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| South Manitou Island - lighthouse view |
Nancy, her son Jaime, and myself visited the most beautiful place in America this past Sunday and Monday, the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Good Morning America said it was the most beautiful place, so it must be true, eh? The most beautiful place though? I'll put it in the really cool category, is that okay? People love a good list and a good debate so this campaign by GMA served its purpose I guess. I've seen the dunes area by foot, by two wheels, and by four wheels and have nothing but good things to say. More than just a large sand hill, the area is right in the heart of M-22 which is a great motorcycle route and the hiking/floating/camping options are plentiful.
The main mission of our short stay was to see South Manitou Island. Home base was the Platte River Campground. The rangers there ran a tight ship on the rules and with that, the campground was outstanding. Quiet and clean. Monday morning we headed to Leland and took the ferry over to the island. The place gets a thumbs up for the south end hiking trail over to the 500+ year old cedar trees and a cool viewing of a shipwreck (Wreck of the Morazan - 1960 - all passengers survived, looked it up). There are a handful of buildings, including a school, remaining from the last residents that remained until around the 1950's (a little history in your reading today). The lighthouse, while more or less an ornament these days, offered up a sweet view of the entire dune area from the lookout tower.
So, looping back to the original question, is this the most beautiful place in America? I think people who have taken their motorcycles down the Pacific Coast Highway or stood out on a mountain top on any of the various ranges out there or even someone with a simple trailer on 10 acres in Lovells, Michigan might say otherwise. It's all perspective.
Trail Head
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| South Manitou Island |
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| South Manitou Island |
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| Pyramid Point |
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| South Manitou Island - lighthouse view |
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| Wreck of the Morazan - 1960 |
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| Wreck of the Morazan - 1960 |
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| South Manitou Island |
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| South Manitou Island |
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| Leland - getting fancy with my camera |
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| bird poop covered lighthouse |
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| 500+ year old cedar tree - South Manitou Island |
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| old cedar tree - South Manitou Island |
