I had a late start, not leaving Crown Point until 10am and arriving at 1:30pm. I don't leave the house until Carol is awake and ready for me to wrap her legs, and today she woke up late. It's a two-hour drive and a time zone change. I didn't mind the late start, hoping that that would be late enough to miss the morning beach goers and morning traffic. The parking lot was not full when I came in.
Saugatunk Dunes has four trails: The North Trail loop, the Beach trail, the Livingston trail and the South Trail loop. The North trail has its own trail head, but all other trails branch off from the Beach trail. The South Trail loop is the popular one for those wanting to hike woodlands before reaching the beach. The loop is 5.5 miles, an ideal distance for a two-hour hike. I got on the main trail to the beach and took the turn-off for the South Trail. All trails were clearly marked. Zeke stayed on leash the whole time.
It was a peaceful hike. The only people I came across were those coming and going on the short Beach trail, a .6-mile wide path that leads straight to the water. Sunlight beamed through the tall trees like spotlights on stage. Birds tweeted, chipmunks chirped. I didn't see any unique flowers, but did come across a few mushrooms. The only flowers were yellow sand flowers closer to the beach.
I had the entire trail to myself until I got to the final quarter mile. Here the woodlands gave way to pre-dune habitat of hot sand, dune grass and poplars. The sand was so hot even I could feel the heat in my water shoes. Zeke's paws were hurting and I let him bolt to the strand of trees ahead, where he then soaked his paws in a flooded section of the trail.
The water was a foot deep in the middle of the trail. I diverted to an unmarked trail around the trees and came across a trail-running couple.
"Be careful in those woods," warned the man, "there's a bear in there," pointing to the area I just walked around. " I heard it splashing around in the water."
"Are you sure that wasn't my dog?" I asked, "I just went through that area."
"No, no," replied the man, "it was much bigger than that," pointing at Zeke. Convinced that he had mistaken Zeke for a large black bear, I let the topic go. I showed the couple the trail that detours from the flooded area and they continued on their run, reversing the direction that I had taken.
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The final stretch to the lakefront was the hottest. Zeke and I went full speed ahead. Every part of me jiggled while Zeke was the furry black bomb, panting excessively as we got to the disappointingly small beach area. There was no bathing beach here. What I came across was a narrow strip of eroded lakefront lined in green duckweed. Duckweed looks like green algae from a distance and behaves much the same way by covering the water surface and choking the water of its oxygen. It also sticks on everything it touches. A thin marine layer floated off the water further off the lake. Zeke dug himself a small hole to lay in, in what little shade there was while I took my hiking pants off and put my swimming trunks on. Zeke was suffering from the heat and needed to cool off.
My hopes of bathing in cool lake water were shattered. I was not about to wade in that stuff. The shorts merely kept my pants dry for later. I knew that I had to go a different way back to avoid the hot sun and opted to walk north along the beach until reaching the Livingston trail.
Despite the green film on the water's surface, I could see people north of me in the water, including an exuberant White Lab. Zeke didn't mind the water at all but still is uneasy about crashing waves.
"There's a six-point buck up ahead" said one elderly man as I walked past the bathers. "My grandson came right up to it and pet it." What was a deer doing on the beach, I wondered, among people? Well, the little guy was thirsty and didn't let humans scare it off. It was a little nervous around Zeke, though, whom I held tightly on leash. I could tell Zeke wished he were off leash, but I wanted none of that now.
The kids kept calling the deer Marvin. "Marvin, Marvin, come back!" they screamed. Marvin watched Zeke closely (the attention was mutual) as he slowly sauntered away from the people and went north along the beach. I diverted to a narrow trail off the beach but parallel to it until we reached the Livingston trail. This trail's exposure of open sand was much shorter than the South Trail's loop. Marvin followed us back into the woods before jumping into the woods and sauntering up a steep hillside and disappeared. An off-leash dog ambushed Marvin with loud barks and Marvin sprinted away.
I would have enjoyed a longer hike along the lakefront, walking farther north and returning via the North Trail, making for a long and rewarding day hike. The hike was only 4.2 miles and took us 2.5 hours, not long enough to be an exhausting hike, but long enough on a hot day. I didn't realize that dogs were not allowed on the bathing beach farther nother anyway. I opted to cut the hike short and eat at the Saugatunk Brewery.
The Saugatunk Brewery is right off the Blue Star Highway in Douglas, a twin village to Saugatunk along the Kalamazoo river. I had tried several of the beers from the craftbeer section at the grocery store I use in Crown Point, and all of them have been very good. I parked in the shade and let Zeke rest in the car while I went inside for my first meal of the day. I walked in at 4:20pm and to my surprise that allowed for 40 minutes for Happy Hour when pints of beer are an additional $2 off.
I liked this place. I'd rank this experience in the top breweries I've visited on this road trip. The brewpub has a spacious dog-banned outdoor patio. I sat at the counter and watched Nathan hustle with pouring beer and serving his patrons, always answering with an upbeat "Absolutely!"
I started with the Blood Orange Blonde (5% ABV; 10.5 IBU) and then asked Nathan for a Neopolitan Milk Stout (6% ABV; 37 IBU). "Absolutely!" was his response. The place was quickly filling up with customers. I never saw Nathan still the entire time. I left shortly after 5pm to explore more of the village.
Saugatunk is an artisan village on an inlet off the Kalamazoo river. Tree-lined streets and colorful homes line the narrow roads. I parked my car near the Chain Ferry which for $2 a person takes passengers across the inlet to the residential side of Saugatunk and its famed Mount Baldhead Park, a dune with a view of the lake that requires climbing over 300 stairs to reach.
Duckweed invaded the small marina as well. Side streets along the waterfront reveal recent rains. I walked along the riverwalk for another mile, looked around the coffee shops and restaurants, and continued my drive south. It was now past 6pm. The only other stop I had planned for today was St Joseph, another lakefront town with a beach and bordered by the St Joseph River. It's not as quaint as Saugatunk, but it has many varied restaurants and is family-friendly. I had taken Kevin here 15 plus (!) years ago and we dined in the Stooges Restaurant and shared a Moe Burger, a whopping half-pounder piled high with fixings.
I got diverted, though, by another brewery along the way, Fenwick Farms, just six miles farther south o Saugatunk. The tasting room is in the middle of a field. The tasting room is small, but cozy, without any loud music to mask the taste of hoppy beer. I came to taste a good coffee stout and ended up talking to a regular patron, a well-coiffed older businesswoman named Patrice. Patrice spoke in a loud, confident voice. Everyone in the tasting room learned that Fenwick Farms is the best brewery in Michigan. "There's not a beer on their list that I don't like!" she said. Perhaps loaded on beer, she stayed later than she had planned as we started a conversation about Trump, the current immigration policies, and the upcoming election. Hans, the strawberry-blond and bearded beer pourer, quietly listened in as Patrice confided in wishing Trump ill will in his second term. Yikes!
I had to get going now. I made it to St Joseph's as the sun was setting over a clouded horizon. Silver Beach County Park was still open for a fee but cloud cover dampened any views. People carrying lawn chairs were walking toward the beach to watch the sun set. I stayed as long as I could before I left the beach area to find Stooges, only to discover that the place had closed in 2011 because, according to the Herald-Palladium, "the former owner, Diane Callender, lost her liquor license after bouncing checks to the state liquor agency to pay for the bar's liquor." Well, that'll certainly put a damper on things.
https://www.heraldpalladium.com/localnews/more-woes-for-stooges/article_ad0f7469-9fbc-56ab-a2cb-4acefbb3b23e.html
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