78 Michigan Parks: Tippy Dam State Recreation Area #40

There was a roadside beach that we attempted to locate, without success, since reception was not great.  We did find a man-made lake, which is not the norm for here!

Luckily, Manistee had several local beaches that we scouted, until we found one from our list that we wanted!  First Street Beach was pretty empty when we arrived.  But more and more people arrived, presumably to watch the sunset.

At the farm stand, we bought some bird seed for William to give to the seagulls.

William was not able to get close enough to give the seeds to the seagulls, but when I sat and threw a few seeds out, they came to me.  So, William sat, and a few of them came his way.

But there were more, and he wanted to feed them all so he moved closer,

...and closer, 

....and closer!

Meanwhile, the girls got to swim and play in the sand.  We even remembered to bring our beach toys!

Emily was doing flips in the sand.  The ones where she was actually flipping didn't turn out great, but this one of her about to stand was cute. ; )

Emily wanted to take some pictures at the beach in her new homecoming dress.

As the sun set, we packed up, because we had a second stop planned: Tippy Dam!  Our trip had a short pit stop, for ice cream!!!!

By the time we arrived at Tippy Dam, the sun had set, and we just had some ambient light left.

Emily had several cute poses here in her dress as well, but the light was just so poor, that the sharpness was compromised.

Tippy Dam looked just like one of the Dam's in Fallout 76!

The siren did not sound while we were there, but we did see several people out in boats!

Danger, William!

By the time we left, it was proper night, and we had a three- or so-hour trip home.  I think we got in around 1am?  It was totally worth it to see a little bit more of the state, this time the pinky!  If we can swing an earlier appointment next time, maybe we can make it all the way up to the pinky tip!

later days

edit 8-30-26: backdated for continuity.

A list of our previous visits:

Fort Wilkins Historic State Park #1
FJ McLain State Park #2
Twin Lakes State Park #3
Baraga State Park #4
Craig Lake State Park #5
Van Ripper State Park #6
Bewabic State Park #9
JW Wells State Park #10

Palms Book State Park #12

Indian Lake State Park #13
Muskallonge State Park #14
Tahquamenon Falls #15 (round 2!)
Brimley State Park #16
Straits State Park #17
Keith J Charters #33

Orchard Beach State Park #38
Sleeper State Park #46
Port Crescent State Park #47
Silver Lake State Park #49
Muskegon State Park #50*
Newaygo State Park #51
PJ Hoffmaster State Park #52
Grand Haven State Park #53
Ionia State Park #54
Sleepy Hollow State Park #55
Metamora-Hadley Recreation Area #56
Lake Port State Park #57
Seven Lakes State Park #58
Holly Recreation Area #59
Algonac #60
Holland State Park #61
Island Park State Recreation Area #63b
Highland Recreation Area #64b
Pontiac Lake Recreation Area #65
Dodge #4 State Park #66a
Bald Mountain State Recreation Area #66b
Maybury State Park #67
Saugatuck Dunes State Park #68
Fort Custer Recreation Area #69
Waterloo Recreation Area #70a
Pickney State Recreation Area #70b
WJ Hays State Park #71
Belle Isle Park #72
Van Buren State Park #73
Grand Mere State Park #74
Warren Dunes State Park #75a
Warren Woods State Park #75b
Lake Hudson Recreation Area #77
Sterling State Park #78
Port Austin State Harbor #Bonus 1
Kal-Haven State Park #Bonus 2
Wagner Falls #Bonus 3
Laughing Whitefish Falls State Park #Bonus 4
Yankee Springs #Fail