RETURN TO MICHIGAN ! #1

Paradise Revisited!

I couldn't believe the dream came true this August.  My first visit a year ago proved to me that even though I am a devoted native Pacific Northwesterner, there really does exist another beautiful "West Coast": the part of north-western Michigan that borders the east shore of Lake Michigan.  

Photo Buddy Pat and I achieved our dream of returning!

What I loved seeing all over again were the many "waters' edges".

So, here are a few.

Bass Lake Outlet; the ideal swimming place.

The old jetty, on the border of Ludington State Park:

Beaches, beaches everywhere! White sand. 

This was my 2nd visit, and I still have to remind myself that this is fresh water:

Are we greedy?  We saw just hints of autumn, and all we could say was,

"How gorgeous this must be in the Fall.  We really need to return to see all this ablaze."

MICHIGAN #2 LIGHTHOUSES

West Shore Lighthouses are becoming old friends.  I was so happy to return  to feel the power of their purpose, presence, and endurance.

Ludington Light under storm clouds:

Little Sable casts a long shadow on the sand.

I was happy to get myself into position to make this photo.

Little Sable, a brick obelisk:

We reached Big Sable Lighthouse

via a long hike through woods, and returned on the sand at water's edge.

Lighthouse staircase looks almost abstract, 

or like an immense metal chambered nautilus :

Boardwalk connects lighthouse to the beach:

MICHIGAN MISCELLANY # 3

I don't know what the state bird of Michigan is, but I would like to think it is the wild swan.

They calmly showed ownership of every waterway we saw.

Here, a trio of adolescent cygnets:

Any wonder why this large farm building (not a house) caught our attention?

It looked like a 3-dimensional etching.

Spider Street of Dreams award of the year:

In the shadows on the trail:

Sand-topping boardwalks charmed me!

Surprised expressions on the chimney-pots of a lighthouse:

HIKING ! MICHIGAN # 4

Ludington State Park, which borders the east shore of Lake Michigan, has countless miles of trails.  We spent some of almost every day there, hiking from 4-6 miles each time.  The Island Trail is so diverse that we just kept returning.  There are boardwalks through marshes,

... and over them,  as trails actually connect multiple little islands.
We played "connect the dots" of islands ...

Old root snag seems to be standing on tip-toe to look at its reflection:

... up hills, and through woods ...

... high above the lakes.

We fixated on any hint of autumn color we saw, 

imagining what this area will look like in fall splendor.

Great Blue Heron 

MIDWEST BARNS MICHIGAN # 5

Barns!  One of my favorite photo subjects! I contrive driving routes just to find barns.  Well, in the Midwest, barns just come naturally.  Be still my heart!

We got vertigo just walking around this neglected specimen.

What I love is that corn fields had not yet been harvested.  I was humming music from "Oklahoma!" as the corn  I framed here rustled in the breeze.  Good thing it was only breezy; we are wondering if 

this winter's first storm will bring the barn to its weathered knees.

Or will this tree keep it up?  If we ever get back,

we will find this barn to see how it fares, and

pay tribute to its crumpled bones if that is all that is left.

A different barn:

Healthy corn silk:

I love the way this panel of barn windows reflects both red and blue, like the sky and barn itself:

And here where an old opening was patched in:

Pictures of Midwest barns are not contrived!  I was happy to 

get in a position to make this photo to include wildflowers

and ideal sky:

LICHEN AND THE LIKE - MICHIGAN # 6

I love the woods!  I grew up in the thick of the Northwest type, but I love immersing myself where there is 

different flora.  We hiked a lot in woods, never forgetting to look not only up and ahead, but down

and all around. Acorns are things we don't see much of here.

This type of what I am guessing to be "shelf lichen" was huge.

It covered the top of a large, ancient tree where it had been cut. The "fans"

were as big as tires:

And the delicate ones, along with oak leaves:

Hee, hee, this is not a mushroom, of course!  While the Queen Anne's Lace

 was long-gone here at home, some were just budding in  western Michigan, 

along the farm roads:

MICHIGAN SUNSETS # 7

I don't know where else in the world the sunsets are so consistently stunning than on the east coast of Lake Michigan.  Each night presents a different color show, and each location shows off uniquely too.

I love that so many folks stop what they are doing to go to their favorite viewing place at sunset.

We went a different place every night.

"The Golden Hour" is actually that: an hour of glow that hums on after the sky is dark.

The phenomenon is that it doesn't really look "dark" , but it is.

Here, someone  is still able to watch his kite aloft:

And here, young men play like little children in the after-glow:

We had actually enjoyed a sunset and had returned back to the condo after dark, but these returning fishing boats were still silhouetted, coming towards our "home":

Hopefully we can make more of these next year - 

our own footprints next to fresh, unsalted water:

For good measure, we made our own cairn and a wish to return.

Big Sable Lighthouse is in the distance, down the shoreline: