Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore Sand Dunes Part One

Our three week (four for Will) camp Michigan tour began at the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore Sand Dunes.  We went to this beautiful National Park three times during our vaca - each had their own memorable moments.  Here are a few from our first.

Here is our family photo, taken at the base of the dunes...ready for our big climb.

And people - this thing is H.U.G.E.  

Will started running up the face of it and finally collapsed, breathless, about 1/4 of the way up. 

You can barely see him in the center of the photo...

Nana Julie and Papa Dave were quick to follow him up...

While Billy and John played caboose (John was slightly skittish of the dunes this time, but don't worry...that changes so stay tuned!)

I, as usual, was in charge of photos...so my responsibilities included taking pictures, video, and ensuring Billy and John made it up...

Here we are, at the top of the F.I.R.S.T. face...where I am trying to convince Billy we should try to get up the next one, clearly not understanding why hauling a 26 pound baby up the enormous dune should be troublesome...

Love you dad!

Another family photo...

And a moment to let Will catch his breath...

And he was off to climb the next trail!  

With Nana's help, John got a little more excited about the sand...

And Will had reached the top of the next climb...

Then it was time for a good old fashioned, out of control run, down the dune...

And some jumping off of bluffs...

And more, yes more, climbing!  This time, Nana Julie helped out...

Here are my four guys running down one of the trails...

After a while, we were all exhausted so it was time to go grab lunch...we made our way back down to the top of the main dune...

 And then down we went!  

At one point, I was sure Will's legs were going to fly off behind him as we all sprinted down...

 This was a glorious way to begin our vacation!