more than the mitten

after hearing about my whirlwind bombay-turkey-baltimore-richmond-boston-newyork-michigan itinerary some people said, 'don't you ever get tired of traveling?' to which i would respond with a quizzical 'of course not!' (is such a thing possible?) so from new york it was on to detroit to meet with good friends.

we didn't spend long in detroit, just long enough to have some crêpes, head to a good ol' american backyard barbeque (although some canadians were present) and stop at a local brewery (royal oak, quite good). then we were on the road. our destination: the upper peninsula. in just a few hours we found ourselves surrounding by evergreens and heading over deep blue waters. once into the UP we stopped for some essentials (local beers, homemade beef jerky and goofy fridge magnets) and continued on toward our first campsite in munising. we pitched our tent before dark and got set for the main task at hand, cooking by campfire. (the lesson here: always go camping with good cooks, indian if possible. food takes a while but it's worth it - definitely the best food i've ever had at a campsite.) between michigan beers, hookah, and our indian spread it was a great first night.

first of the falls

the next morning we set out to see the local landscape, beginning with some of the many falls in the area. well, after a leisurely breakfast, about half an hour of souvenir shopping (note: that would be the three guys and not me, the sole female) and a stop for gas, that is. some of the falls were just steps from the road and others we had a short hike to get to. one of the latter was on our way into pictured rocks national lakeshore, right on the banks of lake superior. i'm not hugely enamored of waterfalls, unless they're particularly spectacular, but these were nice enough.

a superior lake, indeed

our next destination was the real showstopper: miner's castle rock. the view is stunning, the crystal clear turquoise waters, the sweeping shoreline with jutting cliffs and tufts of evergreens. we must have spent 20 minutes there, just marveling at the sight, taking nearly identical pictures again and again, unable to resist the urge to click. we eventually dragged ourselves away and made our way towards our big hike to the shore. by now it was mid-afternoon. it was a long hike to be sure, and we were in the woods for a good portion of it.

lone kayak

finally we made it to the water. golden sands right up to the placid blue water. and freezing, of course, being nearly in canada. didn't stop us from dipping our toes in, of course. in fact my three friends decided to strip down and enjoy one of the nearby waterfalls (much warmer water there) while i wandered along taking pictures. (i don't think they enjoyed the inevitable chaffing when they got back into their now-wet clothes.) the weather was perfect and we had a vista to match, which made it awfully hard to drag ourselves away and continue on our hike.

lone tree

but onward and upward, back towards the cliffs that overlook the water. we continued on until we were just starting to get a good look at those sparkling waters. we could see where the trail continued, tracing the edge of the lake with intermittent breaks in the edge to enjoy the view. it was then, though, that i had to point out that it was nearly 6pm and going to get dark soon. we had already been hiking for several hours and wouldn't be able to finish the loop. we'd have to turn back and soon, just to make it back before dark. this was met with frustration and annoyance by my friends, who could see (as i could) that the views would only get better. much as i wanted to see more i knew we'd have to turn around or risk getting stuck in the dark woods with no lights. this didn't seem to be a deterrent for my friends who insisted they'd 'figure it out'. despite their stubbornness we did eventually turn around, blaming me for their missed opportunities. sometimes it's hard being the voice of reason (read: only woman). and i didn't even point out that if some people hadn't lollygagged through breakfast or spent a half hour shopping for silly knick knacks (my impatience was always met with 'what's your rush?') we might have had more time for what certainly would have surely been spectacular views. sigh!

as we made our way to the end of the trail it was already starting to get dim, particularly in the shade of the evergreens (again i held my tongue!). we made for the car and headed straight back to the campsite, ready for a big dinner. dinner this time was hot dogs and whatever food we had left over, again washed down with some local brews.

well it did have a nice fire pit

the next morning, after lingering over breakfast and packing up, it was out of the U.P. and back to the mitten. this time we headed down the west side (the pinky, i guess?) to traverse city, which promised to be an adorable town. the drive was more than four hours and by the time we arrived at our campsite it was already starting to get dark. the campsite, if it can be called that, was not what we'd expected. we were surrounded by RVs and pitched our tent on gravel. the whole campsite (fine, RV park) was just off a big road - we could actually see a storage facility and a home depot just down the road. so we swapped the starry skies and woodsy campsite for the lights of cars passing on the highway and the hum of nearby generators. ah well. we restocked our food supplies (one plus: the grocery store was just down the road) and were once again treated to fireside indian fare, courtesy of our master chef.

