20th Anniversary Trip photos

In October Julia and I celebrated our 20th Wedding Anniversary in a house we rented on the Lake Michigan shore just south of Ludington, MI––with the spot on the beach where I proposed 21 years prior within view. We love fall weather, so having the lake to ourself in the cool-crisp breeze and dipping temps was perfect for us. Here are some photos of the trip.

Looking south along the shore. This area is also special to me because as a child, my family camped here regularly atop those bluffs in the woods. The beach here is where I proposed to Julia in Nov. 2002.

People who have never seen a Great Lake in person sometimes can't appreciate the scale and think about a little muddy duck-pond lake. Lake Michigan is vast––even at it's narrowest point you can't see across to the other side because the curvature of the earth takes effect.

The woods up in the bluffs are an area I played in as a kid, and my memories of exploring them certainly influenced what I draw for Mouse Guard...

And these woods have been a recharging point where I return to them to emotionally reconnect with that feeling.

In the years since Mouse Guard started getting published, I've used it also as a place to collect photo reference for the series.

And every now and then the trees thin out and you get a view of the lake from high above like this.

I discovered some fungus growing on a fallen birch tree that I'm sure I'll fit into a Mouse Guard book or illustration at some point.

The sandy soil is prone to eroding and exposing all kinds of root structure and hidey-holes, where it's almost impossible not to imagine a mouse settlement in some of these places.

Walking through and exploring this place in the off season makes it all the more magical. Trees looking like they could walk around and move if you're not paying attention in a warm autumn glow and no other humans in sight.

Though, it turns out I wasn't alone on this walk––I was being watched.

These trees have been exposed like this since I was a kid––and I always see this spot as where a Ringwraith searches as the hobbits hide in the roots and Frodo is tempted to use the one ring.

The longer we stayed, the closer we got to peak fall color.

The landscape was aglow, which is what reminded us of 20 years ago in similar fall colors Julia and I pledged ourselves to each other in front of friends and family.

Lastly, enjoy the walk from the house, through the dune grass, and down to Lake Michigan.