Okay, so we're going to have to hike down that 400 foot dune (and back up)

We have really enjoyed our stay in this section of Michigan. We're still on the "sunset side" of the state, staying close to Lake Michigan. We are watching as fall is inching into the state, and we have seen a noticeable change in the color of the leaves since we arrived to Bear Lake. We still have a few more things on our "to do" list in this area. One of those is a hike up to Baldy Dune in the C.S. Mott Nature Preserve. Mark was thinking this was going to be a mighty slow hike when Denisa found a patch of wild blackberries not far from the trail head.

Denisa was thinking this was going to be a mighty slow hike when Mark found this perfectly awesome tree to climb.

In spite of ourselves, we finally made it to the point of the trail where the forest changes into the grassy sand dunes. You can barely see Denisa in the middle of the picture, on the ribbon of sand trail. When she walks around that last curve . . .

The view breaks into a giant sand bowl with the blue-green Lake Michigan 400 feet below.

Several days ago, using our better judgement, we didn't go down the giant dune at the crowded Empire Point in the national park. But today, we are all alone at Baldy Dune, and we actually planned to go all the way down to the beach. Denisa started down first, and you can see her in the middle of the picture below.

We had decided that we could hunt for interesting stones on our way down, and then again when we climbed back up this giant dune. That would give us a reason to stop and rest as we inched either up or down this steep slope. We were both surprised when Denisa actually found a Petoskey stone in the middle of all that dry sand!

It was a long and steep downhill, but it was great to finally make it to the beach at the bottom. We were the only people for miles around, and we had the entire beach to ourselves!

It's a windy day, so the waves off Lake Michigan remind us of ocean waves.

The waves do a good job of keeping the stones wet, making it easier for rock hunters like us. We know that few people will make the trip down to this beach, so we are looking at rocks that few people have seen before. We had to evaluate each rock carefully, however, knowing that we would have to carry it back up that very steep sand dune.

After more than an hour on our private beach, it was time to head back to the top. We realized that we didn't take any pictures on our climb back because we were focused on the work of getting to the top. Because every step up is met with sliding sand, it takes more than twice the effort as compared with hiking uphill on a firm surface. But we are happy to report that we made it home (or we obviously wouldn't be typing this blog).

Another item on our "fun things to do" list was a kayak trip on the Platte River, where we see the leaves are changing here as well.

This section of the Platte River is gentle-flowing, and we had heard that we could paddle against the current. In fact, the river actually widens into Loon Lake at one point, where there is no current.

We chose to paddle up-stream first, testing to see how long our arms could paddle before we turned around to glide back to the car. Denisa had to stop paddling long enough to snap this picture of a pair of ducks sunning themselves on a log beside the river.

But the main wildlife of importance right now are the salmon that are heading up-river to spawn here on the Platte River. Their efforts are frustrated by the fish weir that is stretched across the river at this point. That is also frustrating to kayakers that must portage around the weir to continue up river.

Most of the year, that center gate is open so that kayakers can glide right through without portaging. But during the salmon run in September, the river is blocked to make the salmon change course. On days when two to three thousand fish come upstream, we've heard that this gate across the river will be vibrating from the salmon intent on getting to their spawning grounds. The fact that they found the small river opening on that big Lake Michigan is another of God's wonders.

We saw several groups of twenty or more salmon making their way up river. When you're sitting in a kayak so close to the water, these 2-3 foot fish look very big. Taking pictures of fish through the water is almost impossible, but the following two pictures are our best attempts at catching these salmon that are eluding the fishermen.

After paddling up-river for several miles, we were glad to turn around and float back towards the car with the current. By this time of the day the sun is low in the sky, lighting up the trees and making for colorful reflections on the the still water of the Platte River.

The fishermen are out in force this evening, casting in the water to entice the salmon to take their hook. Nobody we talked to was catching any. We are hearing over and over from the fishermen that this is a tough year for catching salmon.

By the time we floated back to the car, the sun was very low in the sky.

We had just enough time to drive the mile down to where the Platte River empties into Lake Michigan. The sun was hitting the water as we pulled up.

With so much to see and do in this area, we are having full days. We leave the motor home in the morning, and it is often dark when we return home. We're burning some calories with hiking up steep dunes and paddling up-river against the current. Even with putting in such long hours, we aren't  getting any sympathy from our working friends. Who knew that wandering His wonders could be so tiring in such a good way!