This is the third in a series of posts examining an abandoned stretch of Beverly dr. through a portion of the Great Marsh in the Indiana Dunes National Park. The post A New Favorite Trail gives an overview of the series. The preceding posts, Abandoned Beverly – Spring and Summer, show the same area as it appeared earlier in the year.
The following photographs were all taken during a hike in early autumn 2023.
(You can click on any of the images to see them full size.)
This visit was almost a picture perfect day, though a bit on the hot and humid side for my tastes. On this particular day I was focused on getting photographs of Goldenrod Crab Spiders, which were the subject of another post. But I did of course get plenty of photos of other things along the way. Other than the clearer skies, the view down into the Great Marsh does not look all that different from when I was here in June. Lets go down and see what things look like along Beverly dr. from a closer perspective.
Here I am standing on Beverly dr, looking back up the Beverly Shores trail which I took down from the Dune Ridge trail. Almost all of the Beverly Shores trail was well maintained thanks to the efforts of one of the park rangers who lives in the area. This short stretch however is pretty overgrown and packed with tics. Any time I walk through a section of trail like this I always stop to do a quick tic check, sure enough a couple had hopped on my pant legs and were promptly evicted.
By now I am pretty familiar with this abandoned stretch of Beverly dr. Although it may not look all that different than it appeared in mid-summer, the wildflower scene had matured quite nicely.
From this point on there really is not much left to say, so I will let the images speak for themselves. Needless to say it was an awesome day to be out in nature. Then again, any day out in nature is an awesome day!
Look close near the center of this photograph. Those suckers are tough to spot, the blend in so well.
To be continued this winter…