Leaving from Grand Haven, we had an uneventful drive up to Sleeping Bear Dunes, stopping once for a cute little mini golf course we spotted from the road. We did do the challenge at every hole, which made it even more fun:
We arrived at the Dunes in plenty of time to get to the
Visitor's Center and take the scenic drive before checking in to our
hotel. Unfortunately, it was super foggy and we could not see much on
the drive:
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| On the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive |
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| This is supposed to be the prettiest spot on the whole park, where you can look out over Lake Michigan and see the eponymous Sleeping Bear Dune and her two cubs (Manitou Islands) |
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| The fog was unbelievably thick |
After checking in, we drove north and hiked to Pyramid Point,
where it was still a little foggy, but the views were much better. The
original plan had been to hang out there until sunset, but biting flies
drove us back to the car for plan B and we instead drove to one of the
park's many beaches to catch a perfect sunset over Lake Michigan:
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| View of decommissioned lighthouse from Pyramid Point |
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| You could see the actual lake from here (still a little hazy, but much better) |
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| There was no one else here, but a conveniently placed forked tree branch to balance my camera |
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| Beach #1, which was pretty but covered in vegetation, including a fair amount of poison ivy |
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| We watched the start of the sunset here, but we were also looking straight into the sun, so we decided to hop over to a different beach that had also been recommended |
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| Beach #2 had a much better view |
We
went back to the scenic drive briefly the next morning to see if we
could see more (and in particular the dune that gives Sleeping Bear its
name). It was less foggy (and we did indeed see the bear):
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| Same shot, less fog |
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| Still can't really see the lake through the morning haze |
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| One of the two cubs |
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| This is the sleeping bear, which has been severely eroded due to logging |
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