Just so you know…Part 24, Lake Shelbyville, was published out of sequence, by the fingers of a sleepy naked guy on a couch. Once it is done….
We’re looking for a secluded place, a spiritual experience, fewer people, certainly no crowds, solitude. I figured that it would be up here in this part of Michigan, as I remember it. It feels down right crowded today, in the height of the summer season. Things have changed. There is plenty of countryside, but it is all private lands. People are packed in otherwise.
The public lands are near. Big Bear Dunes, again as I remember, are fun and there may be a spot just south of them, down the coast of Lake Michigan, where people don’t go, much.
Michigan is actually a beautiful state. I do have to get past the old towns and cities, where there is deterioration and of course, along with it renewal. For me, much of them lack charm.
Heading upstate to Leelanua Peninsula, near Travis City, has its striking moments along with economic blight, which refect ups and downs over the years.There are rolling hills and forests, but there are enclaves of poverty here and there amongst it. Some rundown old homes have rebel flags out in front. Since Michigan was never a part of the Confederacy, we know what that cry is about. Then, in contrast, just down the road, there is more green and a pleasant prosperous farm, fields loaded with cherry trees. Some of the pieces are inviting and some angry.
We have made a point to head through a public forest, because there is potential for walks, camping and naturist solitude. These protected places of natural beauty are however, being hit with a blight that is killing square miles of trees. It looks as if it will destroy the whole ecosystem. We are saddened, but further north, the forest’s plague fades. I suppose that it is still colder there longer, too cold for the infestation.
The road feels long and pretty darn straight. By afternoon, we’re ready for food and a break from something besides a roadway. We’re not sure what to eat. Sometimes it feels like the only choices are fast-food, Mexican, or pizza, after several weeks out here. We do have a picnic lunch choice to eat.
The Free Range Naturist 