7:45 AM and 76 degrees, and we were on our way. It was a
miserable night at Manistee – in spite of all our wonderful windows, it never got below 77 in the RV (and not much lower outside).
We were told it has been unseasonably hot the last week – the temperature range
for this time of year is normally between 50 and 75 - right where it is
supposed to be, in two days. At any rate, we’ll have electricity, hence air
conditioning, for the next two days.
We filled up in Manistee - diesel as $3.79. By the time we
got to Benzonia (about 15 miles north) it was $3.99!
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| Crystal Lake, MI |
We’d love to spend more time in this part of Michigan. It is
beautiful country and quaint little towns. Crystal Lake is absolutely gorgeous
– there are lots of photos I took on Picassa of the lake as we were driving by.
I’ve been puzzled by the trucks they have up here. Tankers
especially, have up to 11 axles. I’ve got to take a look online and see if I
can find out why. I’ve tried to get a photo of one, but haven’t managed it –
they’re always on the move. I did and get a photo of a truck with 9 axles, but
it was hauling two trailers. Even so, it’s strange looking.
We stopped at the Sleeping Bear Dunes Welcome Center in
Empire and got some information about the things to do in the park and headed
on out to the campground. It is run by
the Empire township and is definitely quaint! There are only 10 sites that have
electricity and no water hookups at all. There are about 75 or 80 rustic sites
– we could barely get the truck around some of the tight turns that wound
around in the forest where the tent sites were. Definitely not for us anymore. The electric sites were all in a row in in
what appears to have been a pine tree farm. The sites are quite a ways apart
and a few pines have been taken out to make an opening for RVs. A bit of a strange way to do it, but it’s
shady!
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| Tucked into our site in the pines |
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| Rich in shorts and a T-shirt and me in flannel and fleece! |
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| Dickens likes to play fetch |
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| Judy, working on the blog |
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| My Gator chair - thank you, Sahar and Danial - I used it every day! |
Thursday morning was rainy, so instead of doing the park, we
drove in to Traverse City, did some grocery shopping, bought a 2 burner gas
stove so we can cook outside instead of heating up the RV, and had lunch. The
grocery store was once again a Meijer and was huge. The produce department
alone was probably 10,000 square feet of some of the prettiest fruit and
veggies you’ve ever seen. We were talking to one of the workers in the produce
department and she told us on a slow day, they go through 75 boxes of bananas
and on a weekend it is 150! Amazing. And the store is a clean as a whistle.
That reminds me – the grocery stores in Michigan sell liquor. In with the beer
and wine are bottles of scotch, bourbon, vodka, gin, etc. Handy!
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| The Dune Climb - notice Rich and the truck in the foreground and the little tiny people on top of the dune! |
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| Pierce Stocking Drive |
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| Pierce Stocking Drive |
Friday morning
we went to the dune climb (just for photos – we’ve climbed our last dune) and
then did the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, which is spectacular. The drive is listed as taking anywhere from
30 minutes to three hours. It took us three hours.
Then we decided to go into
the little town of Empire for lunch at Joe’s Friendly Tavern, which Kristin’s
dad had recommended. On the way, we stopped at the Lake Michigan Beach in
Empire and while there, saw a number of the cars entered in this year’s Great
Race and found out that they were all stopping at Joe’s for lunch. We
eventually wandered down to Joe’s looked at more of the cars. Shortly after we
arrived, most of the drivers finished up their lunches and left, so we managed to get
a table for the best burger outside of Parker house that we’ve ever had. Had
the best sweet potato fries we’ve ever eaten there as well.
This morning, Saturday, we went back to the park and went
through the Glen Haven Historic District and Maritime Museum. I was quite taken
with the information about the US Life-Saving Service, which began in the US in
1784. By 1914, there were 31 stations on Lake Michigan.
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| Tour guide and the Beach Cart |
A Keeper was in charge of each USLSS station, and was
probably the most important job in the Service. The Keeper was responsible for
selecting and training the Surfmen and for the day-to-do operations of the
station. They were required to live at the station and be responsible for the
facilities and the equipment, they were required to have sufficient education
to be able to write the official reports and conduct the business of the
station. The Keeper was also the captain of the lifeboat and controlled the
steering oar on all drills and rescue attempts. No alcohol could be kept or
sold at the station, and no one under the influence was allowed at the station.
In spite of the responsibilities, the Keeper was under-paid. They actually
received less per month during the active season than the Surfmen, whom he
supervised.
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| Rails that took the surf boats down to the shore |
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| Lule gun |
The Surfmen were the crew of the station. The number of
Surfmen at each station was based on the number of oars required to pull the
largest boat at the station. Because most of the Great Lakes stations had
self-righting and self-bailing boats requiring 8 oars, the crew was usually 7
Surfmen and the Keeper. The Surfmen had to be healthy, and were subjected to a
rigid physical exam by a surgeon. They could be dismissed immediately for being
absent without a satisfactory explanation.
Drunkenness, profanity, or any
scandalous conduct showing a lack of good morals were also grounds for
immediate dismissal. Between 1871 and 1882, Surfmen were paid $40 a month – and
this didn’t include the cost of food or their uniforms! They were also required
to live at the station while on duty.
The crew trained six days a week, and a lookout was maintained
24 hours a day, every day during the season. [I seem to remember that the
season is during the winter, but couldn’t locate it in the brochure “US
Life-Saving Service, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore” from which I’m
taking this information.]
When a crew was sent out, the USLSS had two different ways
to attempt a rescue: If the rescue was within three hundred yards of the beach,
they would probably use the beach apparatus and cart. The cart contained a Lyle
gun and the equipment used with it to shoot a rescue rope to a stranded ship, a
variety of ropes, anchors, picks, and shovels. The cart, fully loaded, weighed
1,700 pounds. This was usually hauled over the rough, sandy beach by the crew,
and usually during the worst weather. The crew had five minutes in which to set
up the contents of the cart. The two newest Surfmen dug a hole in the sand and
buried two boards connected in an “X” to anchor the entire rigging. The other
men got the Lyle gun ready. The projectiles for the gun were made of cast iron
with a wrought iron eye bolt screwed into the base as an attachment point for
the shot poline. The projectile for the 2 ½ inch gun was 15 ¾ inches long and
weighed 19 pounds. Upon ignition, the projectile shot out and pulled the
shotline over the ship. Attached to the line was a board with directions
printed on it to tell the shipwrecked sailors how to attach the ropes to the
mast. Once the ropes were set up, the “britches buoy” was sent out and one
person at a time was pulled to shore. The britches buoy was a pair of pair of
canvas pants attached to a cork life ring about 2.5 feet in diameter. Four
short ropes were secured to the buoy and connected to a hook, which was rigged
to a heavy rope that ran from the ship to the shore, and one at a time, the
sailors would be pulled to safety.
There is so much more interesting information about how the
USLSS crew lived and operated – I haven’t even hit the high spots, but if
you’re interested in learning more, check out the URL:
http://www.uslife-savingservice.org/beach_apparatus_drill.
We also went through several
other buildings in the Glen Haven Village – the General Store, the Blacksmith
Shop, and the Cannery. We spent several hours there and learned a lot.
We hate to leave this beautiful spot, but now we get
packed up and leave in the morning for the UP!
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