Holland?? Saugatuck??? It's the Dutch Indies!

Well, not exactly.  It's Michigan, and quite a sight to see.

We arrived Saturday in Zeeland, MI just outside of Holland.  Camping at the Dutch Treat RV and Recreation Park.  We have a nice pull through site that is big and shady with a view of the pool.  It hasn't broke 80 degrees here yet and there are kids playing in the pool.  They do look a little blue though.  :-)

We took a short trip to Holland after lunch and since it was overcast, I decided to save the gardens for another day, like Monday.  So we just cruised the downtown a bit.

 Nice, quaint downtown that didn't appear to Dutch looking to me.  Buildings were interesting and very well maintained.

Since we weren't much into shopping, we just strolled around and enjoyed the ambiance.  :-)

By the way, anytime you want to see a photo up close, I think you can click on it.

Oh yeah.  Dune Rides here we come!

Sunday, we headed over to Saugatuck.  It was cool and overcast when we left but the sun came out and it got warmer as we waited for our time slot for the Saugatuck Dune Rides.  My jeans didn't seem like such a good idea around then.



And even though I checked out the dangerous Red Bats, I didn't feed them.

At 12:30 or a little before, we hopped onto that middle truck for our guided tour of the sand dunes.  And even though I had none of the following conditions, we sat up front with our guide Jeff.

He had a lot of great information on how the dunes formed and gradually filled in Goshorn Lake which is now about a quarter of it's original size.  The lake is also one of the deepest at over 180 ft.
And man did this guy drive those dunes, following a road of course.  What fun!  Kids were screaming as we wheeled around curves and sped down hills.  There were crazy road signs all along the road, Dead End,  RR Crossing, Speed Bump...where Jeff commented to me that a kid had fallen out earlier and after the vultures got to him and the sand covered him, he became a speed bump.  ;-)
 

There's a hawk up there if you can see him.

There were a few stops along the way, where Jeff had some interesting stories and great information.

 We stopped on top of a dune and got an education on Cottonwood Trees and their root system.  Also how the Dutch that settled the area cut all the native White Pines and that started the demise of Lake Goshorn.

The University of Michigan had students plant acres and acres of sea oats to stop the sand from blowing and filling the lake.  And it has worked.

But the DNR in its infinite wisdom, planted Austrian Pines that have taken over and pushed out all the native trees.  So now they have to plant the White Pines and cut the Austrian Pines.....

Lots and lots of sand that actually covered up a town called Singapore in the early 1900's.  The banker in town moved his bank and some of the homes to Saugatuck before the town was completely buried.

Happy Campers

We passed poor Phil who flew out of one of the jeeps.

His wife's name was Sandy, his favorite meal: a sandwich, favorite shoe: sandals....you can see where this is going.

We headed into the woods that had some huge Beech trees, Red Maples, Hemlock, Chokecherry among others.  Told us a story of how a Black Bear chased one of the trucks through the woods.  We didn't have that kind of excitement but the way he flew around those curves made up for it.

That's Jeff on the left chatting with Cary after the ride.  I would highly recommend this ride if you are ever in the vicinity.  :-)

On to Saugatuck, what a great little town!  I loved it.  Situated on the Kalamazoo river where it runs into Lake Michigan, it was sunny with a cool breeze.

We didn't take the boat ride, just took the picture so you could keep up with where we were.  ;-)

The river was brown, but there were plenty of ducks and lots of boats.  There were some big yachts parked in the marina.  I mean big.  With gas at $5.49 no wonder they were docked!

People across the river in Douglas are also living large as you can see.

  

Lots of shops, restaurants and people.  Parking was tough though, especially with a big truck.  But we eventually found a spot, that's how I got these fabulous photos!  Ha! 

Take the picture already, my ice cream

 is melting!

I also had some fabulous ice cream, Cappuccino with chocolate pieces.  Yum.









We headed back to the trailer and passed a nice spot I thought you might enjoy.

When we got back, Cary washed the Truck, he washed the trailer earlier in the morning.  So we are clean and shiny for a little while. 

Beautiful day, nice campground, time for happy hour.
I'm liking Michigan!