Hiking the Trails

Sleeping in the tent was pretty cozy but it got super cold in the morning! As dawn approaches, it got colder and Ping was 'kiu-ing' up in the sleeping bag, trying to preserve heat from herself. Ping eventually gave up and woke up, seeing ah Pei 'pai ang kong-ing'. Fortunate for Ping, less fortunate for ah Pei (since she didn't get sleep all night), that she is awake so Ping has company. We jogged to the shower room to wash up and then walk around the campground. We were looking at the RVs in the area and thought that they are very much like a home as the owners decorate their own RV, each with a different theme.

We then wanted to make breakfast for everyone but realized that all the food is in Tai lou's car. So we snacked on fruit and nut bar made by ah Pei. That is one of the best bar Ping had (Ping probably had the most hor?), kept eating it. After a while, we started getting bored of sitting around so we decided to drive out to the nearby town. Didn't want to wake the others up, we set the car into reverse gear, push it a little distance away from the tent and set out. Went to the visitor center to get the park passes and then drove into the Empire town (by the way, they only have 378 residents as of 2000!!! That is so cute! Am sure everyone knows everyone there). At the end of the town, we came across the Empire beach and if Ping and Pei was not up and awake yet, that surely did it. We were super excited to see the lovely beach and soft sand and cool breeze, it ALMOST feels like you're at the ocean as the lake seems to run forever. The only thing about beaches around this area is that they have a lot of flies. They don't bite but they surround you. As long as you don't look at them, you're totally fine. It was a good thing we decided to drive that way because that was the best beach of the trip that we've seen. We made plans to go back there the next day but we never did because we found a nature trail to explore. We lepak there until Wei Yi called – they're awake!

Went back to the campsite and we (actually more like Jo and Wei Yi) cooked breakfast and lunch. We had tuna that was modified to taste like sardine (it's all in the mind mah..if you think you're eating sardine, then you're eating sardine lor), scrambled egg and sausages. Cleaned up the area, changed and then it is time to chu4 fa1 lor! Our first stop was the Pyramid Point Hiking Trail. The national park has 14 trails and Pyramid Point is the most Northern point of the Sleeping Bear bay. It overlooks the two Manitou Island and supposedly, we can see a ship wreck on a clear day. Nope, we didn't see any even though the weather is pretty nice out there. Along this trail, we started out hiking through a meadow, going into a maple-beech forests, heading towards the lookout point at a high bluffs area. The view from the bluff is breathtaking and yet, scary because one step too close and you'll be sliding down to the lake... it may just be a lake, but it is so huge that sometimes you can feel dark aura enveloping your soul, giving you a jolt of fear. The sky was clear enough that we can easily see the two Manitou Island and boats. The picture on the right is taken by Ming - the tree has lost so much soil to grip on and yet it is still standing strong. If Ping were to name this pic, it would be - Determination.

Using a different route, we hike back to the starting point, going through more maple-beech forests, along the way seeing the understory plants community changes. We ended our morning and early afternoon with a picnic at Glen Lake, just opposite the Sleeping Bear Dune. The view below is Little Glen Lake.