Spring to Fall

One of the goals of this Great Loop trip was to follow the Spring up the East Coast, then follow the Fall down the interior of the country.  A year without a hot summer: a unique experience for two Floridians.

 Earlier posts have documented the spring flowers beginning their bloom along the Eastern Seaboard.  The calendar-specified Summer was spent in the Georgian Bay and North Channel, where high temperatures were in the 70's and sometimes 80's.

The photos at right of the leaves changing colors, signifying the beginning of Fall, were taken August 25th, in Charlevoix, Michigan.  Fall has begun at these higher latitudes.  Charlevoix is located at 45 degrees, 19 minutes north - still in the upper half of the Northern Hemisphere.  Low temperatures in the high 40's have sparked the annual ritual of the trees.  The colors signal that the trip south should begin.

The 45th parallel was crossed, first by car, on the drive to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Seashore -- deemed by Good Morning America and others as the most beautiful place in the United States.  It is beautiful and a later post will share some photography and stories.  The next day, Last Dance crossed the 45 degree line, heading south.