Some places make you slow down. The Keweenaw Peninsula is that place for me. I had spent six weeks of midsummer revisiting the places and memories that feel most like me. There is nowhere I feel more at home.
On my last weekend, I drove to Copper Harbor to pick up a ring I had left in my life jacket after a sea kayaking tour the day before. On the drive back to town, the light over Lake Superior began to soften. The drive along the coast is about twenty five minutes, and with each passing minute, the colors grew more vivid. The afterglow spread across the sky like a watercolor wash.
The wind had gone still. All I could hear were soft ripples brushing the shore. The afterglow drew me in, and I couldn’t look away.
I pulled over at an overlook above a bay where I had spent so many summer days swimming, camping, and chasing sunsets. The evening was especially chilly, and I had the beach to myself. For a little while, it felt as if the sun was setting just for me and I was the only person on Earth in that moment.
I captured this photograph of that moment, as the day gave way to evening and the lake held the last light. But a photograph can only hold so much. The real beauty is being there, feeling the stillness, smelling the pine, and watching the colors change with your own eyes.
Lake Superior rewards those willing to follow the light. I’ll leave the way there for you to discover. Part of the magic is in the chase.
