MSPCGT: Gluttons for Punishment

What were we thinking?!?

2019 is ticking down, and the team had hoped to finish the Michigan State Parks Centennial GeoTour (MSPCGT) during the centennial year. So that means finding caches in all season - including the unseasonable weather that has rolled in.

Starting at Holland State Park (time to get the "sand dune" wherigos over with), we began on the beach where the water was frigid and the the wind carried ice pellets! BRRRR!

The MSPCGT: Holland State Park cache is an 18-stage tour of the beach area, nearby town, up 200 steps, along the top of a sand dune, and, eventually, to a cache final. We've been dreading it all year, but we're determined to finish all 100 caches in the series. 

Waiting until Fall, we hoped to avoid the heat on the sand, the EEE mosquitoes in the woods, and the Muggles on the beach. It did that, but we weren't accounting for the freezing wet feet and chapped cheeks. 

Up! Up! Up, we go! Summer crowds are so numerous there are signs that the stairs must be taken single-file and NO STOPPING! 

Look! Atop the dune and heading down!

I won't spoil the final. So, instead. here's a lion. After making the find, we headed downtown to see the new Wizard of Oz statues outside the library and for a little shopping downtown. If you get a chance, the art made from recycled materials along the main road are fun!

Holland State Park

Reprieve over... time to tackle another dune.

MSPCGT: Saugatuck SP is down the road from Holland.  This is another lengthy wherigo. This time touring the Felt Mansion....

... along the property into the nearby state park....

... and taking trails up the side of hills, along ridges, and over the dunes.

Yet another view of the beautiful and frigid Lake Michigan. The final was just a few hundred feet further on the trail. It was purported "so hard to find", but I think all three of us tripped on it almost immediately. WOW! Two multi-mile wherigos involving steps, trails & sand dunes -- I felt it for days afterwards.

Last find of the day was MSPCGT: Van Buren SP. I gave the letterbox container & special stamps a favorite point, but, if I'm being honest, the short walk to the cache was a major influence.

Our reward for our perseverance was an amazing sunset in South Haven and then dinner at Clementines! Look at these amazing photos! It's one of my favorite places in Michigan <3 

Thank you, ShelleyJean, for this favorite photo!

Sadly, we turned away from Lake Michigan Sunday morning and started heading home. Our next three MSPCGT caches were ammo cans on the pole.

MSPCGT: Grand Mere

MSPCGT: Warren Dunes

You would'a thought the word "dunes" in the state park name (Warren Dunes) would've clued me into the possibility of more sand and sandy heights. Oi! Luckily SJ and TaGeez powered on!

We pulled up to the gates of MSPCGT: Warren Woods and found a surprise - a locked gate with a sign stating "Closed until April".  Not deterred (we came so far) we hefted our packs and headed a half mile down the road. Nearing the final, we spied a group looking as guilty as we were. 

Team Stone's Throw was a group of muggles we hopefully converted. They were fascinated by the cache and the idea of caching. They are a beautiful group of women who actually hike for fun! I hope we see them on the trails again.

And now... off to my favorite road, U.S. Route 12 in Michigan. I swear, one day I'm going to drive it from Detroit to its final in Aberdeen, Washington. In Michigan, U.S. 12 takes you through quaint town squares and along the railroad. We visited historic cemeteries, stopping at several Virtuals.

Hero's was one of my favorite Virtuals on the trip. It's in a little downtown park filled with many, many, many ducks! Excitedly we paid out our quarters and fed the ducks until they stormed us! A single-minded flock of feathery evil! Luckily, I saved enough feed to make it to the Virtual and back. I distracted the swarm with the last of the bird food and raced to my team, pinned in the car! Adventure!

Last stop of our tour was MSPCGT: Coldwater Lake SP. We were warned that it was an undeveloped slight of land with no amenities. To gain the cache you had to wade through waist-high grass. Ok, let's get this over with before it gets dark. 

Amish speeding by

93 caches completed - 6 weeks to complete 7 more!

Update on my state park journal - I've kept on this. I have seven pages for seven parks to go! 

MSPCGT: Muskegon to Home

**WARNING - SPOILER IMAGES**

As you can see, the weather changed Sunday morning. This was a first in all our geotour days.

It not only rained - it rained so hard we found out later they closed the coastal road several months early due to flooding.

It's hard to see here, but it continued to pour at Muskegon State Park's Blockhouse. Located at the highest point in the county, this is a reproduction. The original was burned down by kids (who were forced to rebuild it as punishment). 

Luck did not hold out for us here at Hoffmaster State Park, also. There are two versions of this cache - the fun Summer one inside the Visitor Center and the less exciting Winter one outside. I'll let you guess which TaGeez found.

And then we arrived in Grand Haven and the Heavens were beautiful & the waves high.  Kite surfers!

And Grand Haven's lighthouse is beautiful! So amazing to see how high the waves are! 

