Seriously. The place is full of tourists. There was no escape.
In all honesty, the crowds really were not that bad. If this trip was a vacation I'd planned months ago with friends and family to split the cost of a secluded rental property, I would hardly have noticed. However, in consequence to the number of visitors, campgrounds and parks have a lot more restrictions and required permits. As someone who just wanted a quiet place to park her car, this meant I needed to spend quite a bit of time looking for a place to sleep. Sometimes it was even a challenge to locate a quiet spot to sit a while.
All that aside, Michigan really is beautiful. I started off at Sleeping Bear Dunes, completing the Dune Climb and a couple of other small trails.
First glimpse of Lake Michigan on the Dune Climb Trail.
Taking a break with a few small friends (courtesy of my nieces and nephews).
Top of Pyramid Point. It's a steep slope down to the Lake.
Around noon, a steady rain settled in, so I started making my way east. I spent the next morning exploring Alpena, a pleasant town on the shores of Lake Huron. This part of Michigan was less congested than the area around Sleeping Bear. I considered staying longer, but since my main interest was in the Upper Peninsula, I chose meander north instead.
Lake Huron
Crossing the Mackinac Bridge was a hoot. It's so tall! I was on the phone with my sister at the time. She didn't seem to appreciate my enthusiastic play-by-play and hung up as I announced the halfway point.
After stopping to examine the northern most point of Lake Michigan, my next stop was Grand Marais, the town at the eastern end of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
The northern most point of Lake Michigan. Maybe. It's pretty close.
Lake Superior in Grand Marais, MI
I spent the next day catching up on my grownup responsibilities and finalizing my preparations to hike the length of Pictured Rocks. I'll tell about that 42 mile adventure in its own post.
