Growing up, my parents had some friends who would go to Michigan to visit family (Big deal, I thought at the time – having been to Lake Erie. Ironically, the family they visited lives about thirty miles from me now!). Being good friends, they brought my parents back souvenirs on at least one occasion, one of which was a coffee cup that read “My friends went to Michigan and all I got was this mug.” Or something like that.
Last night we drove up to the tippy top of Old Mission Peninsula, armed with beach blanket, bug spray, camera, spare batteries, and an open view of the sky. We camped out under the stars for three hours watching the occasional meteor blaze by. Other sky gazers oooohed and aaaaahed when a particularly long-tailed one trailed through the Milky Way – like a really good firework, but more magical for being more elusive.
The night sky is like that. Countless stars fill the inky space, surrounded by even more planets. You can only see just a tiny fraction of it. It is So.Big. And we are a part of it. Little old us. How miraculous.
So anyway, we’re out there having our spiritual moments, taking dozens of pictures (using a remote), each of which takes 25 seconds to collect. We oooh and aaah and were truly amazed by the meteors, but all I got was this:
One photo out of nearly 100 with a meteor.
Also, I took these when I gave up on the shooting stars:
Click for a bigger version (on Flickr, since I get practically unlimited storage there)
The Perseids will be peaking for at least another night, so I’ll try again. And it’s not like I walked away empty-handed. Some things you only get to see when you’re not behind the lens – like all the meteors we simply watched.
If you can, get out there tonight and look up! Perhaps we can watch the stars together 🙂
Adventures in Michigan's Up North 
Gosh, all you got was that mug. *grin* Beautiful heavens! So inspiring.
Most of my coffee cups are Christmas themed, so I don’t see how I could go wrong 😉
Gorgeous.
Thank you!
I thought of you. I camped in the back yard with no rain fly on Saturday night. Minus the dog so I could just relax….it wasn’t really dark enough at 9:30 when I went out there…through the front door so she’d think I was going to work and not cry….and I fell sound asleep right away. I only woke at 1:30 a.m. when some idiot burned rubber on the road…and by then we had clouds…so I missed it. It’s been raining now for almost two days…so …sigh. I was HOPING you’d get to see it and share it with us! Thanks! 🙂
So happy I could oblige 🙂 And likewise, I’m glad you went camping for me! We had a friend up from Atlanta this week, and had sort of planned on camping over on South Manitou. Since they recommend adding a buffer of two days in case waters are too rough for the ferry, we decided we couldn’t ensure he’d make his flight back home. So, well done to you 🙂
Sounds amazing to camp on the island….:)
When it happens, I’ll let you know!
Hi! I am the Director of the Mission Point Lighthouse, and would love to use this shot! Please email me if you have any more shots that you’d be willing to share for publications. Very nice! Thanks.
I replied to your question via email. I do have some more photos, which you may or may not be interested in 🙂