Petoskey State Park, MI

On Sunday, September 6, 2009, Morty pedaled further north to Petoskey. This took us through Charlevoix. Someplace else I might have heard about, but nonetheless was unprepared to experience. Every inch of highway 31 through Charlevoix was lined with a dense planting of petunias – pink, red, white and purple -- unbelievably beautiful and fragrant. The only negative was that the town was vamping to the tourist trade in a major way, and that significantly reduced its appeal for us. That, and the fact that traffic forced into one lane through the heart of the town’s tourist traps, crawled at less than walking speed.

Petoskey town was by comparison, wonderfully understated and elegant. Every highway seemed to have a bike path, both in and out of the town. Bikes using said paths, were a major abundance. Lakefront cottages, reminded me of the type of locales described in Greeley’s novels -- lots of atmosphere and ambiance just begging to be soaked up.

The campgrounds are right on Lake Michigan, just a short walk from the dunes and very clear water and mixed sand and pebble beaches. The locale is five miles north of Petoskey town, and five miles south of Harbor Springs. I biked north along the beach road in search of the local airport whose traffic I had noticed. The cottages in this area were even more impressive than the town’s. The airport, though, blew me away. The bike path took me right along the runway and up to the apron and FBO. Parked there, were several transient jets, including the usual mixtures of Pipers, Cessnas, King Airs, and even a Cessna Citation, and a big Gulfstream.

There’s no TV signal at all here at the campgrounds, and the cell service is marginal enough, that I can’t upload my narrative or pictures. At least we had a lot of entertainment watching a 35 foot trailer being parked in a site built for a much smaller unit, right across from us. First from one direction, then from the other. Inch-by-inch in amongst the trees, and dunes. Clearances measured in fractions of an inch were routine for this guy. He finally did it, but it was something to behold.

Sunset over the lake was again a marvelous experience. Maybe you’ll like the pictures.