Monday, June 12th ~ 8:00am, 44* 🥶 overcast but by 10am the sun started to peak out a bit. We all enjoyed our morning coffee & tea and another wonderful shower. Time to pack “Ruby” up and we said our goodbyes till they meet up with us later in the U.P. for our next adventure. 11:30 we headed down the long winding driveway and at the end Gary & Kay were they already waving to us. 👋 Tim had to show them how loud our truck/train horn was! 🙉 We had such a wonderful time with them. Water somehow filled our eyes. 😭 🥰
🎶 On the road again 🎶 , lots of deer 🦌 running through the forest, and now seeing a lot of snowmobiling signs, & trees 🌲 Christmas tree farms as we go through these cute little towns. Saw the Houghton River, Lake City & we stopped in Cadillac at a Meijer for diesel to top off the back tank.31.075 gallons @ $3.519/gal = $109.36. Then we went inside to stock up and 2 Diet Coke’s + groceries = $87.38 (water, lunch, cards, etc). We’re ready for more adventures. Driving through the town of Beulah, saw a sign that read “Cherry Hut” and it looked really cute and next door was a cute store with flowers so …..Tim turned around! When we walked in it was like stepping back in time. All the servers were in red & white striped dresses and pants, clean white shoes, cherry valances on the windows, and antiques all around. We each had a slice of cherry pie ….which was so warm and delicious that we bought a whole pie to take with us! 🍒🍒🍒 Then visited the shop next door…Market Basket which had beautiful flowers, plants and fresh fruits & vegetables. 3:10pm we arrived at Platte River Campground at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The ranger checked us in and suggested trails etc for us to explore. On our way to loop 2, site 210! Beautiful, big, level, wooded site with electric. 5:00pm it’s now 58* Decided to take a walk around loop first. 🤷🏼♂️🤷🏻♀️Our first time ever seeing a firewood bundle dispenser at a campground. These 2 big, metal boxes had a slot to insert money or credit cards and then doors to dispense your firewood! 🤦🏻♀️ One was processed fire log and the other machine was for bundled firewood. $7.00 each.
We took the 3 mile Dunes Trail at the end of the campground, over Alligator Hill dunes out to Lake Michigan. It was a heavily wooded trail in the beginning , then turned into a step sandy trail. When we got to Lake Michigan, it was overcast, cool & windy. The Lakeshore was rocky. There we saw Piping Plovers nesting. One actually ran in front of me on the beach and at first I thought it was sand piper bird! We found some really cool rocks along the water. Brrr cold water! 🥶 We got back to the RV around 8pm and grilled Cherry sausages and soup for dinner. It was 62* inside the RV….time for heater to go on. We then read the brochures and made a plan of drives, hikes and things to explore for the next few days. We traveled 113 miles today. Good night all! 🛌 😴 💤
The Cherry Hut was established as a roadside pie stand in 1922. The Kraker family used it as a means to distribute homemade cherry pies made from fresh cherries out of their orchard. Later, in 1937, the Cherry Hut moved to Beulah, MI. Throughout its long history, The Cherry Hut has always been known for its homemade pies and jams. 2022 it celebrated its 100th anniversary! The smiling face of Cherry Jerry was cut into the crust of their pies and to this day it is the distinguishing sign of the Cherry Hut and its products.
Market Basket – Northern Michigan Farmers grow the healthiest and best tasting produce! The Market Basket is proud to be able to serve the community by working with over 20 local farmers to provide the freshest produce in season.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park – Miles of sand beach, bluffs that tower 450’ above Lake Michigan, lush forests, clear inland lakes, unique flora and fauna make up the natural world of Sleeping Bear Dunes. High dunes afford spectacular views across the lake. An island lighthouse, US Life-Saving Service stations, coastal villages, and picturesque farmsteads reflect the park’s rich maritime, agricultural, and recreational history. The 71,187 acre park is located near Empire, Michigan, along the shoreline of Lake Michigan, including North and South Manitou Islands. This park, established in 1970, is a fairly young addition to the National Park system. The dunes are the most prominent feature here and are most affected by winds blowing across Lake Michigan. This is the largest fresh-water dune system in the world. There’s northern hardwood, pine, and boreal forests & wetlands, bogs & fens, 26 inland lakes and several rivers and streams and lots of animals.
🐻 The Anishinaabe Legend of the Manitou Islands and Sleeping Bear Dune. Once, long ago, across the great lake in Wisconsin, there was terrible hunger and many people and animals died. A bear and her two little cubs, desperate for food, left that place to swim the long distance to the other side of the lake. After a while the cubs became very tired, and so the bear said, “Try hard, the land is not very far.” But gradually the cubs weakened. Exhausted, one cub sank into the water when they were within sight of land, and soon after the other also drowned. The bear’s heart was broken, but she could do nothing. She waded ashore and climbed the bluff to lie down, looking out on the water where her cubs had died. However both of them surfaced as two little islands. And so the bear still lies there now, looking after her children.
Platte River Campground is open year-round. It has 4 loops. Loops 1, 2, & 3 have electric, and 4 non-electric for a total of 150 sites and 22 walk in tent sites. Spacious, wooded sites. 🐻 Heavy Bear Activity Area!
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