Well, I had hoped my second post of September would be a recap of everything we’re doing in the bus, and we’re very close to wrapping that up but not close enough to write a complete blog post! Instead, today you’ll be subjected to photos of our latest adventures, including lots of fall colors!

Truly, we haven’t been off adventuring often lately since the bus is priority, but we’ve had a few really nice days and that makes it hard to stay at work! We woke up to this gorgeous scene one morning, so I grabbed the camera and hopped outside. By the time I came back in, I had no feeling in my toes – there wasn’t quite frost on the ground but it was close!

A good friend of mine has started on a new adventure: beekeeping! As part of our learn-about-random-things summers in northern Michigan, Kyle and I each had a chance to suit up and peek inside the hives! Beekeeping is so complex, and so vital!

On (what feels like) the last warm weekend of the year, I convinced Kyle to head north for a quick hike. Just half a mile south of the trailhead is one of my favorite spots on M22, there’s a little sign that says “scenic turnout” so it’s easy to miss, but some of the best views of Lake Michigan are right here at Inspiration Point!

We had a great hike – it was so hot out! – and I was shocked to find that the views at Baldy Dune easily rival any at Sleeping Bear Dunes, but there are no fees for entry / parking! Even better, there were hardly any people on the trails so we practically had the dune to ourselves.

Way off in the distance, we could see the Frankfort lighthouse.

After our hike, we saw it up close when we stopped in Frankfort for a post-hike beer!

That was stop #3 for the day, and I had high hopes of flying the drone at every stop, but it was so windy along the shoreline that I didn’t want to risk it. So, despite our long day, I convinced Kyle to head to where the North Country Trail crosses the Manistee River. There’s a footbridge there known as the Little Mac (aka the little Mackinac Bridge). And no wind!

Part of the reason we ventured out was to see all the fall colors, but as soon as we got north of town everything was green! Turns out the best fall colors are right here where we’re staying! Since we still had beautiful warm weather, I took a couple drone trips last weekend to see what I could capture. The first spot, which has been on my list all summer, is an old family favorite: the Falmouth Dam!

My grandma used to live within walking distance of the dam, so most holiday meals were followed by a walk to see the water. It’s so loud that I could barely hear the drone (which is also pretty loud).

I stopped at a local fishing spot because the nearby forest was exploding in color, and got some beautiful shots of the autumn foliage!

I was invited to fly on private property, where I also took some of my all-time favorite drone photos. The scenery here is just beautiful!

The full truth is that the changing colors also stress me out a little bit. I know the weather isn’t in our favor right now, and when we leave here we’re going to have a few cold camping nights until we get further south. However, we’ve had such a great summer, and these fall photos remind me to slow down and embrace things as they currently are, instead of what I thought they should have been. If there’s any truth to our travels, it’s that we’re perpetually later than I thought we should have been, so why would this be any different?