Fall Camping at it’s Best

I’d have given anything to bottle up the weekend of October 25th, 2014. Camping at Brighton Recreation Area, we were blessed with clear, blue skies all weekend, temps reaching the low 70s each sunny day. This is truly my favorite time of year for outdoor photography, and I planned to get in as much shooting as I could.

We took advantage of this wonderful breezy weather, taking many walks through the park and down the bike trails.  The gravel path below connects one of the campground loops with the beach area.

At one entrance to the bike path was a huge, very old willow tree.  Hanging from it was a sign talking about salicin, a natural substance produced from the bark of willow trees, which aspirin replaced as a synthetic form.  (You learn things in the most random places!) The trunk of this massive tree was easily five feet in diameter, its bark knotted and gnarled. I imagined what these surroundings looked like when this tree was a sapling, decades and decades ago.

It was also the day of the Michigan/Michigan State game in East Lansing.  All throughout the park, flags were flying from trailers and RVs either maize and blue, or green and white. People walking their dogs around the loop sporting their team logo on jackets or sweatshirts, and friendly competitive banter ensued as they passed by. With our lawn chairs encircling the TV, we relaxed in the warm sun watching U of M unfortunately get their asses handed to them.

Brighton’s Halloween Campout was the weekend prior, and as we walked through the park, random candy wrappers fluttered in the breeze.  Returning to our site, a rather unique leaf had landed on our picnic table.

Fall is still my favorite time to camp. As I feared, this weekend turned out to be our last camping excursion for 2014, and we winterized shortly after returning home.  I guess when things come to an end, it give you something to look forward to, which I’m learning is almost as fun as the experience.