Sleeping Bear Dunes

"Across the big lake (Lake Michigan), to the west of it (Wisconsin) a great forest fire broke out and Mama Bear and her two little cubs fled. In the great lake (once again Lake Michigan) Mama Bear swam and swam and got to the east (Michigan). On the lakeshore, Mama Bear waited and waited for her two cubs. She was on a perch. Her cubs drowned though. They were in sight of shore, but we're too tired to continue, so they died. The great spirit Manitou felt pity for them, and rose out of the waters two islands to mark the gravesites for the cubs.

"Mama Bear waited and waited, ever faithful that her cubs would come home. They did not, and Mama Bear was taken into a great and peaceful sleep by the great spirit Manitou so she would have rest. Her sleep brought about the magical beauty of the lake shore, now called Sleeping Bear Lakeshore. If Mama Bear awakes, the beauty of the land will cease. "

-The Legend of the Sleeping Bear Lakeshore from Local Indian Folklore. *Don't count on it that I believe in it.

Well, I hope you enjoyed that. Recommended by friends and acquaintances to go to Sleeping Bear Dunes, we drove in the jeep for an hour or two to get there, me reading and writing in my journal. We finally got there at the National Park Building, got a map, and watched a video where we learned about the beauty of the place and found out the legend. They told us that G.M.A. (Good Morning America) chose Sleeping Bear as the most beautiful place in America. So, it was really suggested.

We went down a drive called the Scenic Drive and I will now tell you about our experience.

On the ride, we saw a beautiful forest made out with river birches and different kinds of trees. We saw Alligator Bay, a cool sand dune formation, and some other things. At one spot when we got out, we saw a sheer incline all the way down to the lake. It was like a wall, barely even curved, just straight down. We saw the Manitou Islands in the distance. It was amazing how steep it was, and it was a wonderful view. Those sand dunes were formed from glacial features coming down south. Really cool, those high hills of sand.

We went on a little trail, and saw some other cool views of those sand dunes. Then, we drove to see the DUNE CLIMB!

We went into a parking lot, and there stood a hill about 400 ft high(not exaggerating) stood before us, with sand and dirt and rocks all on it.It was wide, long, and big. It also had soft sand with a lot of people's footprints. It was crazy to look at. This thing was known informally as the Dune Climb, and I wanted to climb the dune. Dad stayed down on the bench, and I went up with Rebecca and Mom. I tried to run up, but my feet just got stuck in the ground. I kept up, and Rebecca got in front and Mom behind. It was weird, and hard, and I was continually stopping. I used all my strength, and ran up, and by and by I almost got to the top... and then... I lost my balance and fell down, the sand coming into my clothes and face, me falling down. I pushed my fingers into the sand, and got back up again.

I got up to the top, only to see that there was more, hidden to me at the time. We climbed up that part, which was a little more easy. There was an old man who was asking us a lot of questions and being weird. We quickly got away from him, and the way down was a lot easier than up. We ran down, and rolled down. I was more sandy then then I had ever done before at the beach. It was a lot of fun to climb, run, and roll the dune.

Well, the Sleeping Bear Dune was very fun, and very cool seeing all those dunes. I hope to come back some other time.

We then came home and went to bed.

Hey! I'm trying to sleep here! Don't make me eat you! I am a bear you know,

Andrew.