A bright sunny morning in early September reminds us that this may be one of the last hot days we're going to have to explore the beaches of Lake Michigan. Summer may be winding down, but there are still plenty of beautiful days ahead on the lakeshore - even if it is snowing.
The rise of Lake Michigan has taken a toll on some of the dunes, washing the edges into the lake, but it's a natural process. The beach is starved of sand, and little sand is replaced as the waves crash into the dunes.
What this process has done is all but eliminated the flat beaches of Central Avenue Beach and Mt. Baldy. A beach that was once several meters wide, is now touching the water's edge in places. Trees that once stood on top of the dunes have fallen down the dunes and into the lake.
This natural process of constant change makes me wonder how the dunes appeared centuries ago, and what they'll look like centuries from now.
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