Up North in October

Road Trip!

We've been to Frankfort, MI and the surrounding area many times in the summer, and J and I headed up last week to see what's different in the fall. 

We took a detour through Manistee and walked along the river and visited some shops. It was a bit cold and rainy, so we didn't stay long. We stopped at at the Arcadia Overlook on our way from Manistee to Frankfort. 

During our day out touring the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore, we enjoyed some rain and sunny weather, often together. 

We hiked to the top of the bluff overlooking Lake Michigan at Pyramid Point, where we saw a complete rainbow - both ends and the entire arc were visible. I wasn't able to get a picture of it, because the lens on my camera wasn't wide enough to capture the whole thing. We also drove the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, which we had driven by many times in the past, but had never visited. 

The leaves were just starting to change in most places, so we didn't get the full-color treatment we were hoping for when we planned the trip a few months ago. But the views and cold air were new and refreshing. 

On the day we were leaving Frankfort, there was a small parade through town and we stayed to watch and hit some Frankfort shops before heading home. 

The snow fences are one difference between Frankfort in July and October.

At the Pyramid Point trailhead, there's a sign that let's you know what you should or shouldn't do. I find it a bit ambiguous - for example, if a pet is on a snowmobile, is that OK? If I need to take a nap under the trees to rest from a long hike, is that considered camping? 

The "left" part of the full rainbow. The fixed focal-length lens I had on my camera could get this much in one shot...

Here's the "right" part of the rainbow. If you put the pictures next to each other and blur your eyes, you can see the whole thing. 

You will not be the least bit surprised to know that people were indeed going way down towards the bottom. Sadly, we didn't hear any cries for help. Maybe next time. 

At the parade, the "pet costume" section featured this human dressed as a hamburger, leading some "french fry" dogs. She didn't have any ketchup, although her bun hat does appear to be sesame seed, which helps. 

Uncle Spokes the Clown displayed whimsy and expert bike navigation as he greeted his fans. At the beginning of the parade, he had seven other clowns in his basket, who exited in the classic "Volkswagen" manner. 

There's a lot to see here. Fortunately, this float remained parked in town for a while after the parade so we could read everything. There were no prizes for floats that I'm aware of, but if there were, this would be up for "Most Thorough".

An evening picture at the pier. The man on the pier has several fishing lines in the water, and there were some pretty significant waves. 

The obligatory sunset photo. Note all the benches lined up on the beach, and the snow fences ready to be rolled out. The benches are normally spread out over the beach, but they are collected before winter and stored together.

Happy Winter to Frankfort! See you next year.