[Gwenne & Len]

Hey all.....Northern Michigan may not be 'on the way' to much, but it's sure a good destination. As I have mentioned in other posts, we live in Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore in Leelanau County (the tip of the 'little finger' on Michigan's 'hand').....gorgeous sand dunes and Lake Michigan beaches. A drive up the western shore from Leelanau County, following M22 to 31, takes one through Traverse City - a gorgeous town on Grand Traverse Bay, up through the resort towns of Charlevoix, Petoskey, and Harbor Springs, through the 'Tunnel of Trees' - a gorgeous drive along Lake Michigan, to Mackinac.......a side trip to Mackinac Island on the ferry is interesting - no cars allowed there. Across the Mackinac Bridge (5 miles long) to the Upper Peninsula.....and on the Lake Superior shore there is Tahquamenon Falls State Park (beautiful country) and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.....we took the Boat Cruise yesterday to see the cliffs from the lake - tons of great hikes......west of all that is the Keewanaw Peninsula, old mining towns and more beach and forest. There is a lot more up here too.....the UP is wild and lightly inhabited......with beautiful forests and beaches along Lake Superior and Lake Michigan......we are in a KOA in Newberry - full hook ups. But the state park in Tahquamenon, right at the Lower Falls, is beautiful, and has water and electric.....now that I'm here, I would go there next time.