May 15th

I had just two main activities today but they were good ones. First was Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The name comes from a Native peoples legend about a mother bear and two cubs swimming across Lake Michigan looking for food. The mother bear made it to shore but the two cubs drowned. They surfaced as North and South Manitou Islands just offshore and the mother bear became a giant sand dune, looking after her children.

The geological explanation is sand blown across Lake Michigan by strong winds onto high land formed by retreating glaciers. Either way the views of sand dunes, forests and water are spectacular. I went for a hike to a bluff high above Lake Michigan. Then a 7 mile scenic road with many overlooks and short strolls, to get a closer look at the sand dunes and forests.

Next I headed south to Grand Rapids, the hometown of President Gerald Ford and the location of his burial and Presidential museum (I will see his library tomorrow in Ann Arbor). The museum is quite comprehensive, covering his childhood when he was adopted by and named after his mother’s second husband, Gerald Ford. Then his lifetime of public service – in a WWII naval ship that barely survived a tsunami in the Pacific, 24 years in the House of Representatives rising to House Minority leader, vice president and president.

A few quick stops at the end of the day – Michigan State University in East Lansing, the state capitol at Lansing and my one and only haircut on the trip.

The song of the day is “Detroit Rock City” by Kiss. I will be hearing Motown music tomorrow.

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