Michigan Lakes

Just home from a 10-day stint on two of the most beautiful lakes in all of Michigan: Crystal Lake and the namesake beauty itself, Lake Michigan. Having grown up in Ohio, I certainly enjoyed my summers on Lake Erie, but it wasn't until I traveled north in middle school, to Torch Lake and Lake Michigan near Traverse City, that I really realized how amazing a Midwestern lake could be. The best ones are as blue as the ocean out deep, turquoise and crystal clear as the South Pacific near the shoreline. 

This first shot is of the beach in Frankfort, Michigan, just as the sun was setting on the Fourth of July before a fantastic fireworks display that has easily become one of the best I've ever seen: no cheesy pseudo-patriotic music, no vast distance between crowd and action. The fireworks in Frankfort blast from the pier just a hundred yards from a white sandy beach packed with 5,000 people. And this year, the grand finale upped the ante and simply floored anybody who was paying any kind of attention.

The second shot is of gorgeous Crystal Lake from a coveted vista from my mother-in-law's cottage. The view easily leaves deck splinters in your jaw . . .