Moonset over Lake Michigan July 13, 2022
i wandered early
to blue water, as the moon
slipped silently in
July 12 2022
My urge to wander outdoors again was so intense today. This summer I have been indoors more than normal. Not too many hikes or trail runs – and those few too short. I decided to head out Wednesday – cancel everything else, get up really early and go. But the urge was already so strong that Tuesday evening, after watching sunset with friends, I went back out alone in the blue hour, to the beach. The sun still casts light “upward” to the horizon then, and bathes it in pink and blue orange and red light. Silhouettes are more dramatic – like the little bit of driftwood I caught in a photo looking like a monster or a long pleading arm reaching out over the water.
July 13 2022
Wednesday, July 13 – morning. I woke before 5 am. I wanted to see the moon set, knowing it was full or nearly full today, and moonset was supposed to take place at 5:38. I looked at the weather app and it said “mostly cloudy” so I thought I might not get to see much; but I figured I might as well go down anyway since I was already wide awake. I grabbed my camera and a couple of extra batteries and walked down. I could see from the road that it was dramatic. A big orange ball of light. You could look at the picture I took with my iPhone and think it was the sun setting and not the moon; if it wasn’t for the time of day…but when I got the picture with my “real” camera there wasn’t any doubt it was the moon, a reflection of light on the surface not an internal light of its own. You could see the dark lava “seas” and pockmarked meteor strikes. You could look straight at it without harming your vision. It was magnificent. I breathed in the humid air and felt my luck.
July 13 2022 Later
My next step was to go back home and pack up for a day-long hiking trip to the Warren Dunes.
The dunes didn’t disappoint. It was warm; but there was a breeze and once I rolled up my hiking pants and put on a pair of ankle socks in place of my tall socks (with the precaution of bug repellant on my legs and arms), I was perfectly comfortable. Ok – lets just say as comfortable as you can be with too much camera equipment in your backpack; walking through spider webs and little gnats flying into your eyes. These are things that happen on hikes. The dunes have sandy trails, even in the woods, so you get sand in your shoes and on your skin and it sticks to you because of the bug spray and sunscreen. but this is the thing. There you are freaking out about a bug; and you step out into a clearing and see these rolling dunes and the great lake beyond and the sky so big above you. Then a minute later there’s a dragon fly perched on a leaf, or a chipmunk pausing on the boardwalk, or a beautiful leopard lily blossom by the way post. I was so struck by it. The contrast between the vast and and the small. Infinity in both And there I was in the middle of it all. Happy as a camper. Really.
Knowing this would probably be the closest thing to a camping trip for at least month or two for me; I decided to really take my time on the hike. Stopping every thirty minutes or so to take in the view, drink some water; look around me and be still.