Pleasant Winter Day

These past couple of days the weather has been so calm and relaxing. Bryan and I decided to take advantage of it yesterday and drove down to Empire. After stopping at the SBDNL Visitor's Center and the grocery store for a couple of needed items, we decided to go to the beach.

This park is a beautiful place to be at any time of the year. Lucky for us it's rather quiet in the winter months.

The Robert H. Manning Memorial Lighthouse decorated for the holidays.

The snow and sand always present an interesting display. This one isn't as impressive as others I've seen, but still intriguing.

The Sleeping Bear in the distance...

Bryan and Empire Bluff.

A slightly more attractive photo of Empire Bluff :).

A party on South Bar Lake?...

Nope, just a bunch of determined ice fisherman...they're much braver than me. The temps haven't been cold enough for me to feel safe walking out onto the ice!

D.H. Day Farm along S. Dune Highway (M-109) is one of the most recognized landmarks in the park.

A shot of what looks like a newly whitewashed D.H. Day barn.

Winter on the dunes.

Although it was a gloomy day, the calm winds and warmer temperatures made it an ideal day to be out and about, a sometimes rare opportunity up here during this time of the year.  It was a short and pleasant winter trek around the Sleeping Bear Dunes.