This was a rarity in the GeoTour - the site of an Earth Cache. Here's the obligatory group picture. #besthairday

Like Ludington yesterday, we spent a considerable amount of time here, too. Amazing view, kite surfers riding the waves, and (best of all) no hoards of tourists! After getting our thrills from the thrill-seekers, we made it to downtown in no time flat -- front row parking, immediate seating at Dee-Lite Bar & Grill, clear sidewalks up and down the main drag. Perfect for lunch and shopping for stickers (and Irwin Chocolates - TaGeez & ShelleyJean had some fun there).

Back on the road, and we're heading away from Lake Michigan. The rain ceased for a bit, but now Mother Nature is spitting on us. 

Yankee Springs involved Hunter's orange, mushrooms, a cemetery, and one of the best caches in the tour yet!

And, with that, ShelleyJean, TaGeez and I have completed 86 parks! It's like a good book -- it'll be a great sense of completion and a little bit of sadness when it's all over. 

MSPCGT: Orchard Beach to Silver Lake

As lovely as the state parks are… who would’ve suspected we would have such a memorable trip this time around? It started out so innocently….

ShelleyJean, TaGeez and I set out for another weekend of the Michigan State Park Centennial GeoTour. Summer is winding down, and the kids are back in school. We wish to enjoy the parks, completing the GeoTour this year, but we didn’t want to enjoy them in the snow.

First stop was Benzie County – West of Interlochen. There’s no GeoTour park in that county, but SJ is quickly ticking off the counties on her map so it was worth the detour (grabbing even more counties along the way). Highlights of this detour included a determined goldfinch, supernatural phenomena (Mystery Spot Virtual), and a fake bolt that earned over 100 likes on Facebook!

On Saturday, we planned on four MSPCGT caches – the first was a nice nature walk and then to the main park for photographs of Lake Michigan. We were disappointed that someone stole the Bob Ross “Happy Little Trees” sign in Orchard Beach State Park.  

Nothing had prepared us for Ludington State Park, though. Have you experienced it? The entranceway along Lake Michigan resembled the coastal drive along the Outer Banks – giant windblown sand dunes lining the road. The Multi was enjoyable (history and dams and Monarch butterflies). We found the hidden Village of Hamlin Cemetery and the white beaches of Lake Michigan (oh, the power of the wind!).

We were looking for a way to nearby lighthouse when I spotted the sign that read “Bus Event Today”. What’s this? For a $5 contribution to the lighthouse society, you can avoid the 3+ mile roundtrip hike to the lighthouse and ride a bus! We’re IN! And, oh my… I hadn’t realized this was the stunning Big Sable Lighthouse!

Ludington State park was amazing! We spent much longer there than anticipated and loved every moment of it! Besides Belle Isle (wherein I’m totally biased), Ludington is in my top five of this tour so far: Palms-Book, Bond Falls, Fisherman’s Island, Porcupine Mountains and Ludington.

With time running away and storm clouds rolling in, we headed to Mears State Park for MSPCGT find #3 today. Lovely, well-maintained recreation area also on Lake Michigan. Just as we signed the logbook the clouds opened up. 

I think this was natures warning of what was in store for us next….

Dear Cachers and your Muggle spouses, I give you the dreaded Silver Lake State Park.

Silver Lake State Park is a public recreation area covering 2,936 acres bordering Lake Michigan and Silver Lake near Mears in Oceana County, Michigan. The state park is composed of mature forest land and over 2,000 acres of sand dunes. [Wikipedia]

Did you catch that last part? This is one of four sand dune caches on the tour – and, depending on who you spoke to, the worst.

You start at the base of the dunes – the climb to the top is around 30 feet straight up. The fine sand is churned and ankle-deep, the steep incline exhausting.

The picture doesn't do it justice...

Truth

Once atop the dunes (and after laboriously catching your breath), you see nothing but sand. SJ, in a subdued tone, said, “Welcome to Egypt”. I liked Slamere’s take on it… it looked like the endless and barren wastes of Tatooine as R2D2 and C3PO rolled through the desert.

scrapcat and TaGeez

I’m going to admit – I didn’t acquit myself well. I have a fear of heights (that climb was so steep), and I’ve never been on a sand dune (and terrified of what? A Sarlacc from Star Wars? Quicksand from Abbott & Costello? Being swallowed by and swallowing sand? Getting caught out after sunset and spending the night up here? That last one was a possibility.)

Not my proudest moment

It’s almost a mile walk across the unbroken and undulating dunes towards…. a swamp. I’m not kidding. As my log states, “We were impressed with Lake in the Clouds, but swamp in the dunes... not so much. Glad this one is over.”

The final obstacle was the river crossing to the gadget cache in a knee-deep swamp. Sun-setting, TaGeez waded the 100 feet there and back. Then the mile trudge back, in wet shoes and the dark, looking for the trailhead back down to the parking lot.

As we reached the lot, the skies were pitch black, and we drove the twisting back road to our hotel in a raging deluge.  The weather outside matching my emotions inside. But as SJ reflected, this will make for one memorable experience upon reflection. I’m still waiting for that part, but that first view was beautiful.