While visiting the Washington Park Festival of Lights in Michigan City, we walked over to the lake shore and headed out to the lighthouse. There was a bit of ice around the pier, so we decided to stay on shore.
6 second exposure.
The cold weather has settled in on the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. The wetlands are beginning to freeze over and lock everything in place until Spring.
I think I enjoy the beach and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore even more in the winter. While I don't like cold weather, I tend not to think about it when I'm immersed in it taking photographs.
Kintzele Ditch runs between two dunes, and it's mouth often changes course due to the high waves and currents of Lake Michigan. It's interesting to see it change from week to week.
Changes along the rest of the creek are most dramatic in the winter. Here, ice has formed along the edges of the creek, but as the water levels dropped, the ice lost support and came to a rest with a crash.
Soon, this stream will be frozen across - accept for a small portion where it drains into frozen Lake Michigan.
On my way home from work on Monday, I stopped by the Illinois and Michigan Canal for a few minutes. Just east of Lemont is a feeder stream that cascades into the canal. It's a great little place to stop and rest and take in the scenery. Not much to see at ground level, but if you climb down into the canal (you can do it if you're careful) it's a different world, and you quickly forget about the industry surrounding you - and you can't see or hear it!
Once at water level, you can get a view of the canal from a boatman's vantage point. The waterfall above is located just to the left and off the picture in the second image.
Of course, I forgot my tripod, but I was still able to blur the water hand-held without blurring the static objects. This is one of my favorite places along the entire canal.
Ground water can often be seen seeping out of the lower parts of sand dunes eroded by Lake Michigan or small streams. Here, along the shore of Lake Michigan, the waves have caused the dunes to collapse somewhat, and exposed layers of sand and mud. Water cannot percolate through the mud and clay, so it seeps out toward the lake.
During cold periods, the seepage freezes into beautiful ice walls such as these.
I think beaches are more fun in winter months: No crowds, no dogs, no bugs!
And yes, we found fossil crinoids! These hasn't been a day when we visited the beach and not found a crinoid fossil.
CBS in Chicago developed a project where photographers submitted photos of the Chicagoland area for voting and possible publication in a book. Users uploaded photos to the Capture my Chicago website, and the public had a few months to vote on the photos. The best photos were to be published in a coffee table photo book.
Over 2,800 photographers submitted over 28,000 images. The public voted and the top 200 or so photos were published in a book entitled "Capture My Chicago."
One of my photos was included in the book - Limestone Waterfall. This photo was taken just east of Lemont, IL, a suburb of Chicago. A small stream cascades into the man-made Illinois and Michigan Canal, a waterway cut by hand in the mid 1800's linking the Illinois River with Lake Michigan.
This canal ultimately linked the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River, making Chicago what it is today. Without the Illinois and Michigan Canal, there would have been no easy way to transport goods and supplies to the area. After the completion of the canal, the railroads (which paralleled the canal) took over and eventually made Chicago the hub for the railroad industry.
The book is available in Chicago Barnes and Noble and Borders bookstores.
Just days before the cold weather hit us, trees and limestone reflect in Rock Creek on a cool December afternoon.
This was as far as we could walk without having to climb back up to the top of the limestone wall. To proceed further, you either get your feet wet and walk in the water, or climb up and down the rock walls at various points in the canyon.
I really need to explore this a bit further than the 1/2 mile or so I've seen - maybe next spring.
With the Washington Park Festival of Lights taking place right next to the Old Michigan City, Indiana lighthouse, they seem to have gotten in the spirit as well. Last year, only the lantern room was decorated with Christmas lights.
It really fits in well with the festival of lights.
We've been to South Haven lots of times, but never wandered around the neighborhoods too much. After a walk on the pier, then along the beach, we decided to head up toward the homes along the lake, then into the surrounding neighborhood.
Along the way, we found ourselves at the intersection of Monroe and Monroe.
A giant Santa greets everyone passing the LaPorte, Indiana County Complex on Lincolnway. It was a warm weekend leading into December, but cold weather is on the way tonight, and perhaps some snow as well. - Santa should feel right at home.
Without all the leaves on the trees, the wetlands throughout the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore seem exposed and vulnerable, yet at times also appear foreboding.
While setting up to capture this image, I stood alone, in ankle deep water and knee-high grass. I heard a loud rustling a few feet to my right, and it was quickly heading towards me. Unlike almost any other environment, swamps evoke eerie mental images of misfortune and evil, and this was no exception. The dim evening light and cloudy skies created an eerie atmosphere as I searched for the source of the rustling.
"Most likely a beaver getting ready for winter" I thought - but I never did find out what it was...........
Climbing up a bit higher than the waterfall, gives a view of the little canyon that ends with this waterfall. This is a place I'd love to explore, but there's no easy way to get there.
It's a bit off the beaten path, and the falls only run in wet weather. To get there, you need to cross the main steam at the bottom of the upper dells, right at the place called Cedar Point.
Certainly place I'll explore a bit more next spring.
Recent rains guaranteed lots of water in the dells of Matthiessen State Park near Utica, Illinois. The lower dells were completely flooded and impossible to visit, but the upper dells were in good form.
This four foot tall portion of the 10 or 12 foot total drop was running pretty fast into Giant's Bathtub, a 50 foot diameter natural pool at the bottom of the canyon.
As the evening drew near, the partly sunny skies turned mostly cloudy, creating a haunting look on the dunes.
Mother nature rolled out a carpet of Maple leaves for the visitors and students attending North Central College's Homecoming festivities.
After several days of gloomy, rainy weather, the sun appeared on Sunday afternoon. With temperatures up near 60, I headed right for the beach!
The waves over the past few days really eroded the dunes, and created the little pool of water seen parallel to the shore of Lake Michigan. As the afternoon progressed, the sun disappeared behind rain clouds, and I jumped over the 6 foot wide pool of water to get a photo from the little sand "island" seen here. As soon as I landed, I sank into the loose, wet sand almost up to my knees. Not something I was prepared for! Lake Michigan is cold this time of year, and the wet sand seeped into my shoes instantly. It was not easy to get back to solid ground without crawling, but I managed.
I guess the sand eroded from the dune was simply deposited along the shore, and the wave action kept if from settling. It was almost like quicksand. I did manage to get out, and I also managed a few shots before I sank too far............what the heck, I was already wet.
North Central College's Old Main tower reflected in the wet pavement.
It was a beautiful Fall weekend at Matthiessen State Park, The temperatures were a bit cool but the sun was out (finally) and the leaves were vibrant. The lack of water in the streams was a bit disappointing, as the waterfalls were only trickles.
The streams hardly moved at all, so I decided to take a long exposure of the leaves along the stream bed. Apparently, the stream was moving!
The late afternoon sun really highlighted the autumn leaves at Matthiessen State Park on Sunday. This footbridge crosses over the top of Lake Falls, a 35 foot tall waterfall flowing from Matthiessen lake through the upper dells and into the lower dells of the state park.
The canyons are a great place to explore in any season, but fall is the most colorful for obvious reasons.
