When we arrived at the Platte River Campground, part of the Sleeping Bear Dune National Shoreline on Lake Michigan, we finally felt like we had escaped the Texas Heat Dome, the one that has been chasing us all year.
It was quiet there. Just the wind and the shorebirds occasionally calling out. Did I say it was a cool day? Nice relief from the Heat Dome that followed us from Texas.
It was cool. It was cloudy. It was downright pleasant. Which meant it was mostly comfortable to “boondock,” that is, to camp without power or water or sewer hookups. Still inconvenient, still a pain to manage power use, but it was certainly nice to be outside.
That is unlike our previous experience with no power, which was the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, which was hot and miserable. We finally gave up and found an AirBnB … with air conditioning!
But taking a hike at Sleeping Bear Dune was pleasant, although I discovered that I really don’t care much for hiking in sand.
But the payoff was nice when we got to the beach. We had a huge section of the shore to just ourselves and the wind and the birds. Vicki and I spent quite a bit of time just quietly soaking up the peace and quiet.
I heartily recommend it.
On a cool, cloudy day at the campground in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Shorline, we took a short walk to a quiet beach. Not sure why it’s called the RR Grade Trail, but it was about as flat as a railroad grade. Could be.I’ve often read references to “bracken” in the woods. This is it, a type of fern that grows from rhizomes that can spread over huge areas. Cool.Vicki was first to the beach of Lake Michigan. She can walk faster than me in the sand. And on the road, and the trail, and the track. OK. She’s faster than me. ‘Nuff said.Take only photos; leave only footprints. With time, both are pretty ephemeral.The wind-blown look. She smiled right after this photo was taken. Honest. At least she didn’t stick her tongue out at me.The dune are off thattaway. The dark streak in the middle of the lighter part is, I think, where the trail is for idiots who want to climb down to the beach. I call them idiots because then they have to climb back up, sliding back a step for every two steps they go up. No thanks. And yes, Lake Michigan is an incredible blue, at least in this area.We spent a lot of time just standing here, looking at the birds and the sand and the waves. Becoming one with the scenery. It was a great moment.A good day to envy the birds.Like I said.
Two Sheeps to the Wind 