Crockstar Chronicle: dunes

All of the parks in this area seemed to be pretty close together, and it felt like we were there and back out in the sun in no time!

This was the final park that promised swimming, so we made sure that the girls had time to swim!

I dopped off my crew at the snow cone stand, and when I went to find a shady spot, drove over to photograph the magnificence of the dunes. I failed, but they are truly incredible!

Even the small ones are huge!

This state park clearly welcomes thousands of people each summer, and boasts a massive parking lot!

Back at the snow cone stand, we all got standard fare, but Juliet got a blue raspberry with popping pearls. It was quite fancy.

As I ventured over to get a sky filled vantage point of the gulls perched along the railing, I could feel the sand burning my feet!

We were able to get Aunt Janet a chair setup in the shade, closer to the parking lot than the beach. Avia and I used umbrellas as parasols, and wore socks with our sandals to keep our feet from burning as the sand worked its way in under our feet! The water was not cool and refreshing, it was quite warm.

The birds got close looking for snacks!

The girls got as long as Avia and I could tolerate. Sweat was literally rolling down my back, even with the umbrella for shade and my feet in the water!

We had two more parks on the schedule, and while the girls were sad to move, they did get enough water play to make it worth the trip.

Despite all of our water, when we stopped at a farmer's market, where all the adults happily bought fresh fruits and vegetables, everyone got a cold water from the refrigerated display case! We ate the punnet of raspberries that Avia bought us before we even made it to the next park!

I would totally recommend this beach, but not in the heat of the day!

later days

edit 8-17-25: backdated for continuity.

edit 9-8-25: added picture of Aunt Janet from Avia.

If you want to see all the state parks we've visited so far, here are the links to the posts:

Tahquamenon Falls #15

Keith J Charters #33

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 Moutain State Recreation Area #66b

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 I sle Park #72

Van Buren State Park #73

Grand Mere State Park #74

Lake Hudson Recreation Area #77

Sterling State Park #78

Port Austin State Harbor #Bonus 1

When Billy and I finished our drive home from St. Louis, Aunt Janet had joined the party! While these two state park 'tours' felt quite far apart, because of our St. Louis trip in between, they were really only about a week apart! = 0

For some reason, I only have Aunt Janet in one sign picture**, even though I remember taking one of her at each stop. I must have been using her phone, so that she had a record, and didn't get one on my own. = (

I think I should back up a bit. Avia came over one day and asked Aunt Janet if there were any special places she would like to see in Michigan. She mentioned Holland, but after discussing it, and conceding that the Tulips were unlikely to be on display this long past their prime, we were able to talk her into coming on a southwest state park tour with us!

This parking lot was almost completely in the shade, and local cross-country teams were running the trails in packs.

There were multiple trails, but we were bound for the beach! Luckily, the signs let us know that the beach trail led to the beach!

It was a pleasant, but .75 mile walk to the beach. Avia and Aunt Janet took a slower pace, so that the girls had longer to swim.

The girls wanted to leave an arrow at the split, but it didn't feel quite robust enough for me to agree to such a small sign.

A spider's favorite hangout? On the mushrooms, obviously!

We made it to the Lake Michigan beach! But it was a steep path down, so Aunt Janet settled on a bench, while Avia came down to make a plan!

A little bit overcast, but the water felt nice on my toes!

Goose or Seagull prints?

Dear tracks?

It's super hard to tell in this still photo, but this leave was slightly iridescent!

Once Aunt Janet and Avia were through taking the view, I gave the girls a five minute warning, then we climbed the dune hill* and headed back. We passed them about half way, but I wanted to get back to the car and eat, so that I didn't have to eat my lunch while driving.

While waiting, we saw this beautiful butterfly, who was very attracted to the car next to ours and flew around and around trying to see it from each angle?

We were all pretty tired by the end of this park, but were excited to drive south to the next one on the list!