GLEN HAVEN, MI — The sun was glimmering off the Sleeping Bear Bay and the leaves were tinged with yellows and reds on Thursday morning as the innkeepers at Sleeping Bear Inn cleared the breakfast plates. But something was off. Their national park neighborhood is eerily quiet in the wake of the government shutdown.
The 19th century inn sits in Glen Haven, home to the big red Cannery and the historic village’s blacksmith shop, general store and Maritime Museum.
Unlike its neighbors, the inn is leased from the National Park Service but operates independently as a business through the care of Maggie and Jeff Kato. They are among the unique third-party vendors who are part of the park experience but not part of the official park operations.
The federal government shutdown, which went into effect Oct. 1, slimmed the park staff to the minimum needed to “protect life and property.” An estimated 9,296 federal employees were furloughed across the National Park Service.
The Dune Climb, Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive and all the trails are still open for public use. The bathrooms are open and maintained. Law enforcement is still on patrol but, Glen Haven is a quieter village this week, Maggie Kato said.
“The weather couldn’t be better. It’s sunshiny and beautiful but we are concerned for our friends who are furloughed and hope they’ll be back to staff soon,” Kato said.
Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought told House Republicans on Wednesday that the Trump administration will start firing federal employees in the next “one to two” days, according to NBC reporting.
Business at the inn is thriving despite the national disturbance. The inn is completely full and already about 40% booked for next season. This week’s guests include a group from Wisconsin, newlyweds from Indiana and a couple celebrating their 50th anniversary, Kato said.
The inn is only open to guests, but Kato has noticed even more onlookers slowing down, lurking and trying to peek in the inn’s porch windows.
The most public-facing casualty of the furloughs are the closure of park Visitor’s Centers. Headquarters are also ordered to downsize staff to no more than 5-10 full-time and on-call employees, according to the NPS shutdown plan.
Park vendors are fielding questions and acting as concierges, directing folks to what is still open.
In the Upper Peninsula, Pictured Rocks Cruises is business as usual aside from the higher call volume from confused visitors, operations manager Zach Boucher said.
“All the questions they’d send out to the park service, we’ve been getting [those] calls,” he said. “It’s hard to answer questions on behalf of them when, you know, I don’t work there.”
The cruise is an authorized National Park Service concessionaire and permitted to keep operating, but the scenic tour departs from a private facility at the Munising City Dock and has its own cruise staff.
There are still plenty of leaf hunters this time of year, Boucher said. The sightseeing tour swinging along the Lake Superior shoreline is still guiding more than a thousand people a day, he said.
Paddling Michigan kayak tours wrapped up their season at the end of September, right before the government shutdown. As one of three permitted kayak tour guides, the company avoided any of the waves caused by the shutdown.
The company’s hiking shuttle service continues to run, making stops at all the highlights like Grand Sable, Logslide, Chapel and Miners Castle.
There are still a few lodgers staying at the company’s rental sites until the last reservation ends this weekend, said seasonal staffer Stephanie Buchenroth.
The government shutdown hasn’t affected her employment, but it does add a twist to her and husband’s five-month adventure. The two retired veterans have been camping and working their way through the country.
They landed a five-month stint at Pictured Rocks, enjoying their first Yooper summer, and plan to hit the road to Wisconsin this week and camp in national parks as they make their way home to Kentucky.
Campgrounds can continue operating during the shutdown if they can sustain staff with fee revenue
NPS encourages campers to visit Recreation.gov for more information. A warning on the website tells visitors they may not be able to complete any future reservations or complete a purchase for some passes during the lapse-in-funding period.
For existing reservations, some campgrounds will send cancelations, and others won’t, according to NPS. It’s all on a case-by-case basis.
“I’m hoping we’ll get up there − we’re going to be the test,” Buchenroth said. “I will know if there are park disruptions pretty quick.”
It’s a weird way to end what has been a memorable trip to the U.P., she said. She adds a laugh and says part of traveling is the ability to “adapt and overcome.”