Friday, October 28, 2011

Pure Michigan: Sleeping Bear Dunes


Happy Friday!  I don't know about you, but it's been a long week and I am so happy to see the weekend.
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On Wednesday, 33 Shades of Green was Bloggers "Blog of Note".  Wow.  Thank you Blogger!  Welcome to all of you who are new followers and stopped by to check out 33 Shades of Green.  I'm really glad you're here! 
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A couple of weeks ago I posted about the weekend trip  I took up North (in Michigan) wine tasting.  This is the second part of the trip - the beautiful Sleeping Bear Dunes.
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In August, Sleeping Bear Dunes was voted the Most Beautiful Place in America, by Good Morning America.  And, I have to agree, it is breathtaking.  It's been a few years since I was up to SBD, so it was nice to have another chance to enjoy it.

The drive from Traverse City, where we spent the night, over to the Dunes was just beautiful.  Fall color was a week or two away from peak, but it was still gorgeous.

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First stop was at the visitors center to pick up a map.
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All of my photos are from the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive area of the park.  It is a 7.4 mile drive through the forest and dunes with several spots to park the car and get out and walk around. 
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The first stop overlooks Glen Lake.  So pretty.



The next photos are all from the Lake Michigan Overlook.  The overlook is 450 feet above Lake Michigan and it's steep - almost straight down!  Lots of people actually climb down to the bottom and then have to come all the way back up.

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{ my always stylish Baby Sister }

{ me & Mom }




In this same area there is a boardwalk that leads to some really pretty look-outs.


This awesome pic courtesy of Baby Sister:





After Sleeping Bear Dunes, we made a stop in the city of Glen Arbor, home of Cherry Republic and then also at a lighthouse.





That concludes our tour of Sleeping Bear Dunes - I hope you enjoyed it!

I'm going to work on my pillow + invisible zipper + piping tutorial this weekend and hope to have it up soon.  Enjoy the weekend!

44 comments:

  1. Awesome pics! Its wonderful. Thanks for posting these beautiful pics.

    Regards
    Azeez shaik (India)

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  2. You should write for Michigan tourism...seriously! Every time I read one of your posts about Michigan, I feel an urgent need to go there!!

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  3. Beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing your post.
    Blessings, Deborah

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  4. Having been a Florida girl for the the past 20 years, I've really grown to love the warm sunshine, our beautiful white sand, and our emerald waters. But let me take my Florida hat (probably a sun visor!) off to you and say, those are probably the most gorgeous "beach" pictures I've ever seen. And I absolutely miss fall foliage!! Pine trees just don't turn!

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  5. We love Sleeping Bear Dunes! They are so beautiful! Glad you had a nice trip!

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  6. I love those pictures. Looks like you had a very nice trip. I Love the one with the license plate. so cute. And that awesome sky

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  7. Our family vacation spot- we often stopped there when we went to Crystal Lake. :) Nice to see it again, and in the fall! Beautiful!! We always went in the summer. Makes me want to go back! :) Thanks for posting.

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  8. Gorgeous photos! Sleeping Bear Dunes is where my husband proposed to me, so it has a very special place in our hearts ;)

    MJ @ MD School Mrs.

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  9. Congratulations on Blog of Note! That's how I found you.

    Love your photos, and that you are "creative" too. Looking forward to dropping in often!

    xoxoxo, cd

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  10. Greetings from Traverse City!
    i found you on Blog of Note as well. So glad you enjoyed your trip. The Sleeping Bear area is just gorgeous. I drove it every day for 10 years delivering newspapers. And that is the only part that I miss about that job!
    Did you notice if they finished the restoration of the D.H.Day Farm at the base of the dunes?

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  11. Nope! Wrong about that. I found you by your spinach post from a different blogger of note. Oops!
    Congrats on the win!

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  12. My first time visit... LOVELY.... (contented) sigh... beautiful photos.

    You mention in your profile that for as long as you can remember, you've felt the need to be creative and if you don't have at least one project on the go you feel restless.

    I can relate... only for me, it's about reading and books, and if I don't have at least one book on the go and time to read even a few minutes every day, that's when I feel restless.

    I don't know what this Blog of Note is, but that's how I found you (I was just checking my own stats and saw it).

    Here's wishes you lots more glimpses of heaven in unexpected places.....

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  13. I had absolutely no idea these dunes were on Lake Michigan! Definitely a place I need to visit - your pics are gorgeous xo

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  14. Sleeping Bear Dunes is one of my favorite places to visit. My husband drove me up there on our first date. It reminds me of falling in love.

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  15. hello, glad to see you enjoyed your trip up north. I live in Traverse City so know the area well. It seems you had good weather.How long were you up here? Anyway. I hope you enjoyed your stay.
    Janice

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  16. This post has made me completely homesick for my native Michigan. Love the trees turning colors.

