Laninga's Travel Blog

After leaving the Akers, we drove to Traverse City, where we stayed at the Indigo Bluffs RV Resort. It is located some 20 miles west of TC, and is convenient access to Sleeping Bear National Park. This park has some nice hikes, some of it in canopied forests, some on the dunes. We even climbed the Dune Climb. If you want a great workout, try some of the hills in the Dunes. We got to see a great horned owl and some sand cranes on our walks.

At the north end of the peninsula is a Rescue Station, dating back to the 1800’s. Using rather crude boats, they rescued many sailors from Lake Michigan. Later this became better known as the US Coast Guard. It’s interesting to see how those people lived and worked in difficult conditions.

We’ve been to Traverse City before, and elected to spend most of our time at the Commons. This was originally known as the Northern Michigan Asylum, started in the 1880’s. It later became the Traverse City State Hospital and grew to over one million square feet of space. It served the mental needs but also diseases such as tuberculosis.

In the 1950s use of the facility declined to where it was closed. Some of the buildings were demolished and the main building was gutted with fire. It was rebuilt according to the original plans and is now a senior home as well as some very fine shopping.