Sept. 16, 2022 — I took this photo while on a long hike around Good Harbor Bay. I was with Sonny and we were taking our time drifting from the cedar woods, the shore dunes, and the pebble-strewn beach. For millions of visitors who swam and trekked and paddled our Northern Michigan beaches and waterways during the summer, the center of this bay, which is two miles from the nearest road access, can be one of the quietest places in the north.
As I neared that remote centerpoint, an object marked a subtle reward for my efforts like some golden ticket. It was an expertly located sitting log — laying perfectly, just ten feet up from the lapping waves and exactly horizontal to the water. And so I sat on the east end of the log and looked back at where I came from and back to Leland and thought of my Mom up at Effie’s Place. I sat on the west end and looked toward Glen Arbor and thought about home and work. And then I sat on the center of the log and looked north far out to the lake and to the sun and waves and thought about nothing for a long time.
I haven’t been back to see what position that giant log sits today. Have the waves pushed it so it’s facing Leland, my Mom and the past? Is it facing Glen Arbor, my boys and the future? Or is it pointed again to the center of the lake, to this moment in time with its fullness of water and sky? It sounds like a good trek for Steph and I and Sonny this weekend.
