» deadman's hill
I've never hiked it, but the Jordan River Pathway is supposed to be one of the nicer places to backpack in lower Michigan. Deadman's Hill would be the starting point for such a hike and it offers a panoramic view of the Jordan River Valley. We lucked out and caught the trees at peak color.

The view over the Jordan River Valley from Deadman's Hill.

The road to Deadman's Hill.

Jordan River Valley.

Me waking along the fence at the edge of Deadman's Hill (Photo by Megan).

Wide angle view of the Jordan River Valley.

Megan on the fence, and the story of Deadman's Hill.

» sleeping bear dunes
The trees along the lakeshore were much more green due to the warming effect of Lake Michigan, but there were pockets of nice color a bit more inland.

The view from Empire Bluffs.

Pierce Stocking Drive.

Sunset on Sleeping Bear Bluffs. The bluffs may not look tall in this shot but they actually rise nearly 500 feet above the shore.

Sleeping Bear Point and the Manning Memorial Lighthouse as seen from Empire Bluffs.

Dead tree.

For some reason, there were a lot of dead birds on the beach. This one wasn't dead, but I assume it was injured since it didn't fly away when I got close. Some quick internet research indicates that the birds died from botulism which they caught by eating zebra and quagga mussels, invasive species that filter the lake water and end up with concentrated bacteria in their systems. The recent wind storm probably washed the birds ashore from far off places. It was interesting because a lot of the birds, like this one, were species that I had never seen before.

Left: Sunset. Right: Megan on the dunes above the Dune Climb.

The DH Day Barn as seen from the Dune Climb.

Sleeping Bear Bluffs.

Vibrant trees.

Beach graffiti. Michigan played Illinois in football that night and won in a close game.

» boyne
We spent our first night at Boyne Mountain because it was one of the few places that still had available rooms. This area ended up having the best fall foilage we saw, lots of maple trees that were brilliant shades of yellow, orange, and red.

Vibrant trees on Boyne Mountain.

Trees on Boyne Mountain (Photo by Megan).

Views from the top of Boyne Mountain: Trees, and the Grand Lodge.

» avalanche mountain, boyne city
I doubt there has ever been an avalanche on Avalanche Mountain (it's not that tall), but the top does give you a nice view of Lake Charlevoix and the surrounding area.

The view from Avalanche Mountain.

» surfing on lake michigan, frankfort
It was a windy day which kicked up some nice waves and brought out the surfers.

Surfing near Frankfort. There were also some kite surfers who looked like they were having a blast.

Left: Breakwater doing it's job. Right: Kite surfer.

Left: Frankfort lighthouse. Right: A small mouse that was running around the beach aimlessly.

» all photo reports from lower michigan