Pre-holiday weekend Silver Lake Dune trip

Anyone who has ever been to Silver Lake State Park in Mears, Michigan will agree that it is a great place to ride, race, and experience the sand dunes for which the park is named. Most would also agree that it is not the place to be on a holiday weekend unless you bring your patience for the crowds that show up in droves.

Turns out Thursday night before the 4th of July weekend is a great time to arrive if you'd like to have the dunes mostly to yourself!

I got a call at work on Thursday, June 30 from my husband wanting to know when I would be home and if I wanted to make a 'quick' trip to the dunes. I use quotes around quick as it is a solid two and a half hours from our house to get there (which I don't consider quick ;) ). I knew he had been wanting to go and our friend Dave, a Silver Lake Resort seasonal camper was willing to let us pitch a tent overnight at his campsite.

I got home a bit after 4 and we were loaded and on the road by 6.

Once we got to the campground we quickly unloaded the 2011 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and were on our way to the dunes. It was about 8:45 at this point so we aired down the tires to about 10 psi and were on our way to check things out.

We pulled into the voucher area and although it was dark and looked closed or deserted there was a vehicle and employee sitting in the dark hoping no one would bother him. We got our stickers and were quickly on our way. The entrance to the dunes closes at 9:30 and you have to be off the dunes at dusk. Good thing we arrived about 8:50.

We drove out, did a few laps, saw a great sunset and were out of there by 9:15pm as we still wanted to try to grab a bite to eat in town.

The BBQ place at the traffic circle across from the go-karts must be good as there were tons of people in line and waiting. Instead of joining them, we headed to Golden Sands Golf Course Bar and Grill, getting there just a few minutes before closing. They were very friendly and we had good food- salad, rice bowl, and a wrap. Thanks to them for accommodating last minute even though they probably hated to see a last minute walk in!

We headed back to the campground to put up our tent as it night was falling and a storm was trying to blow in.....who doesn't love a good storm in an old tent?!

We managed to stay dry and actually had a great sleep despite the wind and rain!

Erick got up early and had coffee brewed when I poked my head out of the tent. Nice start to the morning eh?!

We packed up the campsite and drove through town to the Little Sable lighthouse on the north end.

It was our lucky day as it was open for tours and there was no one else there! We got a great history lesson from a volunteer at the bottom and walked up the 133 steps to see the view from the top overlooking Lake Michigan.

We stayed up top and took several pictures as the sky and water were beautiful, vivid colors!

It was about noon and we were hungry, so quick stop for lunch at Hideaway campground before heading to the dunes.

We pulled right onto the dunes through the 'dunes ready' lane as tires were aired down and flag was up and ready.

The entrance ramp was smoother than it's ever been on our ride in and we were quickly sitting at the bottom of 'test hill'.. Didn't stop long as Erick was ready to go- up and over we went! One way directional dunes with not much traffic as we took a lap around. We hung out near the drag strip watching racing and jumping for awhile and took a few pictures on the beach.

Now it was time for Erick to give our 16 year old a dune driving lesson.....that meant me in the back of the Jeep hanging on for dear life!! He did well for the first time although he didn't go as perpendicular as I would have liked on some of the uphill and downhill slopes.

I felt movement and sliding in the back end which is where I was. Like I mentioned, all turned out fine and the Jeep and family made it out unscathed. We made a few laps and 3:30ish we decided to load up and head out.

That was perfect timing! Our ride south on 31 and east on 96 was bumper to bumper full of trucks and trailers heading that way!! So much traffic!

Even though it was 24 hours door to door from the house it was one of my favorite trips to the dunes yet!