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  17. Alissa, I came across your blog because it is one of Blogger's blogs of note. Congrats! I love your blog and pictures of the Sleeping Bear Dunes. I had no idea they existed. How beautiful! Thanks for sharing!
    Cindy
    explorevirginia.blogspot.com

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  18. Wow! I never knew Michigan was so pretty. Great Pics! Great Blog!

    Congratulations on your "Blog of Note" award!

    from NASCAR Memorabilia and Collectibles

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  19. i love seeing your Michigan photos. I was born in grand rapids and lived there for my first 5 years so I don't remember much. I have been back a few times to see family and friends but I never really get the chance to see Michigan and all it's beauty. Thank you for sharing.

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  20. I can't even tell you how your photos made my heart miss Michigan. SBD is my favorite place on earth. Even after seeing the Galapagos Islands, this part of MI has my heart. Your photos are amazing -- makes me feel like I'm right back there. I'm so glad you took the time to go there during your trip. Have you hiked the Empire Bluff trail? If not - you MUST do it next time you're there. The view at the end is breathtaking.

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  21. Congratulations on your blog of note award! You take some lovely photographs and it was nice browsing through today.

    Duncan In Kuantan

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  22. wow! the view is so breathtaking. i would surely want to visit that place someday. ;)

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  23. Beautiful pictures, I live in Ludington not far from Sleeping Bear Dunes and am ashamed to say I have never been there, its on my bucket list.

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  24. Congrats on the recognition, so well deserved! You really know how to capture the essence of a place with your photos. What a gorgeous state!

    Have a great weekend. Have fun putting together the tutorial - no easy feat!
    I whipped up 3 pillows last night, once you learn how to put in an invisible zipper into pillows - there is no turning back!

    Hugs

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  25. Gorgeous, gorgeous photos. So glad I stumbled across your blog.

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  26. Really like this write up, some top photos mate :)

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  27. Wow! What lovely photos! I love Michigan and the fall colors! New “like” from Blogger. Congrats on being BON. Pls “like” back- http://www.facebook.com/GraceinAZ & Growing Old With Grace http://growing-old-with-grace.blogspot.com/

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  28. Gorgeous photos - I'll have to try to make it up there - we usually only get as far as Grand Beach!

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  29. I just discovered your blog through Blogs of Note, so congrats on that! I absolutely love all of your photography. I guess I've never had a real clear picture of Michigan in my head (you know, NY=city, Texas=hot, dry, dusty, Washington=rainy, Iowa=corn... lots and lots of corn) but now I see that Michigan=beautiful! Thanks for all the inspiration and I look forward to reading more.

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  30. Congrats on being a blog of note! My kids live in Mich. and have visited SBD many times. It's really beautiful. Their pics are almost as pretty as yours! Have a great week!

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  31. *gasp* your photos really took my breath away, they are all soooo beautiful!!! i loooove the first and second photos, and that cloud and bench photo -- aahh, so gorgeous! :D

    <3, Mimi
    http://whatmimiwrites.blogspot.com/

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  32. Wow what a beautiful place :-) Thanks for posting these pics.

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  33. We were unable to take our trip to the U P this fall, it was very disappointing, so I am very glad to see your beautiful photos! I was so looking forward to seeing this incredible state that I live in, love and have such fond memories of.

    My parents took us 'up north' every summer for vacations when we (my brothers, sisters and I) were kids. These incredible places that now have paved roads and parking lots, boardwalks, signs and gates were quite wild back then, with none of those things. It was all dirt roads, some of which were quite rugged, and good luck if you missed a turn!

    I am telling my age but I don't care, I have good old 16mm home movies of us kids rolling down Sleeping Bear sand dunes, walking the slippery rocks at Tahquamenon Falls, and the quiet beauty of the tiny town of Grand Maraise. We'd go tumbling down the huge log slide that they call Devil's slide, you must see this! And of course, Pictured Rocks, all of this and more of the miracles of the earth's beauty, up north, Michigan!

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  34. I'm so glad I came across your blog. LOVE IT! My husband has wanted to get me up to Sleeping Bear Dunes. Maybe in the spring... I just moved to Grand Rapids about 5 months ago!

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  35. Breathtaking! Thank you for capturing these snapshots!

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  36. Awesome pictures u got there, never been in Michigan but it seems quite beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

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  37. What a truly beautiful area you live at!!

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  38. I've never been to Michigan, but looking at your pictures it looks beautiful!! I love nature

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  39. I got mad about your blog.....this is great....very neat and perfect....Thanks for such a nice blog!!! Waiting to view more blogs from u...I'm from India.

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