Lines in the Sand

On our hike from Lake Michigan, we encountered plenty of interesting things on the Silver Lake dunes. We began our hike in early morning, after a snowfall which covered areas of the dune landscape.  Even with the cold weather, as the day drew on, some of the snow melted, and in some areas, the melted snow left moist spots on the dunes.



These moist areas followed the contours of the low areas of the dunes, creating striking patterns meandering the landscape.  They changed rather quickly as the moisture absorbed into the sand, and then evaporated in the bright sun.

Broken only by the occasional leafless tree, the patterns seemed to stretch forever in some places, painting the otherwise mundane surface with interesting patterns.



Over time, trees are buried by the shifting sands, and they die in place.  Many decades later, the sands move on and the trees are uncovered, these remnants are scattered around the dunes like driftwood cairns marking the way.