Anyone who knows me knows that I love a good road trip. I love to explore new places, to visit scenic and historical sites, and to see as much of this great country as I possibly can. While the pandemic has limited my travel and made me stay close to home a lot in the last year (and I have enjoyed more time with the girls close to home), I have been craving a good road trip. While Maddie and I have traveled to 49 States and 7 Canadian Provinces together, I realized last year that there were several areas of our beautiful state of Michigan that we had never visited, and I decided that we needed to do something about that. So last week, we loaded up the car and headed Northwest to explore some new and exciting places right here in Michigan.
The Lake Michigan coast has some beautiful scenic areas that tend to be very busy and crowded in the Summer, and frankly, that has kept me away from them. But after seeing some amazing social media posts about the area around Leland, I just knew we had to find the time to visit, and a Spring trip seemed the perfect time to go to avoid all of the people. I researched and planned and found the perfect opportunity to visit just as things were beginning to open for the season again. Our goal this trip: to visit as many State Parks and spots listed as the most Beautiful place in each county as we could and to gather some geocaches and fun memories along the way.
Vanessa joined us for our trip, and after picking her up, we headed North on our adventure. Our first stop was in Manistee at the 5th Ave. Beach. Although it was cool and windy, the sun was shining and we were all ready for a walk along the beach-none of more than Maddie. She was so happy to be at the beach and to get her toes into a Great Lake, and it was obvious by the little extra pep in her step. And to be honest, if the trip had ended there, I would have been happy just seeing how happy she was.
We walked the beach and down the pier to the lighthouse where I hoped to get a cute picture of the girls, but Peaches wasn't about to sit still when there was so much to sniff! After we reached the end of the pier, we turned around to head back to the car. In the parking lot we were greeted by the sweetest older gentleman who had seen us from across the inlet and drove over in hopes of saying hello to the girls. He had owned GSPs previously and was missing having one in his life and Peaches and Maddie were happy to accept some love and attention from a stranger who appreciates and understands these crazy, silly dogs.
After saying goodbye to our new friend, we headed into town to pick up lunch, take a brief walk around town, and then head on to our next stop-Orchard Beach State Park.
Our stop at Orchard Beach was a short one because we arrived to find the entrance closed and construction equipment all around. I got the girls out of the car for the obligatory State Park sign picture and then loaded them back up to continue on our journey.
We made another stop at another beautiful beach and Maddie was thrilled to get out and drag Vanessa toward the water...where a nice wave proceeded to wash over her nice dry shoes. Wet feet are definitely a fact of life when you take Maddie to the beach!
As we walked the shoreline, I realized that Peaches isn't much of a big Lake girl. She loves the beach and all of the things there that she can sniff, but not once did she get into the Lake. She was also pretty unhappy when I made her sit still for a picture. Silly girl!
We continued on our journey through small towns along the Lake Michigan coast until we reached Arcadia and the Arcadia Marsh. This wasn't one of our planned stops, but we were happy to make the stop and explore the walk through the marsh despite the frigid winds. Because this area is a popular area for nesting birds, dogs are not allowed on the path, so we made this hike without the girls.
The boardwalk is well built and the scenery was nice and we had a very enjoyable walk. I was really glad we had made the decision to stop. I'd highly recommend a stop here if you are in the area. It was well worth it.
We continued on to Inspiration Point where we made the climb up a lot of steps for a beautiful view of the Lake and the Arcadia dunes. The wind was crazy here and boy was it cold, but it was another gorgeous stop.
A short drive later, we made it to the Point Betsie Lighthouse. This is an iconic lighthouse in the area, and while the lighthouse and grounds were closed for the season, there is a beach right next to the lighthouse where we were able to stop and get some great views of the Lake and the lighthouse.
I'm pretty sure the girls weren't nearly as excited to be there as I was, but I have seen so many pictures of this lighthouse over the years that I was pretty thrilled to be there to see it in person.
I'm also always fascinated by the movement of the sand and how the wind affects the landscape on the beach. This bench is a great example of Mother Nature doing her own thing, despite humankind. She really is the one in charge!
It had been a long day of travel with several stops along the way when we arrived at our final destination-Fishtown. This quaint little area was the inspiration for the trip and I was so excited to be there. Located in the quiet little town of Leland, I'm sure this spot is bustling and full of crowds in the Summer months, but for our visit it was just a sleepy little town.
We stayed at the Lodge right on the water and were greeted with the sounds of the dam that was just a couple hundred feet from our room. We arrived in town after 6pm and with the exception of the Leland Lodge a few blocks away, there was nothing open. So we unpacked the car and then made our way to pick up dinner there.
We enjoyed our meal in our room and then made the short walk from our room to the beach in order to enjoy a Lake Michigan sunset before settling in for the night.
It had been a great day and the girls were ready to snuggle up for the night. As we relaxed for the evening, I was excited to see what adventures we would have the next day.
While I love traveling with dogs, traveling with an older dog comes with additional challenges. Maddie had a very restless night which means I had a restless night too. She was anxious, unable to get comfortable, and needed multiple trips outside for potty breaks in the night. I can never predict when nights like this will occur or why they happen, but it was just not a good night. A bad night led to a slow morning as we lounged a little longer in bed and took a bit longer to get moving. I'm sure the 35 degree temperatures with rain also factored into our slow-to-get-moving morning. But eventually, we were all ready to go and headed out the door for our day two adventures in the Leelanau Peninsula.
