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Fall 2006: Finally!!!! I finally got back to Michigan!
Despite a very cold and rainy, dismal weather
forecast, I headed out for Michigan this fall. I hadn't been
there since 2002 and was suffering some serious Lake
Superior Separation Anxiety. I missed the UP and Hiawatha Forest.
I missed Lake Huron and Huron National Forest. I missed how
dark gets up there (go ahead, laugh**).
I just missed traveling northern Michigan in general.
This was a short but good trip. Even if
peak tree color had passed, it was beautiful in the UP. I started
off driving straight to the UP and spent the night in St. Ignace,
catching a great sunrise and rainbow along the highway. I stopped
at various points along Lake Superior. The weather went between
rain, sun, and clouds about every half hour. It was good to
see the shoreline again but clear that the lake had beaten the
shore up pretty good sometime over the past 4 years, including
taking out two of my favorite trees. I stopped at a very
unpopulated Tahquamenon Falls and saw some good sites.
The next stop on the trip was along the
Au Sable and at Lake Huron. It was cloudy and cold and most
of the color was gone, but got some nice shots anyhow. I ended
at Tawas Point and stayed just until a sheets of rain came my
way from the lake. Despite the weather, it was really nice to
be outside again, just wandering the shore.
I decided on this trip that I really want
to visit Michigan in the winter and spring sometime. Seeing
the lakes with ice would be a real treat and I can only imagine
how beautiful things would be in spring green.
In truth, this page should really be called
"Northern MI and UP" photography since that seems
to be where I spend most of my time. I have yet to visit a large
city in Michigan.
That's the short story. And of course -
you asked for it, you got it... new photos are in! Follow the
links on the left.
Michigan has always been one of my all time
favorite relaxation spots. From 1998-2002, I'd made an annual
trip to the eastern part of the Upper Peninsula and to Huron
National Forest.
In 2002, there was a fantastic storm with
60 m.p.h. winds one night that
turned Lake Superior into something that looked more like the
Atlantic Ocean than one of the Great Lakes.
I spend better than three quarters of my
time in the Upper Peninsula on Lake Superior and in Hiawatha
National Forest, despite torrential rain at times. I didn't
get to do a whole lot of walking by the lakes in 2002, mainly
due to the weather and cold temperatures. I generally finish
the trip on the Au Sable river and Tawas Bay.
I've always loved the UP for the solitude,
silence and darkness at night. The UP allows me to be truly
alone. Anyone who routinely needs to be alone understands that
need. I can go into Hiawatha Forest and listen to nothing but
the wind in the trees. Same with the Superior shoreline - it
has been rare I've seen or heard other people in the area.
Hiawatha allows me to see some of the (very
little bit) of untouched land left here in this country. I live
in an area that is being heavily developed (Columbus, OH) and
practically all the "green space" is gone. This makes
me even more grateful for such natural places as Hiawatha. It
would be nice to have a larger quantity of primitive land in
this country.
As funny as this may
sound, I really appreciate the darkness in the back parts of
Michigan. I've spent my entire life
in a well-lit city and never got to see a truly black sky until
I visited the UP. Michigan was where I learned the stars actually
do shed light down here - very little, but light just the same.
Some people may not get this, but to me that dark sky with so
many stars reminds me of how much else there is out there than
just our little rock in space.
If you have a Michigan experience, story,
or a suggestion of places to see (especially off the beaten
path), please tell everyone about it in the Guestbook. I'll
check out those places my next trip!
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