I wake up early Saturday morning. I wander around my bedroom, still groggy, and read the post-its I wrote for myself last night, “Don’t forget! Sunscreen! Water! Snacks!!!” In my half awake state it’s a miracle I remember anything.
I pack up the car, run back inside for the sunscreen I forgot, and then start my journey northwards to Point Beach State Forest.
I know about Point Beach through my interest in the Ice Age Trail. The trail meanders through both woodland and sand dunes. Scattered throughout the state forest are low lying marshes and forest pools known as ridges which are remnants of old beaches from the ancient glacial lake Nisipissing.
I take my time wandering through the woods. I am the only person out here on the trail, which I find odd. I had to drive past a campground full of dozens of people to find a parking spot, shouldn’t I have seen someone by now? Regardless, I enjoy the solitude. I snap some pictures of columbine blooming on the trail-side. Then I get to the beach.
The forest trail butts up to the beaches of the state forest, and it is a quick climb over a few sand dunes to get to Lake Michigan. I look around and the sky is a brilliant jewel blue, there are pelicans bobbing in the waves just off-shore, and I have an entire stretch of beach to myself.
The only other sign of civilization, other than the trail that led me here, is a small sailboat just on the horizon.
It has been a cold spring and early summer. The wind coming off the lake is brisk and the water is freezing. It is 80 degrees in other parts of the state today, but as they say, it is always cooler by the lake. I agree, it really is.
Links to even more Little Adventures:
Field Day 