A Day in Glen Arbor

We left our spot overlooking the Flexible busses and continued on M-22 north through Frankfort and on towards Empire.  Just before descending the final hill into Empire, Deb spotted a sign: U-pick cherries.  We drove the 1 mile off-route to a beautiful (and apparently quite popular) farm where they were selling cherries.  They didn’t have any black ones, but they had yellow cherries and red ones.  We came away with a couple pounds of yellow cherries which the guy claimed were sweeter than the red ones.  Deb doesn’t think so, but I like ‘em.  Made for some good eating while we were picking.

When we drove past the Sleeping Bear Dune Climb, we were surprised by the line-up of cars slowly making their way into the parking lot.  The line even stretched out onto the main road, which delayed us a bit because several cars in front of us wanted to turn in also.

It was the same way in Glen Arbor.  Tuesday morning and the place is packed with people.  We managed to drop off a bicycle at the Crystal River Outfitters, our take-out point and then drove to the launch point at the Crystal View Trailhead.  The parking lot there was really only meant for cars, but I managed to squeeze the RV in a single parking space and we launched the kayaks in Crystal River.

Crystal River is shallow, relatively slow, and with the lack of rain in the area, below normal levels.  Probably for these reasons it is billed as a ‘family-friendly river.’  Tip the boat over and you will be in ankle-deep water.  A life vest would just be unnecessary baggage.

Still, the river is crystal clear (hence the name) and meanders through some beautiful wooded land mostly devoid of any development.  For the most part, we managed to avoid grounding the kayaks on the bottom, and when we did, using the paddles as poles to push the kayak was usually effective.  It was busy and we had to navigate around some groups of people who obviously had little experience in operating a kayak.

There are three portages, the first around a dam, and the other two around culverts under the road.  The first  culvert is large enough to fit a canoe and most people “shoot the tube”, and run right through the culvert.  We did too.  Kinda like whitewater rafting: most of the trip is slow but there are a few times of brief excitement.  This was the whitewater of this trip.  The water was low enough that the kayaks made a loud grating sound on the corrugated culvert.  And just like that it was all over.

When we reached the take-out point, I rode the bike back to the RV and then drove back to where Deb was waiting with the kayaks.

We put the kayaks back on and took the bikes off and rode the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail for about 10 miles north.  We’ve been on the southern part of this that runs pas DH Day Campground and the Dune Climb, but have never taken it north.  This was a nice ride on paved or hard-pack gravel that winds through land managed by the National Park Service.  Other groups are trying to preserve and restore some 360 old buildings, mostly farm buildings and we stopped at one that was actively being worked on.

The guy there was repairing squirrel and mouse damage to the farmhouse, which has been converted to an interpretive center.  The coordinator for Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear was there also, and, even though it was after hours and the building was locked, she let us in for a while to view the exhibits.  We talked with her for almost an hour and heard all about the preservation efforts and interactions with the National Park Service.

We rode further on the trail, eventually turning around because it was close to time to eat.  

Since we were going to turn inland and away from Lake Michigan, we chose a spot to eat that overlooked the lake.  At the end of Bohemian Road (County Road 669) is a lake access.  In fact, the road literally ends at the lake.  This was far enough away from the crowds that only a few people were here.  I’m sure not many people know about this place or care to drive this distance to see this little gem. 

We made dinner here and then walked the beach for an hour or so, enjoying the cool breezes and the sound of the surf.  Deb found a Petoskey stone.

Leaving Bohemian Beach, we drove to Traverse City, where we stopped for the night in a Cracker Barrel parking lot.