Our first stop was a quiet little roadside park that my daughter had recommended to me. There was a beautiful overlook and several steps to get down to the beach. Thankfully the steps were pretty wide and easy for Maddie to maneuver, so we headed down to explore the rocky beach. This day, I was the lucky one to end up with a wet foot thanks to Maddie's trip into the water, but she was happy to be there, so I didn't mind much. Peaches sniffed and explored and was having a grand time and Vanessa took some time to hunt for the perfect rock before we headed back up the stairs and continued our journey.
Our next stop with the Leelanau State Park and Grand Traverse Lighthouse a the tip of the peninsula. I was surprised to see a few other cars there, but we had a peaceful visit and the girls enjoyed this stop too.
We had traveled up the West coast of the peninsula, and once we reached the tip, continued our journey down the East coast toward Northport and a stop to pick up our lunch there. I'm not sure what this building is used for, but it was on the edge of he local airport and was so unique that we had to stop.
As we continued South on M-22, we crossed the 45th Parallel and made a couple of other stops along the way. I was excited to see these Dutchman's Britches and the beginnings of several other wild flowers as we explored the area.
We had made our way around the entire Leelanau Peninsula on M-22, and now it was time to head to the next big highlight of our trip-Sleeping Bear Dunes. The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, established in October of 1970, is celebrating it's 50th birthday this entire year and I figured what better time to visit. Basically this National Lakeshore has been in existence my entire life, and somehow I had never visited it before, but it was time.
Our first stop was the trailhead for the hike to the Empire Bluffs overlook. While I had really wanted both Maddie and Peaches to be able to make the hike out to the overlook, it had been a very busy day for Maddie and she had no interest in doing anything more than taking a quick potty break in the parking lot and then getting right back in the car. So we left her behind to relax while Peaches, Vanessa, and I made the 3/4 of a mile walk to the overlook.
It was quiet and amazingly beautiful at the overlook and while I enjoyed the view, Peaches was busily sniffing everything. Honestly, pictures don't do justice to the beauty here.
After a few minutes enjoying the view, we made the hike back to the car to explore more of the dunes area. While some parts of the park were closed, I enjoyed what we were able to see and I was thrilled to be able to get Maddie out near the Dune Climb to make her visit there official.
It had been another great day of adventures and we slowly meandered our way back up M-22 to Leland, making some quick stops along the way. While the day had been cold and blustery, we all had enjoyed it very much and I was once again very glad we had decided to make the trip.
We made it back to Leland in time to visit the grocery store before it closed at 6pm and then took a quick walk around town. This tree trunk stump was enormous! I wish the picture did justice to just how impressive it is.
After our short walk, we headed back to the hotel to relax for the evening. Even Peaches was ready to settle in for the night!
Friday morning arrived and our quick trip North was coming to an end, but before it did, we still had more to see and do. Everyone said we had to stop at the Cheese Shop in town, and we made a point to stop there to pick up some sandwiches for the drive home. It was the first day of the season for them and boy were they busy. But when I finally sat down to eat my sandwich, I completely understood why. It was delicious!
The girls enjoyed our stroll around Fishtown and I was so happy that they decided to stay nicely for a picture. Aren't they adorable?!?
I also made a stop at the fish market and bought some really tasty turkey jerky there. And we had a nice visit at one of the gift shops that was dog friendly. I love when the girls can visit places indoors!
We left Fishtown happy with our trip and excited for more adventures.
Our trip South took us away from the coast and into the interior of the State. Our first stop along the way was to visit the Michigan Legacy Art Park at Crystal Mountain.
I wasn't impressed with the art and Maddie wasn't impressed with all the hills that Vanessa made her climb!
We then stopped at the High Rollway Observation deck to enjoy the most beautiful view in Wexford County. This stop is actually right along the North Country Trail and if we had had more time, we may have taken a little hike, but for now, we just stopped to enjoy the view. I bet it is gorgeous in the Fall!
As we meandered South, we also picked up some geocaches along the way to help us as we work toward our goal of finding at least one geocache in every county in Michigan. I thought this one was pretty cute!
Probably the most interesting stop on our trip home was Idlewild Lake. This is a cute little lake and is considered the most beautiful place in Lake County, but more interesting than that is its historic importance as a nationally known resort town for middle and upper-class African Americans in the 1920s-1960s.
We also made a quick visit to the Litte Mac-a wooden replica of the Mackinac Bridge-in Rogers City.
Our final official stop of the day was Newaygo State Park for a short hike before heading home. By the time we got here, Maddie was one pooped pup! Of course Peaches rarely slows down, but once we were back in the car, both girls settled in nicely for our ride home.
While we had only been gone three short days, we were able to explore a lot and really enjoy our time away. Even though the weather wasn't ideal, that didn't matter because I was just happy to be out with my girls exploring new places and making memories. As Maddie gets older, I know our time for making memories is short and I really just want to make the most of every day with her. I'm so glad we made this trip and I can't wait until we can hit the road again on our next adventure!
These girls are pretty amazing and I can't imagine better adventure buddies!
