The last of a three post series illustrating three distinct ecosystems which one travels through on the Miller Woods trail at the Indiana Dunes National Park. Part one covers the Black Oak forest and Swales which dominate the first mile of the trail. Part two takes you through the lagoons and into the foredunes. This final post high lights the youngest dunes which border the beach along the southern shore of lake Michigan.
After winding along the edge of the lagoon the trail has turned back to the north and just the other side of these trees lies Lake Michigan. The low roar of the waves rolling in on the beach is very noticeable here.
The first glimpse of the lake. On this day there was a steady 10mph to 15mph wind coming off the lake whose waters were cooler than the air temperature further inland. So there was a noticeable chill in the air. This particular stretch of the trail is absolutely packed with poison ivy along both sides. It has mostly packed it in for the year now, but in the summer going off trail could result in quite a rash.
This close to the beach there are few trees, mostly grasses and shrubs.
The sandy soil here is usually not prime territory for fungi. Clearly there is some decaying material beneath the surface which these recently sprouted mushrooms are linked to. Maybe a piece of old driftwood which was slowly covered by the marching sands.
This is the view to the west, parallel to the shoreline. The treelined rise on the right side of the photograph is the final wind break before emerging onto the beach.
And here we are, at the beach on a lovely fall afternoon. Despite being off season there were a few people out enjoying a day at the beach. For me this is decent beach weather, and I enjoy the lack of crowds this time of year.
These lines in the sand are from blades of Marram Grass blowing about in the wind and whipping against the sand. All up and down the beach you will find little tufts of Marram grass with circular patterns in the sand around them.
Looking to the west once can see the heavy industry which lines a good chunk of the southern shore of lake Michigan. Miller Woods is at the very western edge of the park and abuts right up against the Gary Works steel mill complex which provides a fascinating contrast with the remarkable biodiversity of this particular trail. But that is a subject for another post.
I did of course collect many photographs of the little things, the details along the trail.
