A week or two ago I made a last minute decision to head back up into the thumb of Michigan, because the weather was going to be clear, and because I was able to book a campsite.

I wanted to try one more time to get that elusive Milky Way in a place that is darker than my Bortle 4/5 here at home.

Plus, I knew I’d get to drive through those yellow soybean fields again, and I might find a barn or two or three worth stopping for.

And of course I did.

Once I set up camp at the Port Crescent State Park I meandered further up into the thumb until I arrived at Pointe aux Barques Lighthouse, a place Katie and I had visited a time or two in years past.

There’s a campground attached to the grounds that I hoped was empty. It wasn’t, but it wasn’t as full as it would be in the summer. So I wandered around the lighthouse grounds and then waited for the sky to get dark.

The Milky Way, up in the Southwest early in the evening this time of year, wasn’t in a position to be over the lighthouse, but it was above the other historical structures on the grounds.

The challenge, as it always is with a lighthouse, was the bright light the tower itself was projecting. I tried to time my 15 second shot to be between the beams of light, but it was hard. Plus there was the campground, with it’s green lights and cars coming and going.

So, once again, I wasn’t thrilled with the Milky Way images, but shooting out over Saginaw Bay was fun. There was a tree on the top of the bluff, and the Big Dipper was just above it. Though it’s hard to see the Big Dipper because the camera sees so many more stars than our eyes do.

Regardless of the results, and as always, I loved being out there. The air was warm, the stars were bright, the moon had taken a nap, there were people nearby but not too close and I could hear the waves lapping at the bottom of the bluff.

This might have been my last attempt for this Milky Way season. October won’t have many opportunities, and we’ll have to see what the weather does. I plan to spend the winter studying the information in my Milky Way Photography class.

There’s so much more to learn.