Wild Flowers | MC^2 Nature Photography

Now of course the point of going rain camping is not to simply experience rain while sitting under a tarp (see my previous post if this makes no sense). A three day camping trip to the dunes means three days of hiking and nature photography. As it turns out however, rain does in fact produce some of the best conditions for both hiking and photography. So rainy weather really is a win/win.

The following is a sampler of the photos I took over during these camping excursions.

Bailly Calumet Trail – Day One Before The Rain

The False Solomons Seal is fading fast.

I love the intricate detail and depth in this spider webbing.

Great Marsh – Day Two, Constant Rain

(I mean what beats a wetland ecosystem for rain hiking?)

Spider webs in the rain are simply beautiful and provide a never ending source of wonder. Notice how the water drops tend to collect at the vertices where different threads come together. They really highlight the structure of the web. Click on the image to see a full resolution version and zoom in, each drop also forms a perfect image of the world around it.

Dunewood Campground – Late Afternoon Rain

Relaxing with a coffee beverage after an afternoon spent in the Great Marsh. Here is the view from my camping tarp rain shelter. When I was not looking over the images from the day, I simply sat and took in the campground vibe.

Cowles Bog – Day Three, After The Rains

Not the brightest or most saturated colors among the wildflowers along this trail. But one of the most compelling for sure.

I am guessing that mid September is getting late in the year for bumble bees. Of the few that I saw they all seemed pretty lethargic. Earlier in the summer they are very active and almost never sit still, so it is difficult to get a good clear image of their faces.

The carcass of a dead hawk, lying just off the trail. I smelt it before I saw it. No idea how it died. It was right alongside a recently fallen tree branch, but it is difficult to imagine that it what killed it. I could not figure out if it’s head was missing or just twisted underneath the rest of the body.

More rapidly fading False Solomons Seal. I like to capture the foliage when it is decaying as much as when it is at it’s peak. It is all part of the cycle of nature and no less beautiful.

Early signs that autumn is approaching.

Cowles Bog has been undergoing an extensive restoration for at least the last 10 years. Although it may not look like it, the ground in this area is very soft and marshy. I always knew that the park’s resource management teams did a lot of work in the heart of the marsh. This photograph of a Marsh Master vehicle shows how they gain access to these areas.

The view across the wetland which is Cowles Bog with the forested dunes in the background.

Can you spot the young buck in this photograph? He is standing up and looking back at me. A nice illustration of how tall and lush the vegetation is.

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!