We followed the water, and ended up finding a lighthouse. We did not realize that the Menominee Lighthouse has its own parking lot, so we ended up doing an unnecessary two mile walk in the drizzle to get to it.
Since it was raining, we really weren't supposed to climb around inside the lighthouse (it's all metal, and thus, slippery), but it was just a light spit, so the lighthouse keeper just kinda turned his back while we climbed around.
And then we traipsed back to Vincent, and kept driving. This was a very driving-heavy day. In fact, the only other cool thing we did that day was eat homemade nachos at Jozwiak's. It's this little dive bar kinda place that we found out of nowhere, just in time for a mid-day snack.
We kept cruising down and over, eventually stopping for a pasty before crawling up into a camping spot just in time for sunset.
Pasties are delicious, hearty pockets of meat, potatoes, and veggies, somehow bound together through the influence of mushroom soup. They're pretty fantastic, but they sit on your stomach like a brick!
Which was, in fact, just fine. After an early wake up, we spent the entire next day hiking at Pictured Rocks. We did a total of four different hikes so we could see some of the best areas throughout the park.
First was the short "warm up" hike to Munising Falls.
Then a quick follow up at Miner's Castle.
Then, a quick and dirty 7 mile hike known as Chapel Loop.
The entirely odd thing about Michigan - and I've known this for years - is that you can be moseying along nicely in a forest, and then BAM! sandy lakeshore beaches. It's a bit disorienting.
On the Chapel Loop tour, we encountered many other groups of hikers. It's a popular trail, and the weather was perfect for hiking- cool and brisk and sunny and dry. A few folks stopped us to say hello, and chat about the great trail/fantastic weather/etc. One couple, however, stopped us to ask how far the beach was. We pulled out a map and the GPS and showed them where the beach was in relation to us - about two miles.
"No, no, no," said the fellow. "We're not on that trail. We're on this trail."
Ryan and I looked at each other, because while we had struggled to find the place where the trail was either 14 miles or 7 miles, we were quite certain we were on the 7 mile trail, and GPS fully agreed with us (it shows nearby trails as well). So again, we pointed to the map, pointed to the GPS, and gestured at our current location.
"But we can't be there! We didn't pass the pond!" (the trail borders a pond/stream. There is no way to avoid it.)
"Well, how are we going to get back!" Ryan and I pointed out this loop, that loop, and the obvious Turn Around Option. The hikers began to argue with each other, so Ryan and I packed up our navigational tools and boot scooted out of the vicinity. I'm not sure what option they chose, but I hope they had a safe trip out of the woods.
Our last trail was the Log Slide. It's a sandy dune, formerly used for logging. It takes 30 seconds to slide down, and 1-2 hours to slide back up. I didn't even want to get too close, in case I slipped over.
And then more driving. We stopped at St. Ignace, right before crossing the bridge from the UP, and enjoyed some fresh whitefish. By this point, the sun was setting, so I wasn't really fussed about crossing the bridge, though my father was texting me repeatedly to urge me to pray that we didn't fall off the bridge and die.
The next day, we popped into Traverse City to hit a couple breweries before checking out the Sleeping Bear Dunes.
Our first stop was Right Brain, which has really tasty beers such as Thai Peanut and Pecan Pie and Asparagus, and a Mangalista that involves reduction of pig parts. We ended up hanging out with the owner for a bit, which was pretty neat. We discussed function and flavor, and how distribution impacts production. While we were there, he recommended we check out Jolly Pumpkin, since it's in the neighborhood.
We had a BLAST at Jolly Pumpkin. I wish I could remember the bartender's name. She's a huge Packers fan, and also threw some great ideas for our voyage. We also had an Unconquerable Charcuterie.
The day became very hot while we were at Jolly Pumpkin, so we drove down to the shoreline to cool off. There's nothing like a dip in the icy waters of a Great Lake to stimulate the blood flow!
Also, the first few yards of shoreline are sharp rocks, so our feet were very unhappy about this.
We then took the drive through the Bear Dune overlook memorial check this out parkway, and ended up talking to another guy from Ohio about road life.
Ryan then climbed this giant dune, while I sat in the van, filming him, charging my phone, and wondering why he was gone for half an hour.
Afterwards, we ended up driving until 1am, trying to find a place to sleep for the night.
I've mentioned it before- National Forests are free-for-alls when it comes to camping... as long as you're not on private property. As it were, many small towns and private campsites spring up in these forests, so you have to be careful not to park on someone's lawn, or find a campsite where you basically pay to park. These facilities charge whatever they want, and a lot of times, it's not worth it. $20 to park. $10 daily fee. Oh, PS- we don't even have vault toilets. So, we checked out a lot of trailheads and campsites, trying to find someplace that didn't cost us $30 to park and pee on our feet in the dark.
It. Was. Creepy. The stretch of Western Michigan between Traverse City and Grand Rapids has this horror-story quality. We saw zero humans, zero dogs, no other cars... the only signs of life were actual signs, which read creepy messages such as "Starvation Plantation" and "MARANATHA." Hazy orange lights dangled low and tired over the deserted streets. If a shiver is a goose walking over your grave, I had a full migration of geese parading through.
Eventually, we found a spot for $18, and we enjoyed a few hours of uneasy rest before the sun rose.
On this particular day, we had two goals: Go to Founder's, and get to my father's house.
Ryan has wanted to visit Founder's Brewing since the beginning of time, so it was not without glee that we arrived, though very tired, to sample their wares.
As you can see, Ryan was quite pleased. The beer was fantastic, and the deli sandwiches were inspired. That's the super-spicy chicken sandwich, above. So good.
Traffic was light, so we crawled into my father's house just a few hours later. We were there for the occasion of my brother's 18th birthday. I won't bore you with a bunch of family pictures, but check out this sunset, and my dad's dog.
I attended two football games- one varsity and one junior varsity - one for each brother. We took Ryan to his first Ox Roast. There was much vodka, several miles of walking, and lots and lots of laughter. Saturday morning, after showing off our pictures thus far, we loaded Vincent back up, and headed back to Ohio to do our laundry!
I have never been to Michigan and this post has put it on my to-do list! Love the lighthouse and the dramatic cliffs!
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