second part of our Mothers Day drive..........

After our picnic we went towards Empire, Dan told us he heard the Dune drive was open. It was.......so off we went with full tummies. It's always lovely up there. This time of year its clear views, you can see right through the trees.

This is the view of Big and Little Glen Lake...........not as blue as in summer

We made several stops at the top of the Dunes. On this one you are way at the top looking straight down Reina wanted to go down.Just because some people do....well it would take us at least 3 days to climb back up the way we were feeling that day. No thanks Reina, your day will come soon enough. The water is crystal clear. We could see ducks on the water like pin pricks in size from up top


The water was so calm.........you can see folks going down the side. The Park service really don't want people doing that but I can't see them stopping unless they close it off to the public. That was discussed but the local people voted that down right quick. The thing is, it's National Park now and has been publicized frequently nation wide. We get loads of visitors, but those who have lived here and remember before it was a park. It's sort of hard to be told what we can and can not do now. I have no wish to climb down, or climb the walk up dunes but people do it all the time and especially local kids. They like to have a bonfire on the beach. Alex and Bill would do that every year and my friends kids always did too as they grew up. Its hard to stop that. It's the same thing with dogs, people have always run their dogs on the beaches and still do.......its just that if the Rangers see you then they give a ticket. It's hard to be told what to do or not do. Locals see it as theirs. It always has been theirs.

The sand is pure and on windy days (like the last time we were there) its like sand blasting.

This next shot is looking towards Glen Haven past the old barns.

Cat tails on the trees

Then we were exhausted and my shoes full of sand

This huge rock is a gigantic fossil

A set of Petoskey stones that are old corals that once grew here in the Great Lakes. Its also clear that the water was once over most of this side of the state. We find them inland as well as on the beaches.

One of the summer pass times is looking for the Petoskey stones on the beaches. Naturally now its a national park we are not supposed to take them. Well that's not going to stop its part of the joy of walking the beach. This is a lovely time of year before the tourists come...........we love it.