Pen****er Michigan Charles Mears State Park - In May

Len and Jo · May 11, 2009

Joanne and I just spent Friday May 8th to Monday May 11th at the Charles Mears S.P. This park is at Pen****er Michigan and is located on the sand dunes of the Lake Michigan eastern shore.

It is early in the year and the park is just waking up from a long winter. The 20/30 amp service is on but no water out side of the bath house yet. The park does not provide 50 amps, sewer or water hook-ups. The 175 site park has the standard Michigan S.P. restroom.... 6 shower rooms (w hot water) on one side and mens and womens restroom on the other side of a walk way.

Pen****er is a small town with its safe harbor at one end and the state park at the other. Everything is within easy walking (or biking) distance. At this time of year the town itself is just waking up. Maybe 1/3 of the stores are still closed for the season and will not be open for 1-2 weeks yet. We did though find several good places to get a meal at and some of the gift shops are open now.

The weather is still cool. It was in the low 40's at night and just broke into the low 60's in the day time. Being right on Lake Michigan the wind has 75-100 miles of open water to build up a head of steam. Saturday was a rainy day and we had to take our awning down because of the steady wind off of the lake.

Len and Jo · May 11, 2009

The campground at Charles Mears park was basically empty. Of the 175 sites only 5 were occupied while we were in the park.

The next series of pictures shows the park and its dunes. Also note the blowing sand in the last picture to get a feel for the level of wind when directly exposed to lake (on Saturday only). Thank goodness the campground sites are behind a row of dune.s

Len and Jo · May 11, 2009

We took a walk along the water channel during a break in the weather on Saturday. Note the flag!! A few blocks from the open water and all is quite!

Len and Jo · May 11, 2009

Sunday the weather cleared and the sky was blue. We road our bikes in to town to go to church. The small town of Pen****er must has as many churches as fudge shops. That is saying a lot for a Michigan tourist town.

The minister introduced us as the first campers of the year.

We took a walk in the woods to see if any birds were out. Later in the morning a bike ride through town and got a kite to fly. The wind had died down from Saturday but was still ample.

Len and Jo · May 11, 2009

Well the long week end is about over.

Jo is ready to watch a sun set in the 40 ish degree weather. It was worth it.

Monday morning the park crew were out moving sand. Talk about job security! Some had just shovels but there was a tractor with a large scoop working on the camp sites. The camp sites have six months of drifting sand to clear up.

Monday afternoon as we left town they even provided music for us. A fiddle and a accordion player were setting in the early summer sun and having a great time.

Gas on the way home at Flying J was $2.219 a gallon. Prices going up for the approaching holiday weekend.

ArdraF · May 12, 2009

Len and Jo,

Thanks for sharing some good photos. When he was a kid, Jerry's family used to spend summers near Pen****er at what was then a "resort" called Camp Morrison. They had cabins and a dining hall. You could cross the dunes to the lake. The last time we went through it was called Whispering Sands RV Park. That lake can get pretty rough. Boy, you chose a cold and windy time but I notice the tulips and daffodils were up. Cute little church. And what a nice sunset photo. We noticed it was framed by two entirely different types of trees and some clouds. To my untrained eyes, it was a nice composition and you caught it just right for the colors.

ArdraF

Ned · May 12, 2009

I first visited Pen****er about 30 years ago, by boat. Typical small Michigan lakeshore town, very friendly. Lake Michigan is a beautiful lake but can get very violent in a short time.

S J Strait · May 12, 2009

Very nice. We lived on Lake Ontario so I know what you are talking about with the wind. Loved the sun sets.

Lorna · May 12, 2009

My first visit to Pen****er was in the early 80's on one of my many cruises on Lake Michigan. It still remains one of my favorite harbors along with Round Lake in Charlevoix, Mackinac Island, and Port Washington. Yes I have been crossing Lake M. when the waves went from one inch with full sails to 12 feet with a storm jib in a matter of hours.

Pen****er Michigan Charles Mears State Park - In May

Len and Jo

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