2018 Summer RV Trip – Days 12 & 13 – Sleeping Bear Dunes & Pegtown

Today was primarily devoted to checking out the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Seashore but the first order of business was breakfast along the way at PegTown Station  located in small, unincorporated Maple City, MI.  It has a population of 207 and per Wikipedia – “Maple City had its beginnings in 1866 when William Parks and J. T. Sturtevant built a shoe peg factory on land containing several hundred acres of maple timber, and the community that grew up around it was at first known as "Peg Town."  

The restaurant was pretty full the entire time we were there and when I asked the server what brought people to Maple City she answered “We do, our food is fantastic” meaning the restaurant.  Bev and Pat both ordered the breakfast sandwich and I ordered the corned beef hash plus we shared a very good cinnamon bun to start.

The girls thought their sandwiches were okay and mine was just hash browns with chunks of brisket on top and while it was pretty good, this was not what I consider to be corned beef hash.  I guess we just ordered the wrong thing to get the fantastic food but I would give them another try.

From there, it on to the dunes where we used our Senior Pass to avoid the $20 entrance fee.  Authorized on October 21, 1970, the park covers a 35-mile-long (56 km) stretch of Lake Michigan's eastern coastline, as well as North and South Manitou islands and the main visiting area is the 7.4 mile long Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive.  The drive winds through a heavily forested area, overlooks two lakes, and overlooks the dunes and Lake Michigan.

This is our first stop overlooking 13’ deep Little Glen Lake and 130‘ deep Big Glen Lake.  I’ve been surprised at the large number of lakes and the locals claim that Michigan has more lakes than Minnesota - what great summer home locations they provide.

The next stop was to get a view of the dunes with some folks walking on them.

Our final stop was at the Lake Michigan Overlook where we arrived right behind a bus load of teens who were wearing swim suits so they could slide down the 450’ dune to the water – sign says it’s a hard climb back up, but if I were a kid I’d have to give it a try.  The last shot is from the web.

I didn’t get a shot of it (these from web) but there is also a nearly 300 ’high dune set aside for climbing.

On the way back, we checked out the towns of Glen Arbor and Leland, and both looked like fine tourists stops.  Then we headed for home and just relaxed around the coach.

On Wednesday we awoke to cool, cloudy weather and we had already decided on an off day but I was first dispatched to the bakery about a mile away for a loaf of sourdough for scrambled egg sandwiches.  9 Bean Rows Bakery is obviously a popular place as there were five in line ahead of me and nine behind me as I left.  I also bought a cherry and a almond croissant to nibble on and both were good.

We’ve had sourdough bread from two places so far and it is the closest to San Francisco’s version that we’ve had with a soft inside, chewy crust, and definite tartness – I believe a couple of loaves for the road will be in order.

While it stayed cool thru the day, the sun came out and we enjoyed just sipping wine and talking on our patio in the late afternoon.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

8/1-8/2/18 Event Dates