World United States Michigan Traverse City

Jim and Sandi's Big Adventure

Heavens to Betsie Oct 7, 2010

Our goal today was to move from Manistee, Michigan to Traverse City, Michigan. Using an efficient route, this should have been a journey of 61 miles. We managed it in 127 miles. We wandered up Country Road M-22, noting that more and more trees were showing off their fall colors. At one of the scenic turnouts that enticed us off the road, we started talking to a couple from Indiana. They were going the reverse route from us. They told us a trip to Point Betsie Lighthouse was worthwhile. Point Betsie marks the southern entrance to the Manitou Passage. This point was originally known as "sawed beak point". The lighthouse was built in 1858 at a cost of $5000, sits 52' above the lake and has a range of about 15 miles. It is the most photographed lighthouse in Michigan. After taking the obligatory photos, we headed to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Park. The park is named after a Chippewa legend. A forest fire on the shore of Wisconsin drove a mother bear and her two cubs into Lake Michigan, determined to reach the opposite shore. After many miles of swimming, the two cubs lagged behind. When the mother bear reached the shore, she waited on the top of a high bluff. The cubs drowned in the lake, but the mother bear stayed and waited in hopes that her cubs would finally appear. Impressed by the mother bear's determination and faith, the Great Spirit created North and South Manitou Island to commemorate the cubs, and the winds buried the sleeping bear under the sands of the dunes where she waits to this day. Wind and erosion have caused the "bear" to be greatly reduced in size over the years. Today only a small remnant remains. It is a good thing there were signs there to tell us what we were seeing. The views in general, however, were fabulous. We also found that "walking" on a sand dune was quite a challenge. Since Jim's goal is 10,000 steps per day, he feels these "quality" steps should count extra!