November in Northwest Michigan

November comes,
And November goes
With the last red berries
And the first white snows,

With night coming early
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.

The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring.

                               -Elizabeth Coatsworth

                "November"

This past weekend offered us one last time to visit Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and the rest of northwest Michigan before winter sets in.  While many of the facilities Sleeping Bear Dunes are closed down for the season, the park is just as beautiful as it is during the Spring and Summer.  The big advantage to visiting in the "off-season" is that you will have the park almost to yourself - many of the places that we stopped at in the park were completely deserted.  This was a nice contrast to Summer when there is no place to park and other visitors always at hand.  

Sunday was cold and windy, with beautiful cloud formations during the entire day.

Poplar trees with Glen Lake in the background

Bare poplar trees

Dune Climb - Sleeping Bear Dunes

Red, White & Blue - Highbush Cranberry (red), Red Osier Dogwood (white) and Riverbank Grape (blue)

"the last red berries"

Beach rocks and clouds - the view west at Glen Haven

The view east at Glen Haven

On Monday (Veterans' Day), a strong wind had come out of the north and snow was falling. Winter wanted to let us know that it is not far away.  An inch of snow was on the ground by the time we left Traverse City and more was falling.  The storm followed us most of the way home.

Waves crashing on the seawall at the "Open Space" in Traverse City

"and the first white snows"