Leland and Frankfort

Kim’s Korner:

The last day in Charlevoix, we rode bikes with Steve and Rae from Barefoot Shoes, a Kadey Krogen Manatee. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed good Mexican food afterward.

After 10 days in Charlevoix waiting on the water heater and weather, we made our way to Leland for the night. We had delicious, fresh whitefish at The Cove and fun exploring the town and gift shops. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset from our pilothouse!

The next day we headed to Frankfort. It was the day of the eclipse and the day was hazy – don’t think it was due to the eclipse but the pictures I took just didn’t do the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes justice due to the haze. Frankfort is on Betsie Lake and after settling in and watching the eclipse on TV, we decided to bike the Betsie Valley Trail. This trail may be the best one we’ve been on yet – it took us over to the far eastern end of Betsie Lake where it turns more into a swamp, by a creek, thru forests and eventually to Crystal Lake which was crystal clear and gorgeous! The story of Crystal Lake goes that an attempt to create a navigable channel between Crystal Lake and Lake Michigan by way of Betsie Lake caused the water level of Crystal Lake to be lowered by 20 feet (which was 25% of the lake water) in just a few weeks. This drawdown was unsuccessful from a navigational standpoint but created 21 miles of beach around Crystal Lake where 1100 cottages are now located.

The following few days were WINDY – sleep last night was constantly interrupted by sounds of the lines and fenders as well as the rocking of the boat. I included one picture of a boat that had lines everywhere – we totally understand that! We enjoyed going to the beach and watching the waves and the windsurfers – one windsurfer was able to get quite high! We also enjoyed biking over to Betsie Point Lighthouse which took us by the western end of Crystal Lake.

It looks like the weather is calming down enough for us to leave tomorrow (Thursday) – we’ll see. The wind here changes quickly so stay tuned…

Pictures! Leland - Frankfort