~Monday, July 5, 2021~
Day 386
It was one of those strange days where what you had planned didn’t quite work out the way you expected. Jeff was eager to try out a new hiking trail that was recommended by an Instagram couple that he follows. I guess he had forgotten that the name of the trail was the same as the one we took yesterday…..Empire. I guess great minds think alike since we thought the trail was a great one as well. So now for plan B…….the 7-mile Pierce Stocking Scenic Trail which Jeff read to be a hiking/biking trail. I think there is a trail near there, but Pierce is strictly a scenic DRIVE. We didn’t nix it, because once you’re on it, you are committed to finish it. And it was well worth experiencing it, but we still hadn’t found our hiking trail for the day. After a little more research for Plan C, we found a highly rated hike on the Pyramid Point Trail….a 2-½ mile loop trail, which was dog friendly too. We said today would be a Sadie day, so of course she joined us on this little jaunt. We decided for the more advanced hike to add a few more miles and to get in some good cardio too. The humidity certainly added to the sweat! The trail was quite diverse in terms of forest, lake, and meadow. The reward was the overlook at Pyramid Point…..stunning.
A few people were there as well, taking in the views. One group in particular (all girls), asked us if we thought they were crazy to go down the steep dunes to the beach below. There are signs that tell you to enter at your own risk due to dune collapses and that a rescue if you can’t get back up (the grade is greater than a 45 degree angle) would be a hefty sum…..$3,000. They went for it. Hopefully they were able to exit with a far less challenge. The meadow portion of our hike reminded us a little of the JMT we did a few years back. And we knew we were in for some steepness on the way back since the initial part of the trail continued to go downhill. We were right. So much for our morning showers.
After the hike, we still had time to check out the town of Leland. We found the perfect parking spot with short access to a beach called Thompson Street Beach. We weren’t sure if it was dog friendly, so asked a few locals, one who wasn’t sure, and another who said it was fine. Her name was MaryAnn and oh so friendly. She’s lived in the area since 1978 so I think she knows the rules. She also gave us some other recommendations of what to see in the area, like Suttons Bay for their HopLot Brewery and the Good Harbor Bay Trail which drops you off onto Good Harbor Bay Beach, and yes it is dog-friendly too. She couldn’t say enough about it. It was meant to be that we ran into her. Anyway, as we started to walk around Leland, it started to rain. You could actually see the weather front coming in as we stood on the beach, so we decided to nix our Leland visit, at least for today. So instead, we thought we’d take MaryAnn’s suggestion and head over to HopLot Brewery. Their huge outdoor area was quite packed, but the perfect place for hanging out with your pooch while sipping a cold one. But, it wasn’t meant to be, as they do not allow dogs. Wow, surprising, since most of the breweries we’ve frequented in the past have been dog friendly. So homeward bound we went, but first, a stop at a nice little grocery store in Suttons Bay for some fresh salmon.
Wow, what a beautiful evening it turned out to be
…..at least part of the day went right. Jeff made a spice-crusted salmon with a rum/cream sauce, smashed potatoes (our latest thing instead of mashed potatoes), and spinach salad (my contribution). Super delicious!! Then we took an evening stroll around 10:30 with it still twilight out. Crazy! These longer days being this far north have not helped our trying to eat earlier. It seems we are pushing our dinner even later, following the daylight’s lead.