Sleeping Bear dunes

As part of our lovely weekend in northern Michigan, we visited the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes near Traverse City.

I spent many summers climbing those sand dunes as a kid and could not believe how the memories just flooded back. We used to climb all the way to the top of the first dune (above) and run down like maniacs, trying not to fall flat on our faces. (I tried to convince Patrick to do it, but he refused. He had some excuse about not wanting to fall flat on his face, I think.)

The challenge of the dunes is to make the two hour trek across them to Lake Michigan...and back. We used to do it every year, and honestly, I have no idea how we did.

Yes, I'm pregnant and had just finished a 13-mile bike ride before our trip up the dunes, but I could only make it over about three of them before we decided to head back. (And thank goodness we did, because we got back to the B&B just in time for me to take a quick shower while Patrick grabbed take-out at a local restaurant. Those little towns button up early, after all.)

But we want to go back sometime to make the full journey. There was always something immensely satisfying about climbing those dunes and braving the heat, the sand in your swimsuit and the body aches so we could reach the cool, tall waters of Lake Michigan at the other end.

As a kid, I also loved (but was terribly saddened by) the Sleeping Bear legend, which follows below from the U.S. National Park site and another source.

The Legend of Sleeping Bear

Long ago, along the Wisconsin shoreline, a mother bear and her two cubs were driven into Lake Michigan by a raging forest fire. The bears swam for many hours, but eventually the cubs tired and lagged behind. Mother bear reached the shore and climbed to the top of a high bluff to watch and wait for her cubs. Too tired to continue, the cubs drowned within sight of the shore. The Great Spirit Manitou takes pity on her and raises her cubs up from the depths, forming North and South Manitou Islands. Knowing that her cubs were safe, she fell asleep. The Great Spirit covered their mother with sand to keep her warm, and she now watches over her cubs from her spot atop the giant hill made of sand.

(I like the above version better, but the one I knew ended more like this one...)

They swam for several days, but the cubs became confused in the smoke. Before reaching the land, their strength gave out. The mother bear, who was ahead, paced the shore for days. She called in vain for her cubs, until she, too, became exhausted and fell asleep. Sand swept over her and there she still lies, looking out upon the lake. To reward her devotion, the Great Spirit created North and South Manitou Islands where the cubs sank from sight. Here they remain to this day, as do the dunes that are in the likeness of the sleeping mother bear.

Aww.