Summer's in full swing in Northern Michigan now, and that means the web is filled with stories about people enjoying the dunes. It's one of the best parts of our job: We've gotten to spend a lifetime enjoying the dunes and thinking about the many ways we can appreciate them, but we're always surprised by what people find here. We were intrigued, for example, by the conversation Cultural Glimpse had about the legend of the Dunes with a Native American friend. We love the legend of the dunes for a lot of reasons, but one of them is that it's a living heritage for the First People, and one that's both remained unchanging for eons and capable of being adapted to the needs of the current generation.
The Ashkinabe legend comes up in a thorough post over on Trips by Lance, too, which offers a lot of detail on how he and his family explored the area– there are also a ton of great photos to check out, including our banner and cover image for this post. It's a great resource for planning your own adventure. There's nothing quite like seeing how someone else planned their time in the area to give you a jolt of inspiration in your own planning.
Sometimes it's not just about planning though. Sometimes, you just need to be reminded that there's nothing better to do in a beautiful place than just enjoy it with friends. That's why the final item in our round-up is so great. Dylan Hancook and his buddies don't tell us anything about the legend of the dunes or about the different sites they visited, but they sure look like they're having a great time. Finally, that's what it is all about. Take a minute to check out their video. We bet it'll put a smile on your face.