Our wonderful west coast (east coast of Lake Michigan) boasts some of the world's most beautiful sand dunes and shore lines and is less than a 40-minute drive away. We left this morning at 9:30 and walked the beach in a remote area south of Muskegon, not seeing another person for nearly an hour. A doe and her spotted twins crossed right in front of us early on and then we hiked into a wooded dune park that we'd never explored before. We drove to Grand Haven to eat our lunch, hiking with our camp chairs along a linear park next to the channel, thus avoiding the crowds on the State Park Beach. There were lots of boats in the channel and a few bikers now and then passing behind us on the trail, but otherwise we were alone eating and reading the Sunday paper. From there we went a few miles south to Rosy Mound County Parked. Here we are, having hiked the boardwalk through the dunes. We're near the bottom of the long stairway and then dozens and dozens of more steps and dune climbs before arriving at the parking lot. This evening we biked 12 miles round-trip along the river into Grand Rapids. We're getting all of our strenuous activity out of the way before the predicted high temps and humidity tomorrow.
