larry met us at Stormcloud Brewing Company. They brought Pegs 'n' Jokers and we had an enjoyable time playing and people watching at Stormcloud.

On the way back to the campground, we stopped at Betsie Point Lighthouse.The lighthouse overlooks a very rugged coast of Lake Michigan. Work has been done to reinforce the shoreline next to the lighthouse.

 The red building behind Bob is the foghorn building.

 Unlike other lighthouses we visited, this one is short, only 34 steps to the top. It still has a light, but it is not an LED like the one in Au Sable Lighthouse on Lake Superior.

On Monday, Bob and I returned to Traverse City to walk around Front Street.

This walkway led from the parking area to the shopping area.

We enjoyed walking and shopping in Traverse City. It is a town we would like to visit again.

 Tuesday would be our last day at Platte River Campground. Bob and I did some more hiking. We drove south from the campground to Old Indian Trailhead. The trailhead leads to two trails--Green Arrow and Black Loop. Bob and I hiked both trails.

 There was a spur off Black Loop that led to Lake Michigan.

 Most of Black Loop was also the difficult cross country ski trail in the winter. It had many ups and downs and curves.

 Along both trails we saw more small ponds or lakes. Near these areas, the mosquitoes were buzzing.

 After our hike, Bob and I returned to Frankfort to look through the stores and pick up a few groceries. We went in the bookstore looking for a Michigan Gazetteer and made an interesting discovery. They not only had the gazetteer, but, the owners said someone else from DeLand had been in a few days earlier and left copies of his new book:  Inside the Front Page---it was our neighbor Russ! Unfortunately, he left the day after he delivered his book. He is the one who told us about Sleeping Bear!
 
We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, but it was time to move on. Time to move south to visit a friend and then on to Indiana.