Day 18: Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

The Legend of Sleeping Bear (courtesy of NPS)
Long ago, along the Wisconsin shoreline, a mother bear and her two cubs were driven into Lake Michigan by a raging forest fire. The bears swam for many hours, but eventually the cubs tired and lagged behind. Mother bear reached the shore and climbed to the top of a high bluff to watch and wait for her cubs. Too tired to continue, the cubs drowned within sight of the shore. The Great Spirit Manitou created two islands to mark the spot where the cubs disappeared and then created a solitary dune to represent the faithful mother bear. 

You can see the two islands in the map to the right.

Today we kayaked along the shore near the sleeping bears. Jeff and I drove across the UP and down to Empire, MI in 5 hours this morning, where we met up with Elizabeth (my future roomie in Delft, who I'd never met before!) and her sister Ali. Jeff and I successfully jammed up the parking lot waiting for a spot to free up, but the car was parked things went smoothly. Parking was ~$1/hr. Sleeping Bear Surf and Kayakdelivered 3 kayaks to the Village Park beach from their shop a few blocks away. The wind was whipping up some small, choppy waves on Lake Michigan, but we launched successfully (with an intentional refreshing dip by Elizabeth and Ali before departing).

The launch site: Village Park in Empire, MI

The launch site: Village Park in Empire, MI - many more people when we returned!

Elizabeth and I chatted about Delft and "quitting" our jobs (Elizabeth is also going to work part time remotely) as we paddled into the wind. Along the shore the beaches were very narrow, with an actively eroding scarp (I was later informed that water levels in the Great Lakes are very high this year due to the extremely stormy/snowy winter). 

Elizabeth (front) and her sister Ali (back) paddling into the wind

Our first stop was North Bar Lake, a small freshwater lake attached to Lake Michigan through a shallow channel. We dragged our kayaks over the low sandbar at the mouth of the lake and weaved through swimming children, trying not to be pelted by the various beach-related toys flying through the air. The water in the small lake was significantly warmer than in Lake Michigan. 

Arriving at the entrance to North Bar Lake. The water was so clear!

The crowded inlet channel to North Bar Lake

We continued up to the southern tip of the Sleeping Bear Dunes to have a brief photo shoot. We watched tiny tourists running/rolling down the 400-ft dune in the distance and wondered how they would ever get back up. The return trip was significantly easier/speedier thanks to the tailwinds pushing us along. 

Jeff and the gorgeous view of Empire Bluffs in the other direction

Date: August 5th, 2014
Distance: 7 miles
Duration: ~4 hrs

Scroll past the map for non-kayaking activities!

The Non-Kayaking Portion: After our paddle, Elizabeth gave us all a ride in her convertible (first time, woo!) to Glen Arbor where we visited Cherry Republic. Elizabeth rightfully called this a "campus," as there are three buildings dedicated to cherries: snacks (free samples galore), drinks (cherry wine and hard cider), and ice cream. Our stomachs full of cherries and cheez-its (we'd snacked on these in the car), we returned to Elizabeth/Ali's home in Traverse City. Together with their parents, they cooked up a delicious dinner (BBQ chicken, pasta salad, caprese salad, and mango salsa), which we shared on their back patio with various pink drinks. We were informed that there was a skunk stuck to a fence somewhere on the property and that a snack had been spotted earlier, but otherwise the garden was beautiful and peaceful. We spent a great deal of time examining each other's kayaking tans/burns (it was super sunny today). A few showers later, we chatted about all things Dutch. In particular, we stalked our future Delft friends on Facebook, discussed gravy sticks that come out of vending machines, and mapped out a plan to bike/ferry to London. I can't wait to move to the Netherlands!

First convertible ride ever. Headbands are essential in the windy back seat!