Ten, Farewell from Duct Work Man

Our final whimsy of this trip was just before our finish:

Nine, Simplicity

What is it I like about these humble structures? Their lack of pedigree? Their age? Is it their elegant, spare proportions? Their use of available , natural materials?
Maybe their symmetry?
Or perhaps their easy, yet respectful relationship with their elaborately embellished natural surroundings?
What do you think?

Eight, Places to Go, People to See

The Leelanau Peninsula was discovered in the early 1900's to have ideal growing conditions for cherries. There are many established orchards as well as this new one on the left.
A view of Grand Traverse Bay through an orchard:
Below: The Bay yet again after, you guessed it, a good climb. That's Traverse City in the distance to the right.
This was poppy season. They were as comfortable in manicured gardens as they were in roadside ditches.

This is a wild, windy day on the shores of Lake, Michigan. Our next stop was up, up, up on the top of the bluff to the left.
AND, as always, a reward at the top- The View! Those are the Sleeping Bear Dunes on the distant shoreline.
Is it time for a new roof? These folks made an interesting choice. Wonder if they're perennials...?
Those dark clouds in the distance finally forced us to rough it in town until the downpour stopped.
Bikes: Not just for commuting!

Meet Rosie. Rosie is a larger-than-life Yorkie who is clearly the boss on this bicycle. Rosie lives in Beulah Michigan with her two-legger, Carol. We met Carol and Rosie literally on the main street of Beulah (as us cyclists do) and she showed us a neat shortcut to avoid some heavy traffic and in the process invited us for a cold drink at her house on the shore of the aptly-named Crystal Lake. Rosie was into cycling for the exercise, too, as she ably demonstrated on the one hill in town.
Carol and Rosie had a well-rehearsed routine: At the bottom of the hill, Carol set Rosie on the ground in front of the bike, leash attached still to the bike. Rosie ran steady, strong and hard up the hill, and as you can see by the tautness of her leash, was doing a fine job pulling her own weight and then some!
Carol said that she indeed felt the pull of her mighty pooch for the entire mile uphill!
And what's not to love about "Bountiful Country Goods in Charming Disarray?!" Take Me To Your Leader!
More whimsy: a flock of flamingoes either harass or worship this polyester duck.

And what flock of mismatched fowl would be complete without a tree trunk teddy bear standing guard?

This was my favorite whimsy of the trip. An ordinary lawn chaise, right?Think again! Marty said it was accurate down to the most minute detail!

Seven, Pyramids, Powerlines and Endless Sunshine

The next day was yet another sunny, gorgeous day, though the wind was picking up. Marty and I explored some of the highlights of The Sleeping Bear Dunes State Park. This is the teaser view from Pyramid Point Dunes. We are hundreds of feet above Lake Michigan.
Breathtaking!

Birch trees are not too common in northeast Ohio, but are plentiful in northern Michigan. I love the texture of the bark.
Ah, another typical view, this time of the Michigan state shrub; Poison Ivy. It was everywhere. This is just off the sandy path. It should be noted that we are still hundreds of feet up- this sandy path is actually the top of a massive sand dune. Marty found an intriguing wiggly line on his map- that usually means a hill or two. We were not to be let down, we climbed this wiggly line to the top, despite it narrowing and steepening and degrading into little more than a gravelly, sandy 4-wheeler track. As always, the reward at the top; LUNCH and a spectacular view! Those are the Sleeping Bear Dunes in the distance.

This the delightful sandy trail that wound its way along the top of this high ridge that we rode after lunch.

The laid-back, mellow vacation mood has finally enveloped us.

A dockside nap beckons. Glen Lake was as clear as it was picturesque.
I didn't resist the urge to nap, though Marty chose to stand and soak up some rays and views. Neither of us knew yet of the ice cream stand just around our next bend. "Laker Shakes" was its name and not deliberately a play on Cleveland's Shaker Lakes, but I was amused anyway and mentally repeated both names in sort of a jump rope rhyme rhythm as pedalled up the next few hills.

Six, Forecast: clear and sunny

The scenery on the Leelenau Peninsula was magnificent. Whadda view!
And not just this road!
Just outside of Glen Arbor and The Sleeping bear National Park.

Cherry orchards

Winery and vineyard.

Our lunch spot overlooking Leland's fishtown.


Fishtown.
Air mail!

The next day was a beautiful as the previous was grim.

We were to ride back down the peninsula to the famous Sleeping Bear Dunes.

Along the way, we were rewarded with one bucolic view after another, more homegrown whimsy and a delicious sandwich lunch overlooking Leland's Fishtown waterfall.

We enjoyed just about all that's good about bicycle-touring that day, from natural beauty to quaint tourist towns.