West coast of MI

[Furby]

Well I've been working a lot the past 4 weeks or so and not making a lot of headway on things that really need to be done.
Had a forecast of a really nice day yesterday and knew I needed to make some progress on something.
So what did I do ???
I took the day off and went on a road trip with family! ;D

We loaded up a couple vehicles with my folks and some of my siblings. My Grandma, Aunt, Uncle and my cousin's new bride.
We took a day trip North a bit, starting in Ludington State Park with a tour of Big Sable Point Lighthouse.


View from the top.






Ended up carrying my kid sister to the top of the lighthouse......... and back down. :
We went today as it was one of only three days a year when they have a shuttle out to the lighthouse. The rest of time you must either walk or bike the 1.5 mile (one way) path out there. As my Grandma can't walk that far, we made sure to make it there on a shuttle day.

After spending a few hours at the Big Sable Point Lighthouse, Great Lakes Visitor Center, and Ludington State Park, we headed back South a bit to the area we have an old trailer on a couple lots. There was going to be an apple fest and BBQ cook off in town and we thought we'd check it out. Well we got there kinda late and most had picked up and left already, but we did get to look around a little.
Came across a booth I though you all would like.











The fellow running it didn't have time to talk as he had to get it loaded up before they opened the street back up to traffic.
He did say the bigger stuff was cedar.
The bowls and baskets were priced between $45 and $65.
The other items were as high as $290.
Cool stuff! 8)

Since we had a little time left and my cousin's new bride had never been to the dunes before, up we went!



Once again I ended up carrying my kid sister up...... after winning a race to the top and going back down for her.



View from the top.





We didn't get over to the ORV area, so I don't have any good pics of that handy, maybe next time I go up I can get a few.
All in all it was a good day. Now I just need to play catch up before the rain moves in later. :-\
Thanks for looking! 8)

[Paul_H]

Cool stuff Furby  8)

[dewwood]

Looks like you had a great day Furby.  You got to spend time with family and see some beautiful sites as well, it does not get any better.  The west coast of L Michigan is one of the most beautiful areas I have ever been.  You can travel up and down the coast and see lots of different and interesting things.

[UNCLEBUCK]

Thanks for the trip Furby !  Do they let dirt bikes loose out on that dunes? I would hope they didnt but if they did it would be pretty crazy !

You had yourself a good day and thought enough of family to bring em with and share it so I rank you way up high as one good person ! 

[Furby]

In the ORV area UB, anything goes!
Things do get pretty crazy and things do go wrong, but with the amount of people up there, it's bound to happen no matter what you are driving.
Street trucks go up all the time, just ask the StumpJumpers, they made a post about going up there around the 4th of July.
Sand rails, 4 wheelers, 3 wheelers, dirt bikes, what ever ya got. Heck here's the link to Stumpjumper's thread. You may remember they found a school bus up there!
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=20235.0

The biggest problem with taking a street rig up there though as StumpJumper found out, is deflating and reinflating your tires. In their case they have six tires at 80psi. Having to drop them below 20psi takes a while and putting the air back in isn't easy either. ;D
Most holiday weekends you'll find the first couple miles of highway heading South of there littered with broken down rigs. Some get sand in places they shouldn't, others may have had a bit too much to drink and left their truck in 4 low while trying fly down the highway. :

Anyways, lots of folks find it easier to bring dirt bikes and 4 wheelers instead, or trailer their dune rig. ;)

[Paschale]

cool pics!   8)

[sawguy21]

I really enjoyed them. Thanks Furb

[UNCLEBUCK]

Ok thanks Furby , I never been more than a few miles from the interstate from the bridge down into Livonia area so this is really great ! 

[Corley5]

I've been to concerts at Val Du Lakes a couple times and you can see the trucks, quads, etc running the dunes from the concert area.  Pretty cool always wanted to get over to the dunes but never made it.  Do they still have concerts there?

[Furby]

Not like they use to.

[SwampDonkey]

Thanks for sharing your trip Furby. Nice scenery and some interesting stops. We are planning on another trip out the coast this fall and see more stuff we missed.  Last trip I had only a 16 meg CF card in the camera, this time I got a gig, enough for 999 photos. ;D We also have dunes and gotta get some pics. Somehow we missed them the first of the month. Didn't realize they were probably out on Miscou Island, east of Shippegan. We also have alot of old lighthouses that are maintained more for historical significance since all of them are automated now, since 1996 I think. That was a sad day to here they went automated, just ain't right.