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.

MSPCGT: Sunday Adventure

We're looking forward to a few weekends ahead of us to enjoy a few more parks (as long as the State of Michigan government shut-down doesn't put the stopper to it). We spent last Sunday enjoying Island Lake, Pinckney and Waterloo — timed perfectly between two storms. We had to skip Brighton because of a mountain bike race.

ShelleyJean spotted these amazingly vibrant mushrooms in Pinckney. Coincidentally, speaking of hunter orange, we passed small-game hunters exiting the Pinckney trails as we were entering. Time to get the blaze orange out!

MSPCGT: Lower Upper Western

Oh, the texts are already flying around. ShelleyJean and I are getting the travel itch! Time for another Michigan State Park Centennial GeoTour adventure in the works!

We've completed 72 parks so far!

We’ve hit a few parks during the work week including Belle Isle (where I got FTF, remember?) I had to let me teammates into the act.

We also hit William C Stirling SP near Monroe. Surprising part? I kinda (shamefacedly) thought this would be a blow-off park, but we spied more wildlife here than any other park! And it was a beautiful walk! As we walked to the cache, the trail divided a clear lake on one side and a beautiful marshland on the other. Blue herons, cranes, swans, and many deer.

We also crossed paths with history. Haven Hill in Highland State Park was the summer residence of Eleanor and Edsel Ford. We hiked up the hill (yes, “hill” in “Haven Hill” should have been our clue!) to visit the foundation remains.

We also had a big weekend cache run in the Lower Upper Western (only a real MICHIGANDER will figure that out!). We headed up to Charlevoix to Traverse City and onto the Leelanau Peninsula before heading South.

Here are a few of my favorite photos or stops from that trip - with spoilers! BEWARE!

Halfway There, Almost Anyway Virtual GCGB0R

Traverse City SP GC801RA

Did some shopping at the Bear Den near Suttons Bay - LOVED IT! And then onto the Cherry Country Quilters Quilt Shop downtown.

Keeper of the Cache
Monarch season of Lake Michigan!

Grand Traverse Lighthouse at Leelanau State Park GC801NH

Buffaloed GC1R686

Interlochen GC801MN

Our favorite part of Mitchell SP was the nearby Earth Cache: The Mystery of the Clam Lake Canal GC1BJ3R. I actually learned something, and we had a lot of fun watching the campers enjoy the waterway. 

We crossed paths with the Linear State Parks, which meant they were stops along a rails-to-trail. Not much to report – no wildlife, flowers, points of interest along the way. Also no state park signs to pose with so we had to get creative.

Seen along the White Pine Trail

Although peaceful to cache together, the caches were getting a little unexciting. We were happy to find this “welcoming” smiley 😊

Lovely sunflower patch near the last Linear State Park

Can you read the badge?
Ionia RA GC801MQ

To supplement the State Park caches, we detoured for some quiet cemeteries, Virtuals, and "county caches" for SJ. I mean…. when else will we be this close to Belding, MI – home to two virtual rewards. My favorite, however, was the Virtual Reward – Clem Sohn GC7B6A0 – the grave of an Aviation Pioneer buried near Pewamo (no spoilers below).

Corunna Historical Village GC1YZ7N

Twenty-eight caches to go. I’m loving our pace because we are enjoying the sights and sounds and smells and tastes of each interesting park and town. Next up is Lower Middle Western Michigan, and the colors are already changing!