Whitefish Bay

I arrived at Whitefish Point shortly after a storm passed.  The air was hot and it was muggy.  Additionally, the mosquitoes were the worst I can remember encountering.  But I braved it all for these images.  I met fellow photographer Ken there and we headed to the beach to get some pictures.


 

This cumulonimbus cloud was catching the setting sun.


 

In the opposite direction the sun was setting.  I caught this ship sailing off into Lake Superior.  Some sharp-eyed boatnerds told me it was the Algoma Montrealis.

I turned back and saw this.  I'd moved down the beach a little and these pilings served to create some foreground interest.

This is essentially the same shot with a little different work done in post. 

The short boardwalk behind the lighthouse provided this view. 

Just a quick shot of some of the branches of the trees at the raised platform at the end of the boardwalk.

After that, we headed out to Whitefish Point.  The actual point.  In all the times I've been to Whitefish Point Lighthouse, I've never actually gone out to the point.  We couldn't get to the waters edge because the area is the nesting ground for an endangered bird.  We didn't linger too long because the mosquitoes were incredibly bad and even though we'd put on bug spray, and reapplied it after taking the boardwalk behind the complex, it seemed to be losing its effectiveness rapidly.

Heading back towards the lighthouse I stopped for this shot.

Trout Lake area and St. Ignace

The sun was setting as we headed back to St. Ignace.  Shortly after we passed through Trout Lake, we came across this scene.  It is hard to see, but there was a bright red-orange streak that looked like it was rising into the sky.  We pulled off and took a couple of pictures.

Although the sky isn't as vibrant, I like this one a bit better as the foreground is lighter.

I'd reserved a room at the Quality Inn in Saint Ignace knowing that it was going to be a long day.  We could have made it back to Ypsi if we'd wanted to, but by the time we were done eating we were both glad we were staying.  This moose was located just outside the entrance to the hotel.  Unknown to me at the time, and not noticed until looking through pictures to post, my car is reflected in the front door.

This moose is on the corner of US 2 and the road the hotel is on.  If you've been along US 2 in St. Ignace, you've probably seen this.  Here it appears to be sprouting a McDonald's sign from it.  I just shot this from the window of my car. 

Sunset over Lake Michigan - Wilderness State Park

As you're heading to the end of the road it forks, one branch leading to the west, the other south. If you head south, you come to a nice parking area where you can walk to the shore if you don't mind getting your feet wet. It is nice there and I wish I'd have arrived earlier so I could have gotten some better pictures. Again, this doesn't really convey how cold it was.