“Perhaps
the truth depends on a walk around a lake.”
Wallace Stevens
Carol
writes: The
Great Lakes were once ancient river valleys that were carved into lakes by retreating
glaciers of the last ice age approximately 11,800 years ago. Our next stop along the shore of America’s
largest lake, Lake Michigan (the other Great Lakes are shared with Canada), was
in lovely Frankfort,
a small Michigan town oozing with charm and a picture-perfect
beach.
The small-town atmosphere appealed to us as an
ideal location to take in some Fourth of July fireworks over Lake Michigan.
We felt fortunate to discover a dedicated
bike trail that we were able to pick up at the Frankfort marina.
Marshy area wildflowers were in full bloom along
the Betsie Valley Trail.
We were so impressed with the totally natural
beauty of the Lake Michigan shoreline.
Somehow, rampant over-development with high-rise hotels and condos has never
found a niche here, and many small Lake Michigan communities are all the better
for it.
This was quite evident up at the Point Betsie
Lighthouse where the waves on this windy day were crashing spectacularly into
the seawall at the base of the lighthouse.
The coastline of rolling grass-covered sand dunes was
outstanding.
The iconic sand dune of Sleeping Bear Dunes
National Lakeshore is a navigational landmark on Lake Michigan. According to Native American legend, this dominant
solitary dune represents Mother Bear who waits for her cubs who have drowned
at sea, and are now represented by North and South Manitou Islands, 12 and 16
miles offshore in the sparkling clear waters of Lake Michigan.
Since Sleeping Bear Dunes was the main reason
for our decision to stay in Frankfort, we paid close attention to the Weather
Bug app for a day that seemed most ideal for a visit. The federal lands set aside for the National
Lakeshore encompassed a wide expanse of land interspersed with privately owned parcels,
so we chose the Pierce Stocking 7-mile scenic drive as the best way to
appreciate this unique setting. The scenery
was indeed beautiful…
It was with great anticipation that we approached
the stop along the drive that would lead us to the very summit of the biggest
dune 400 feet above Lake Michigan. The
parking lot was mobbed and we actually had to wait for a parking space to open
up. As soon as we found a parking spot,
within a span of about 5 minutes, we saw visitors come flooding out of the short
path to the top of the dunes, each looking a little worse for wear. A fierce wind had blown in from the lake and
conditions at the top had suddenly deteriorated into a sandstorm. One man seriously advised me, “Don’t go out
there!” However, we both had hats,
wraparound sunglasses and our trusty bandannas, so after a picnic lunch in the
car we decided to give it a try.
My camera is still acting a little funky and
probably needs a cleaning from all the blowing sand, but we did get to the top
of the dunes for our customary “I was there” photo.
Picture-taking was challenging and the blowing sand
stung our skin, but the view was superb!
An inconvenient sandstorm just made enticing Sleeping Bear Dunes all the
more unforgettable.
During our 2-week stay in Frankfort, a major
summer event called the National Cherry Festival was in full swing up in
Traverse City. A visit to the Cherry
Festival had been recommended to us by many people we had spoken to over the
past few weeks, so we set out for Traverse City to see what it was all about.
What we found was typical carny rides, a tasty choice
of food, and numerous vendors with a creative variety of cherry products...but
not much else.
The cherries themselves were quite pricey—$5 for a cup! A few days later we
found a quart of cherries at a farmers’ market selling for half the price
demanded by the sellers at the Cherry Festival. Traverse City itself was attractive in a cutesy
way, but parking was a huge issue, stores were crowded, and lines for ice cream
were long, so we called it an early day. I still don’t understand the draw of the
Cherry Festival itself, but as for Michigan sweet cherries... they really are
delicious!
We much preferred our day trip south to the small
town of Manistee.
The neatest thing the city of Manistee had
going for it was the hour-long historic trolley tour that took us down to the
beach
along the former streetcar system through
neighborhoods that had beautifully restored Victorian-era homes from the time
of the lumber barons.
The storefronts in the shopping district were
over a hundred years old and were nicely restored.
We found the Democratic Party headquarters all
by ourselves.
What has tickled me since the day our travels brought
us to the Midwest is the use of the term “growler” for a container of fresh
beer, a word I remember clearly from my childhood in the Cincinnati area. When one of my parents wanted a refill on
their nightly glass of beer, we would be asked to “rush the growler.” For me, it is amusing to find that the word “growler”
is alive and well.
“A
lake that is noisy cannot reflect anything.”
Robert Adams
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