We got up before sunrise this morning. Of course we cheated a little since we had to turn the clocks back one hour this morning. Apparently the NPS was on a different clock because West Beach was still closed when we arrived. So we had to park at the Marquette Trail lot and sneak into West Beach.
The sun rose quickly and warmed the frost covered trees causing a bit of fog.
We crossed the entrance to West Beach and decided to hike the Long Lake Trail.
Roxie was moving slowly this morning so Christy took Oslo and Roxie & I trailed behind.
The dew drops were everywhere as the sun warmed the Earth. It looks like it will be another beautiful autumn day.
Depending on where the sun hit the trail we switched from heavy fog to brilliant sunshine often.
Oslo waiting for Roxie to catch up.
Here come the old girls.
Long Lake looking more like a marsh. It's been a very dry second half of the year.
The geese don't seem to mind the lack of water.
Roxie's hot breath on a cool morning.
Yes Virginia, there is cactus at the beach in Indiana.
Colors along the trail and on the dunes.
Roxie was limping so we decided to rest at the picnic shelters near the parking lots. Oslo impatiently waits for our hike to continue.
The next part of the hike is up the dunes...
...Chrissy took Oslo and I had Roxie, just in case she couldn't climb the sand dune.
It turns out that Roxie is a tough old girl, we made it up the dune faster than Oslo.
Now a very nice hike through the forest and up and down the dunes.
This was very cool to me. The only light in one of the valleys came streaming through the trees...
...I let Roxie off leash and took a lot of pictures trying to capture how magical it looked to me...
...Roxie got bored and tried to catch up to Oslo.
This section of the trail was amazing. As the sun warmed the trees, the frost and dew began dripping off of the leaves. As we walked by it sounded as if it was raining, I stood there listening to this for several minutes enjoying every moment. These rare moments make hikes like this unforgettable.
Christy listening to the 'rain' fall through the trees.
When we got back to the car, Mother Nature left her 'card' on the door handle for us.
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