Tag: adventure

Dune Days of Summer

On By Catherine HausteinIn Uncategorized1 Comment

I spent my childhood in the Great Lakes dunes, climbing them and watching the dune creatures including numerous spiders and ant lions. Mostly what I remember is the joy (and challenge) of climbing and the feeling of being isolated, except for the company of my best pal, Kathi, who shared my love of nature and curiosity.

My son inherited the dune joy and when he and his family proposed a trip to Western Michigan including my hometown of Holland (and beloved relatives) and Sleeping Bear Dunes, I jumped at the chance.

For those unfamiliar, the dune ecosystem is characterized by shifting mounds of sand. It was formed by glaciers and can be parabolic or perched.

The Holland area features the parabolic dunes which extend all the way to the shore and provide beautiful beaches.

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We did more hiking in the Sleeping Bear Dunes, perched dunes with some rigorous and beautiful hikes.

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Skies were hazy. Thanks Climate Change fires.

Some trails are easier than others and well stabilized. This is a National Park after all.

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The dunes range from 200 to 450 feet tall (on the Dune Climb shown in the next photos. Don’t go down if you can’t climb up. Sand isn’t easy to climb on because it isn’t stable. If you need a rescue, the rate is rumored to be $3,000. Here I am below (front), displaying my dune climbing skills.

We made it back after taking a less easy path.

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The most challenging hike was the “double dunes” or as it is officially called, Dune Climb. Not all of us participated but for those who did, the two plus hour walk rewarded them with an otherworldly view and a fun run to the bottom.

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After a day of duneing, stop by Cherry Republic, for a large assortment of cherry products, ice cream and sit down casual dining.

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And don’t forget the pie!

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Currently the dunes are protected by “The Sand Dune Protection and Management Act of 1976 designated these as sand dune areas, and the Act was amended in 1989 to designate 74,000 acres (29,600 ha) as Critical Dune Areas, which were characterized as “a unique, irreplaceable, and fragile resource.”

Only 25% of the Great Lakes dunes are in public, protected hands and the way things are going, we might lose access to them forever.

Washington Does it All

On By Catherine HausteinIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

No, I don’t mean Washington DC, I recently took a trip to the Pacific Northwest to hang out with family in Washington State. I was greeted by a view of Mt. Rainier, an active, but beautiful, volcano.

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There’s plenty to do in the Pacific Northwest and we stuck close to where we were staying on Hood Canal. If you haven’t been to the area, it’s filled with hiking trails and for a Midwesterner, otherworldly sights.

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We travel with kids, and this was a kid friendly, casual adventure—no passport or make-up required. As a bonus, we encountered few mosquitos.

We stocked up at Costco and a seafood market,

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My dreams of a new life owning a family oyster farm were dashed when I actually had an oyster slider (not shown above. )The water is cool enough that Vibrio was unlikely (more of a Florida thing) but I won’t be doing it again.

We started our hiking at Guillemot Cove. The kids were delighted by the stump house and all the baby crabs on the shore. It’s the dry season right now but we managed to see a few banana slugs.

This area had lots of toxic but pretty foxglove.

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The next day we traveled to Ranger Hole Trail and saw a glacial waterfall. Some of us took a cold plunge. I did not.

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From there we traveled to Mount Walker to look across Hood Canal, a western lobe of Puget Sound, and view the eastern Olympic mountains and Mt. Rainier. It was a narrow, bumpy road to the top. My DIL captured this brave classic car ascending.

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We celebrated the 4th of July in a very US way, with fireworks and unexpectedly viewing a protest. One child didn’t know why ICE would be dangerous.

And let’s be honest, why would we achieve independence from a mad king with divine rights, only to let flies die around our cheese?

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The following day, we hiked a small portion of the vast Olympic National Park, viewing Lake Cushman and hiking at Staircase for yet another cold plunge and a climb on a downed Western Cedar.

(The following week, this area was closed due to fire.)

We ended our trip by taking a commuter ferry (from Bremerton) to Seattle for sightseeing and shopping. One of the kids thought the ferry ride was the best part.

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Here are a few other details, should you wish to avoid the weak dollar and just stay in the country for an upcoming vacation to Washington. We used the All Trails app to find our hiking spots and our trails were designated as easy. That doesn’t mean they were flat or rock free. We flew into SeaTac and rented a car. The nearest big town was Silverdale. Washington has no income tax but other taxes, including gas taxes, make up for it. I’m not a fan of this tax structure but look at all this beauty ready to be publicly accessed!

Sadly, I returned to Iowa to find out the state was abandoning one of the last shreds of public lands. Outdoorsy folks here have to leave to get satisfaction. I bet every Iowan knows someone who is going to Canada, Michigan, the Smokies, or the West Coast this summer. Meanwhile, I’m back in Iowa itching my new mosquito bites and cursing the stressful corn sweat. Once again, the kids are turning to their screens. Hopefully, Iowa will get new leadership, and our state will stop taking things from the public to reward the private.