summer on a fork

another day, another slow morning. there's no rushing these guys, as you may now have surmised. in fact by the time we made it into town it was practically lunch time. we stopped at the grand traverse pie company for sandwiches and soup. and pie, of course (how could we not?), which was full of michigan blueberries, and thoroughly delicious.

the drop-off

finally we were off to sleeping bear national lakeshore, a bit of a drive. we stopped first at the visitors center to get our bearings (bear-ings. get it?) at this point i don't think i have to tell you that my companions spent a chunk of time reading the posted material and purchasing magnet.. eventually we also determined which hikes would be best. we took a few of the short scenic drives before making our way to what was by far the biggest sand dune i have ever seen. essentially a sheer drop down to the lake, it must have been nearly a half-mile to the water's edge! i'm sure that's an absurd exaggeration but believe me when i say the people at the bottom were absolute specks. the view was almost surreal - the plateau tapering off into a nearly vertical mound of sand that seems to fade into some of the bluest, most ethereal water you've ever seen. you have the impression that if you go down too far you'll eventually tumble and just keep sliding all the way to the bottom. or, like my two half-witted friends, you may stupidly decide to go down intentionally. it's true, many people had decided to make the trek up and down. however these people seemed, well, fit, and as though they knew what they were in for. my two buddies ran giddily down without so much as a bottle of water - which they later regretted - but with the car keys still in their pocket - which we all regretted when it took them more than an hour to reach the top again. running down was all too easy, and they were happy to splash about in the blue waters of glen lake. but coming back up was complete misery (according to them). for every step they took forward they seemed to slide a half-step back. before long they had taken off their shirts and wrapped them around their heads (a tad melodramatic, perhaps. this was, after all, michigan, and not the sahara). we tried tracking their progress but soon grew bored and instead tried to count how many people went down and back in the time it took them to trudge a few dozen meters. they stopped constantly - once to vomit, we later learned - and by the time they finally made it to the top, just flat out collapsed, exhausted.

views from our second hike

while we had a ball mocking them for their shortsightedness (literally, perhaps - that hill did not look nearly as long as it was) our major detour had cost us the time for another hike that had sounded so nice. not only that but soon after we found out that people aren't meant to climb up or down that hill at all - it's a major cause of erosion which is already a problem, as you might expect of a sand dune that leads to the water. there's another sand dune that's supposed to be used specifically for running and climbing up and down. oops.

we pressed on to our next hike, one that took us through fields of queen anne's lace and other little wildflowers, sandy bluffs and views of the lake under a now cloudy sky. we felt a few sprinkles but mainly the passing wind and threatening clouds just made the scene look all the more dramatic. upon finishing this loop we made our way towards the small beach where we celebrated our various victories with a few UP brews (one must always have beers on hand for such an occasion) and a dip in the lake. it was cold at first, as one might expect, but actually tolerable.

doesn't get much more local

our final stop of the day was perhaps the most rewarding. we just had to try MOOmers, local homemade ice cream with its own dairy farm. (there's a shop in downtown traverse city too, but what fun is that?) evidently it's been voted the best ice cream in america (by whom, i'm not sure). i can see why - something about enjoying creamy delicious ice cream while overlooking fields of the cows that helped produce it just makes you feel good. we gobbled ours down as we watched said cows lazily graze in the field as the sun started to set.

from there it was back to the campsite for one more night of campfire cooking (read: use up all the leftover food) and the next morning we were off. we made one last stop in the town of traverse city (there were used bookstores to scope out!) which is certainly quite cute. i can see why it's been named one of the cutest towns in america - although i wouldn't want to be around for the arctic winds coming off that lake in the winter. from here it was back on the road to detroit. we may not have exactly made the most of every excursion we had but i will say i'm glad i finally got to experience more than the mitten.