Autumn Hills Rolling Toward a Distant Blue Lake

A wide view from a grassy, sun-dried slope looks across a valley of mixed autumn woodland. Patches of red, orange and yellow stand out against darker evergreens and tan open fields. A small white building sits on a rise in the middle distance, and a few other farm structures and a pale road are scattered through the clearings. Small ponds catch the light between the trees. Beyond the hills, a band of deep blue water runs along the horizon, and a long, low, forested headland extends in from the right under a soft sky of thin, scattered cloud.

The view is taken from the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive Dunes Overlook in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The caption names the Dune Climb parking lot, the D. H. Day Farm, Lake Michigan and a bit of Glen Lake as landmarks within the scene. Fall color in this part of the Great Lakes region usually peaks in October, when maples turn red and orange and other hardwoods go yellow. The lake also moderates temperatures near the shore. The wide, layered composition suits a desktop monitor or ultrawide display, and the open sky leaves room for icons along the top.