2011-54 Fall Colors, Michigan
Hello
All,
After saying goodbye to our friends we departed London, Ontario, and headed west towards the US/Canadian border. It was a beautiful clear day. So, after crossing the border we decided to head back north to the little town of Grayling, Michigan. Our hope was that the great weather would hold and we could get some photos of trees in their prime fall colors with beautiful blue sky.
We’ll apologize in advance for more photos of trees as the weather held pretty well for us. We had so much fun driving the back roads in search of photo opportunities. And, having shot more than a thousand photos in a couple of hours, guess you could say we found a few (opportunities that is).
Trees in Michigan seem to be taller than those in the forests of New England. Maybe it is due to them receiving a steady supply of moisture from the Great Lakes. And, there is more of a mixture of deciduous and conifers.
In some areas the trees were mostly in red hues.
After saying goodbye to our friends we departed London, Ontario, and headed west towards the US/Canadian border. It was a beautiful clear day. So, after crossing the border we decided to head back north to the little town of Grayling, Michigan. Our hope was that the great weather would hold and we could get some photos of trees in their prime fall colors with beautiful blue sky.
We’ll apologize in advance for more photos of trees as the weather held pretty well for us. We had so much fun driving the back roads in search of photo opportunities. And, having shot more than a thousand photos in a couple of hours, guess you could say we found a few (opportunities that is).
Trees in Michigan seem to be taller than those in the forests of New England. Maybe it is due to them receiving a steady supply of moisture from the Great Lakes. And, there is more of a mixture of deciduous and conifers.
In some areas the trees were mostly in red hues.
While
in other areas they were mostly shades of orange.
And in other areas
there was a blending of many colors.
When
we came across an area that was spectacular in our eyes we parked the car and
hiked around snapping photos. We were completely engrossed in the awesome
display Mother Nature had to offer and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of our
adventure. Here is a shot of Miss Barb taking a photo.
We
thought the colors were simply amazing--rarely do we have an opportunity such as this.
At times
we would look up and take photos of the tree tops. The patterns and colors were
spectacular with the blue sky and occasional white clouds as a backdrop.
Sometimes
there were colorful vines climbing up the trunk of a tree.
Some areas were just
mind boggling from the sheer beauty of nature around us. Unfortunately, the
clouds were rolling in and out which is fairly common in this part of Michigan.
While the impending weather pattern put a slight damper on our spirits it
didn’t slow us down too much. In fact we discovered several more irresistible
areas before we gave up for the day.
Now add a few white
birch trees into the mix and it gets even better. The birches seemed taller
than those we were familiar with in Alaska. And, many of the older trees were
snapped off. Maybe it was due to snow load or wind. This part of the state gets
an abundance of lake effect snow from Lake Michigan. Birch trees are soft wood
and have a short life cycle so they don’t withstand the harsh winters like the hardwood
trees—but they sure make for a striking contrast in pictures.
As
we came across a small lake or a pond we hiked in to check it out. We soon
discovered that the colorful trees were in abundance around any small body of
water. We also love taking reflection pictures.
With
the clouds moving in and beginning to look quite angry we took our cue and bid
farewell to this part of Michigan. We jumped back on Interstate 75 southbound and
headed towards Indiana--but, more on that later.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns