North Bar at Sunset

As Michiganders, we have learned to live with unpredictable weather. On the up side, we can head out to the beach under overcast skies with a forecast for storms, and end up enjoying a magnificent (dry) sunset once the clouds break. Below are some photos of an evening’s progression at North Bar in Leelanau County from earlier this week.

Camping Staycation at D.H. Day

Our group at Northern Swag doesn’t need much convincing to spend a few days chillaxing off the grid at D.H. Day campground in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. So when the annual Dunes Concert was approaching, we decided to set up camp for the weekend right along the shores of Lake Michigan and close enough to the Dune Climb to easily bike our cooler of wine and snacks over for the show.

Life doesn’t get much better than “residing” within walking distance of Sleeping Bear Bay for only $12 a day. Who wouldn’t love waking up in an MSR tent (I had the MSR tent reviewed here if you’re curious), mornings consuming camp stove pancakes and cowboy coffee, afternoons visiting the sites in Leelanau County, and evenings full of laughter and Short’s brew around the fire?

A few tips from our trip:

D.H. Day doesn’t take reservations. Arrive early to scope out the sites and claim your spot in line. We arrived at 6:20 a.m. and were fifth in line. Each site has a reservation slip showing the date the current tenants will check out. Mark down a few that interest you. In addition, a sign in the office window shows how many sites in total of the 88 will be available when they open at 8 a.m. These fill up quickly! If you don’t get a site you love, try again the next day. Moving isn’t hard, especially when you leave the tents intact (see instructional photo below).

Bring your bikes. The Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail winds right through the campground and connects you to Glen Arbor, Glen Haven, Empire, the Dune Climb, and the Scenic Drive. You really could access all you’d need to keep you occupied for a weekend via bike.

Bring your bathing suits. The beach is easily accessible. And remember, there are no showers at this campground so a dip in the lake may be a welcome gift to your fellow campers!

Hammocks from the Totem Shop and a few good books kept the young ones in our group very content. For us adults? A few days away from the hustle and bustle of real life was all we needed to make us sigh with regret when the next campers tacked their reservation slip to our sites, marking the end of our staycation.

Our resident chefs – Nick and Jack

Heading out on the trail

Hammocks

The camp vehicle

Site Switching

Sunset from the beach path

Light painting under the super moon by Jack Beckwith

Father’s Day at Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive

You can’t really go wrong with celebrating the dads in your life when you combine food, family, and a little Northern Michigan beauty. Below are a few photos taken during our family’s outing at Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive (a go-to spot for summer celebrations since I was a child). The evening was topped off by watching a storm roll in over Lake Michigan and lucking out as the raindrops fell just as we got to our cars to leave for the night (someone remembered their rabbit’s foot). Hope all you fathers out there (and those who were celebrating fathers) had an equally lovely and lucky day.

The Thaw

We have had snow here in Northern Michigan since the second half of November. That’s six months of white. Although I have loved this epic winter, I was a little giddy to see touches of blue return to the landscape this past weekend at Sleeping Bear.

What’s that old adage? You don’t realize what you have until it’s hibernating under a giant, impenetrable layer of ice for three months? It seems I had taken this “great” lake for granted. The sound of waves replacing my inner thoughts as I walk along the Lake Michigan shore. The ability to reach down and pick up a smooth rock to rub between my fingers as I take it all in. The way the setting sun’s light reflects clear across the surface of the water right to my toes.

From time to time, it turns out I need those rejuvenating rays to reassuringly reach across the lake and warm me up, literally and figuratively. Welcome, spring.

Winter at Sleeping Bear Point

This winter has been a true winter, the kind we can brag to our grandkids about surviving. Proceeding through intersections with snowbanks six feet tall is risky business, am I right?

Until a few days ago, local temperatures hadn’t crept over the freezing point yet this year. We already have twenty inches more snow than our season average and there appears to be plenty more coming. Those factors and a powerful Great Lake have combined to form some amazing ice and snow formations out on the surface of Lake Michigan. In fact, a vast array of space has opened up for exploring due to the levels of ice cover! So go check out areas you may not be able to (safely) get to on foot again, folks. It is, after all, the winter of the century.

These photos were taken along the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. And that is a sun dog you’re seeing in the photo below (not a rainbow). I have the winter of the century to thank for learning that term.