Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lake Shore

 By: Queue Murphy
     I have so many good childhood memories of this place!  It is a great place to take your children anytime of the year, but especially during the spring, summer and fall color time.  When I was a kid, it was not a National Park and you could take dune buggy rides to the top and camp on the dunes under the bright moon and stars.  That changed and it became a National Park.  It is breathtaking - from the Pierce Stocking Drive through ancient forests, to the huge Dune climb, that looks easy from the bottom until you get to the top.  My kids, friends, cousins, Aunts and Uncles, Grandparents, parents, have all climbed it and raced to the bottom.  When you get to the top, you get breathtaking views of Little and Big Glen Lake - two lakes created by glaciers!  
    Swimming in Lake Michigan off of the dunes is breathtaking - as they say in Michigan:  No salt, No Sharks, No Worries!  How can you go wrong?  
    A great site to look at before you visit or camp is here:  http://www.nps.gov/slbe/index.htm.  But take care, there are bears and mountain lions, snakes....well, wildlife!  
    There are also many ranger talks throughout the week and you can learn how to track skat (poop), hear ghost stories, learn about shipwrecks and see the brilliance of the stars at night! 
    One night after hearing a ranger talk on local ghosts, we went to a house in thompsonville and in the middle of the night, the car kept starting - the dog hid under the bed and my husband kept getting up to hit the remote and turn it off.  That has never happened to us again - we think the ghosts followed us home!   Ooooh spoooky!

 In all of its majesty, these areas still have to be respected as it is a a wildlife area, but you and your family will never forget it!

---