Sat. May 11
A cool 48 and spotty drizzle this morning as we leave our site.
We drive to nearby Loda Lake National Wildflower Sanctuary. This is the only National Wildflower Sanctuary, established in1949 by the US Forest Service and Michigan Garden Clubs It is on land once logged by the railroad in the late 1890's, and then farmed for many years.
There are several trails, a pollinator's garden, picnic area and more. Unfortunately we are a bit early for most of the wildflowers, so see only a few trillium and small yellow flowers, and the beginnings of ferns that had yet to unfurl. It has some carnivorous plants, columbine, lady's slippers and a variety of - probably in the next few weeks. Was a nice walk in the woods today.
A pair of trumpeter swans across the lake.
We had a nice hot breakfast of oatmeal to warm up after the walk.
Next, it's back to the coast and the Little Au Sable Lighthouse at Petite Point. Completed in 1874, it is the tallest on the eastern shores of Lake Michigan at 115' and is surrounded by low sand dunes, part of Silver Lake Sand Dunes State Park.
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Nearly all of the coast has varying degrees of sand dunes along this side of the Lake. |
These sweet-smelling flowers were blooming on bushes on the dunes.
As we continued up the coast there were occasional bays and peninsulas where we could see shifting sand dunes.
When we dipped inland, we began to see beautiful blooming orchards.
Then on to Ludington North Breakwater Lighthouse at the end of a long pier. It tips 4.5 degrees NNE due to enlargement of the concrete slab around it in 1994 but it didn't seem obvious. Lots of breaking waves on this blustery day! They say the waves sometimes break as high as the light.
The south side of the breaker was calmer.
There is a nice park here, along with a Coast Guard station, some sculptures and a picnic area.
Nearby is a ferry firing up to cross the lake to Wisconsin!
We thought this was an odd sign in a yard along the shore. I guess it means "congested area for traffic", or "hey! people live here so watch out and don't park in our driveways".
We head to Marzinski Horse Campground, another USFS site and find ourselves having the entire grounds to ourselves. It opened two weeks ago, but we surmise that the chilly weather plus the rainy weather has kept people (and their horses) away. Fine by us!
We enjoy the quiet here among towering trees and have the first campfire of the trip. Greg cooks burgers on the grill and baked beans.
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