River of Sky. Manistique River Roadside Park south of Germfask Michigan. Fujichrome Velvia slide film. Friday, October 9, 1998.

Two years ago today, October 17, 2023, I stopped at the Manistique River Roadside Park just south of Germfask Michigan in search of an old photo location.

The date of the original photo was October 9, 1998. I had stopped at this roadside park to have lunch. I was sitting at a picnic table and I happened to look straight up. I saw what you are seeing in the first photo. Oh wow! I grabbed my camera and took a picture looking straight up. This is my all time favorite Michigan fall color image. I named it “River of Sky”. The colors of the leaves that year were outrageous.

Picnic table. Manistique River Roadside Park. October 17, 2023.

2 years ago today I went to the picnic table and looked straight up. It looked nothing like what I saw in 1998. Even before I sat down, the table looked like it was in a different position than in 1998. Back then the table was just sitting on grass, not on a concrete pad. Camera in hand I wandered around, looking for my River of Sky. Nothing was an exact match. The trees have grown and things have changed.

Fall maple leaves. Manistique River Roadside Park. October 17, 2023.

I finally found a place that looks a bit like my River of Sky image. The sky is gray due to the overcast day, and there aren’t nearly as many red leaves as back in 1998. But I gave it my best shot. This would be a better photo with a blue sky.  As I looked up two years ago, I thought back to my first photo and smiled.