St. Ignace Fireworks

 After an evening paddle in Les Cheneaux Islands, I headed back to my hotel in St. Ignace and arrived just in time to unload, grab my tripod and Nikon and head down to the waters edge to view fireworks! I didn't even learn of the fireworks until a few days before I left and was a nice surprise! I didn't have to fight the crowds or find a parking spot either, I just meandered down to the waters edge in front of the hotel where I had viewed the sunrise in silence earlier in the day.

I really couldn't see so well in the dark, but I think

there was at least a dozen plus folks down there, like me, seated in the standard white plastic lawn chairs that the hotel provided. After setting up my camera, I sat down hoping to enjoy some silence and sounds of nature before the show started. However, the calming sounds of the water gently meeting the rocks and the shore was interrupted by constant chatter. Not conversation, chatter. It's ok to have silence, and let nature speak to you. I know, I know, y'all are having a hard time believing that I, of all people, are saying this. Perhaps silence and the longing for nature's soothing sounds comes with age, either that or it's a symptom of being overwhelmed with noise

 pollution and being audiologically overstimulated.  But, it is a free country and obviously I was in the minority, so, I did my best to block all of that out and meditate.

Soon enough, BANG! The fireworks began to explode overhead, sending echos of the blast in all directions.  Oddly enough, the chatter stopped, but was never replaced by the typical oooooh's and ahhhh's and o's. I found that rather strange, especially with all the chatterboxes present.

The fireworks lasted maybe 10-15 minutes at the most  and they were actually pretty darn good.

I'm still getting used to my new camera, and these are not by any stretch, the best firework photos  have taken, but it was a good learning experience and for about half of the display, I just sat there and looked up at the heavens, like everyone else, and took it all in.



Eventually, the pyrotechnic supplies were exhausted and everyone got up and left. I pondered sitting down there for a while to listed to the waves again, but a few raindrops began to fall. Since my Nikon is not so fond of water, I decided it would be best to call it a night as well and rest up for Sunday's outing.