MiM 3 Sides of Lake Michigan 2011: 8/29 - Day 16 - Sleeping Bears and Blue Tractors

Today was a busy day. We were up early for the carpool ride to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (http://www.nps.gov/slbe/index.htm). After an interesting stop at the Visitor's Center, we were off to tour the dunes, using several "scenic drive" road segments. We stopped at the "Dune Climb" area for lunch; yes, some of our hardy members did the climb! After lunch, we finished our tour of the peninsula with an impromptu stop at the headquarters of Cherry Republic (http://www.cherryrepublic.com/), a local purveyor of all things "cherry".

Viewers of "Good Morning America" have voted this area one of the top spots in the country.

We had a chance to see several scenic overlooks on the driving tour.

The visitor's center had quite a few exhibits on native wildlife.

We were soon at an area known as the "dune climb".

Several of our intrepid caravanners proved themselves to be climbers as well!

And they got a bird's-eye view of lunch taking shape...

Back on the road again to Traverse City, we made a quick stop at Grand Traverse Distillery (http://www.grandtraversedistillery.com/), where we had an informative tour ("Don't touch the hot still"!) followed by a tasting of their products. Some of our group liked the traditional vodkas (rye and wheat) while others preferred the flavored ones (cherry - surprise, in the "cherry capitol" - and chocolate) or the rye whisky. Purchases made, we were soon headed back home for a short break. After a quick "social hour" (we've had use of the Resort's main clubhouse during our stay, a big benefit), we were soon heading out for dinner at a local "hot spot" known as the Blue Tractor Cook Shop (http://www.bluetractorcookshop.com/) where we had a nice meal with many of us taking advantage of the Monday Night $2.95 Burger. The place was decorated with all sorts of farm implement parts, fitting the theme, and everyone had a good time.