Sleeping Bear Dunes

In 2012 I visited some distant relatives who live in Michigan, more precisely in Traverse City, which is located on the “pinky and ring finger of Michigan” (if you imagine Michigan as a hand). Since one of my relatives had worked as a ranger in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore before he retired, my relatives took me to some extraordinary places in this area.

The National Park’s name derives from a Native American legend about two small islands that are located in lake Michigan, close to the shore of the National Park. According to the legend, a mother bear and her two cubs had to flee from a raging forest fire and as a result they were forced to swim across lake Michigan. The bears swam for many hours and eventually the two cubs became tired and slowed down. When mother bear finally reached the shore, she was very worried and desperately waited for her cubs to appear. However, the cubs were too tired to continue and drowned not far from the shore. The Great Spirit Manitou created two islands to mark the spot where the cubs drowned and a single sand dune to mark the place where their mother had been waiting for them.

In the course of a week I was given chance to explore this NP and I visited several memorable places, most of which are located at the shore of lake Michigan. It was amazing to stand in the yellowish, warm sand, looking at the light blue sky and seeing the sun’s reflection in the clear blue water. I was gazing towards the horizon, unable to spot the opposite shoreline.  

If any of you ever gets the chance to visit this part of Michigan, take it! Climb on the edge of a sand dune, enjoy the view, revel in the moment and experience the perfect mix of clear, blue water, golden sand, immense dunes, bluffs  and green forest.

You can find more information about the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on this website:

http://www.nps.gov/slbe/index.htm