#3: [15-Sep-25]

#2: [31-Jul-07]

#1: [19-Jun-01]

24-Sep-2026 -- As I had just flown to Michigan for the purposes of promoting geo technology at Western Michigan University and also at Au Sable Institute, a confluence visit seemed like the most appropriate way to begin. I awoke at 4:45am in Kalamazoo, realizing that to reach this point and get to the work site later today, I needed to be at the confluence point at sunrise. Most of my trip to this point was in darkness, as Michigan lies on the western edge of the eastern time zone, and the sun does not rise until nearly 7:30am at this time of year (just after the Autumnal Equinox).

As I exited the US highways, things became even more interesting. I do love these back roads. I drove west from Reed City on US Highway 10, through Baldwin, and then north on Tyndall Road. Some wonderful fog was lying on the fields as the dawn broke. I continued on Centerline Road and Hamilton Road. There was very little space to pull over but I did my best.

As I expected, a moderately dense forest lay on both sides of the road. I suspected that this was not first old growth forest; most trees seemed young or middle aged. The most challenging thing today was finding satellites, even standing on the road's shoulder, I could not find more than a few. Finally I did so but then in the trees, lost them again. I thought I would get a reading on 44.0 and not worry about the latitude, which I did. Then I thought I would get a reading at 86.0 and not worry about the latitude, which I also did. But I still had a goal of zeroing out both the latitude and longitude. As a result I zigzagged through the trees, vines, and thorns for a good 15 minutes before finding a zero-zero reading. In terms of terrain, this point is a surprisingly easy trek, though with numerous tripping hazards. The elevation rises up slightly to the south. I saw some beautiful mushrooms but no flowers; the trees had not changed color yet; this being really only the third day of Autumn. I saw no birds or animals.

Before this week, when I visited a point 3 days earlier, it had been many years since I had visited a point in Michigan. The last one was during one of my university work trips and I recall it was quite snowy on the ground. Today was early Autumn; a fall chill from yesterday was absent today; and it felt like summer had returned. Temperature was around 65° F already under clear skies. I could see the road faintly to the north but otherwise the view was all trees and no houses. I have visited numerous points along 44° north latitude, most commonly in Minnesota and South Dakota but all the way to the east coast as well. I’ve also been at numerous points along 86° West, all the way from here in Michigan south to Alabama. I kept my visit brief as I needed to be on my way to teach but first to visit Ludington Beach and sand dunes; I took photos and posted a video, which is located here.

I was doing well this year with my 14 visits back in May plus my one visit about nine days ago in Alabama and one in Michigan earlier this week. This visit now makes 17 points for the year. Sadly, I knew this would be my last visit of the year. As always, as I walked back to my starting point, I thought about the native Indigenous population and the settlers who tend this land past and present. I have great respect for all who live on the land.

I then walked back to my vehicle, drove north and west, and had a 2 hour hike at the beautiful beach at Ludington, including the magnificent lighthouse there. It was one of my best hikes of my entire lifetime; I was the only person on the beach, and the view from the lighthouse top was spectacular. I then was in a big hurry to get to the Traverse City airport for teaching at the Au Sable Environmental Studies Center, but made it on time, at 1:30pm.

Get out there and explore!