The Dunes!

Beyond eating, the dunes were one of the reasons we ventured northwest.  This is the path to Lake Michigan, just over the rise -- and then another rise, and another rise and then there were other rises, that rose and fell for three miles.

These are a bear to climb -- the first cub, 130 feet tall.

The little guy was more than ready for it, overjoyed by the sight of so much sand!

They were not, however, universally appreciated, and after reaching the ostensible top of this, some were dismayed to see the climb continued:

And became downright distressed when informed there were plenty more of these to come!  So Ari took a seat while the boys led us across the most arduous course possible, tantalized by the thought of running down the maximum number of dunes.

They soon discovered, that all that momentum, running down a steep decline, is quickly absorbed on the upswing, by the soft sand, in about three steps -- really:  We counted.

The view, close to the crest of the first hill.  The sand, below with the little, tiny people scurrying about, is what looked like the top, from below.

Young nomad children, wandering the sands.

There were dunes

Dunes...

Collapsed boy

Dunes...

Buried in the sand boy

Dunes and beautiful landscapes -- the original hill is back there, somewhere.

Lo!  A lake, afar!

We walked a long time without it seeming to get much closer, and clouds began to gather.

With the final descent to the lake in view, we decided to turn back in light of the skies -- and woe of walking back up (though, when we were kids...  Right?  We made the lake, no problem!)

The boys took a pic at our furthest West, where, for some reason, I decided to stand below them, ruining the intent, to show them standing in front of lake Michigan.  Nice looking boys, regardless.

The long walk back...

At the end of it all, Jared had about a quart of sand out of his shoes.   As you can see, the sun returned -- we may as well have gone the distance!  But fun, nonetheless, though, the kids wouldn't let dad choose any plans for the remainder of the trip.