Please accept my humble apologies for my poor success rate in the blogging sphere as of late. But, for what it's worth, here is a brief encapsulation of my journeys, littered with a healthy helping of pictures. I'm essentially going to let the pictures tell the story and commentate as I go along. If you would like to see more pictures, I have posted many more on my Photography page.

I headed out Monday for Holland, MI, which is right on the shores of Lake Michigan. On the way I stubled across this beuatiful but abandoned church off an exit I happened to stop at.



A little sad, actually.

I then arrived in Holland right at sunset. It was beautiful!


A rather common scene around the lake.


The lighthouses were stunning!


Looking out at the pier.


A storm had just came through before I got there and the lake was in turmoil. It gave a whole new meaning to me of waves "crashing" against the shore!


Some shores are pure sand, but a lot of them have these smooth rocks mixed in as well.


A seagul feather I found right at sunrise in the sand. It still has the dew on it.


This was the standard foot attire during the trip. It's kind of hard to get that much sand out of a regular pair of shoes


I camped that night right near the shore and headed out early the next morning. I stopped off at a state park and walked up the beach until I found this sand dune. For no reason in particular I decided it would be a good idea to climb it just to see if I could do it. It was hot, very steep, and you slid 1/2 step back for every step you took forward, but it was worth it!


Here is a view from the top of the sand dune. Coming back down was so much fun! It felt like flying.


My next stop was this light house about halfway up the Lower Peninsula. It happened to be open that day and you could climb to the top for $2. It was definitely worth it!


It was such a steep climb! I literally hugged the steps in front of me on the way up because you have to stay in the center. Just a little bit scary.


120 steps later, I arrived!


The view was amazing!


Yep, and it felt it


I ended up in Traverse City that night. Again, I arrived right near sunset, set up camp, and snapped a few pictures before bed.


My campsite in Traverse City.


I ran across this cool little chapel along Highway 31. I walked in to hear someone reading from Psalm 91, which I had memorized once in school. Pretty cool.


At the 500 mile mark. A little under half-way through my journey.


That was my destination for the day, Mackinaw City.


I became very well aquanted with this highway! I traveled it a good portion of the way up the west coast.


A cool little store that I found just south of Mackinaw. They had good butter pecan ice cream! The dog was unusually friendly too.


Just getting ready to cross the bridge. It's about 5 miles across.


Going under one of the spans.


I love the Upper Peninsula! It's so beautiful, and untamed.


A piece of driftwood I found along the lake.


This was about 200 yards from my campsite on the Tahquemenon River. It was... beyond words beautiful that night!


What I wouldn't have given to be the person in that kayak!


Definitely one of my favorite photo shoots.


This guy pulled out an 18" lake trout on his second cast. Wanna go fishin'?


It was right at sunset.


One of my favorites from the trip.


It was kind of hard to take a 'bad' picture under these beautiful conditions.


The same scene at sunrise.


I had to laugh when I read this sign


My next stop were to the Tahquemenon Falls where I rented a row boat and took it over to the island where you can get the best view of the falls.


You could get much closer than I expected. It was pretty cool!


Another shot of the Lower Falls


I then drove up to the Upper Falls a few miles away.


I knew Michigan was beautiful, but I didn't realize just how beautiful until this trip. I'm especially fond of the UP.


I love cloud-cover like this! It makes for some neat pictures.


Why not?


I can't remember which lake this is. Either Lake Michigan or Superior.


Another of my favorites. This was at a little lake near the bottom of the UP.


A black and white shot. I love using that setting on my camera


Getting ready to cross back over the bridge to meet my Mom in Mackinaw City.


A shot of the bridge from the campground we were staying at.


There was a harvest moon that night. Stunning! I need to work on my moon shots, though. This really doesn't capture how beautiful it was!


A night shot of the bridge with the stars just beginning to peek out.


My Mom and I headed over to Mackinac Island on Friday. Probably my favorite vacation spot of all time We came here every year growing up.


There are no motor vehicles allowed on the Island, and they happened to have an antique bike show that day. Ironically enough, it was a bicycle club from my hometown and we knew a couple of the members.


My transportation of choice for the Island. I rented it for 3 1/2 hours and enjoyed to the hilt!


Looking up at Ach Rock on the Island.


This is the half-way point on the bike trail that runs on the outskirts of the Island (it's about 8 miles around). It's calld British Landing as this is where they attacked the Island when they conquered it during the war. Quite a story.


My family loved to ride the bike trails up in the middle of the Island growing up. I was a little young then, but I made up for it this year! It was definitely the "road less traveled"! This was one of our favorite trails, Murray Trail. My legs ached like none other when I crossed the 3 hour mark but it was worth it!


Halfway through the Murray Trail.


There are some pretty steep and, dare I say, dangerous parts of the trail. There was a 300' dropoff just to the left of this shot. Fun stuff!


A quick shot of the Governor's Mansion, where the governor of Michigan stays when he or she is on the Island. She wasn't there that day


A typical shot down mainstreet. Lots of bikes and lots of horses


A friend of ours who rode his antique bike 75 miles around the Island (that's over 9 times around) that day. He must have the leg muscle of a superhero


Dismounting from the bike.


Our ferry of choice, the Arnold Line.


We passed this mammoth yacht on our way out of the bay. It's for rent if you're interested


A quick shot near the base of the bridge.


I love all the wild flowers that grow in such abundance in Michigan.


A little closer.


Just me near the bridge.


My Mom and I went on a walk and I snapped a this picture along the way.


A closeup night shot of the bridge.


It was a little foggy that night which added a cool effect, especially in black & white.


We were also lucky enough to see some fireworks they set off in St. Ignace, right across the bridge in the UP.


One last shot for the night.


A lighthouse that is not in use anymore. However, they still keep it up as a historical site.


We took a cruise Sunday night (a free Christian cruise where they sing hymns, preach a short message, and take you on a hour and a half cruise under the bridge). Defintiely a highlight of the trip.


It allows you to get some really unique shots of the bridge.


A buoy near the bridge.


Another shot under the bridge.


The sunrise the day we left.


I've never seen a rainbow in a sunrise. You can see it on the left. It was remarkable.


A closer shot of the rainbow.


One last shot before we headed out.

Well, that pretty much sums it up. My journey took me nearly 1,100 miles up the west coast of Michigan, and back down the center of the state. It was definitely a trip to remember. God was real. He blessed me with awesome weather and photographic conditions, and I gained a new awe at the splendor of God's creation.

-Ryan
P.S. Please note that only 2-3 of these photos have had any editing done to them, so please be gracious in your critique
P.S.S. For those interested, these photos were shot with a Canon 40D DSLR camera using two lenses, the Canon 18-55mm and the Tamron 28-70mm 2.8.

Tags: fun, Photography, West Coast