The Wheatleys: Onto Leland Fish town

Hi F and F,

We left at 9.20 am to get the 9.30 am bridge opening out to Lake Michigan.

Seems most of the towns on the East coast have inlets to take you into a sheltered area off the Lake .

Many are on internal lakes.

We experienced the calm , the choppy , then the calm waters again. as we made the 2 hour journey to Leland.

We got to see our first Indian fishing nets. We also saw the fishing boat out checking the nets, a strange square shaped boat which looked homemade.

These Indian nets can be dangerous as they sit below the surface of the water and as one friend found out, not very prop friendly!! Fortunately these ones had a red buoy at one end and a white buoy at the other end so were clearly marked but in about 75 ft of water. The buoys can be widely spaced apart.

Crystal clear waters as we entered Leland harbor.Just as well as there is significant shoaling on the right side but again clearly marked with red buoys.

Erica had rented a car from Hertz at Traverse City Airport.They brought the car out to the Marina late morning.Fee was more than the car rental for 24 hours, but worth it.

Once settled ,we headed off down to Empire where the National Park center was for the Sleeping Bear Dunes. You can get a senior National Parks lifetime pass for $10, which you can use all over the USA .

From there we went on the Pierce Stockng Scenic Drive through lovely forest areas and at the Lake Michigan Overlook , saw dramatic views of the dunes and surrounding lakes.

The two Glen lakes were different colors of blue although side by side.

This is due to the water depth.One is 12 ft deep the other up to 300 ft in the center.

The forests were on pine and beech trees mainly. We stopped on the way back to sample some local wines at the Good Harbor Vineyards This winery has been going since 1980 .Then onto the boat for early dinner , and back on the road again retracing our steps as far as the big Dune Climb.

The one in is on all the postcards.

Erica's plan was to see the sun set from the top of the dune and Graeme somewhat went along with the plan! It was such a beautiful clear night, so was going to be good.

We started the climb and it was steep.Then the second dune appeared ( a smaller one ) and finally a third steeper one.Could we see the Michigan lake from there , well sort of.Turns out we were still a way from the avantage point, so we gave up.Apparently Empire Bluffs has a good vantage point if you plan to go. I wish the lady at the Park office had given us more detail re the Dune Climb.