45th Anniversary (Part V)...

This past August, Pam and I celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary with a trip to Traverse City, Michigan.  That place doesn't hold any particular significance in our life, it's just a beautiful part of the country and well within a relaxing day's drive.  I guess we could have gone back to wherever it was in West Virginia we went originally (Waterford Downs Racetrack), but we'll save that for another year.

We stayed at a place right on the Bay called The Cherry Tree Inn and Suites, which was fitting since Traverse City is the cherry capital of the world (according to the Chamber of Commerce).  It was a very nice place for a trip like this.  Our room faced the water and we sat out on the beach at night, listening to the water, the birds and the crickets.  Very relaxing.  People up and down the shore had beach fires so it looked and smelled very inviting.

 We drove all up the coast to see lighthouses and fishing villages and such. We also spent a day hiking/climbing up the Sleeping Bear Dunes.  For those of you who have never been there, you pull into a parking lot and look at this huge sand hill and think -- I can do that!!  It looked daunting, but not insurmountable so I put the pack on my back with some water bottles and a couple of candy bars in it (just in case we had to spend the night about half way up).  I have always been intrigued by the concept of perspective which I learned in a junior high art class.  It's amazing how small people looked the higher they got on the hill.

This was just a midway point...we were still going up.  Note the person just below my elbow.  Distance is tricky.

As the day wore on, and it got a bit hotter, we were finally within sight of the last of the hills.  But by now, it was getting on into the afternoon and there was still a lot more to see of the Sleeping Bear Park so we documented our success (such as it was) and decided to hike on down to the Jeep.  By the way, we didn't eat all the candy or drink all of the water...did better than I thought we would.

What is it they say about whatever goes up...

So now, following a short but very nice drive around the park, we came to the real dune.  What an attraction.  There is a huge sign at the observation point of the dune and it ways it all.

Being somewhat respectful of heights (other than when I was flying the plane that is), I stayed back from the edge of the dune and shot these pictures just to give you an idea of what it really looks like.

These little dots on the brown trail to the top of the picture are really people who wanted a challenge.  When they were coming back up, they were literally crawling on all fours -- it was that steep and hard to manage.

Just in case you are wondering, I did not turn the camera on an angle -- this is the actual height and drop off angle.  It's not in this picture, but at the bottom was a very large yacht which looked like a tub toy from where I was.

All in all, this was a very spectacular beginning to our trip.  Glad we had this day to spend together.  Hiking the Dunes reminded me of an old saying: If you pick 'em up, O Lord, I'll put 'em down. ("Prayer of the Tired Walker").  

I also rediscovered that when one is out walking, he has lots of time to think.  "Solvitur ambulando," St. Jerome was fond of saying. "To solve a problem, walk around."


If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk. (Raymond Inmon)

Hooah