Erosion is not something one normally associates with beauty, but in the case of Cave Point County Park - Door County, Wisconsin - Mother Nature is hard at work. She does have this habit of using her erosive powers towards positive ends, as in the Grand Canyon - Arizona. While Cave Point County Park is a long, long way from the depth and immenseness of the Grand Canyon, it is fascinating to watch the power of the wind and the waves on a much smaller scale. Since I am no geologist, I cannot adequately explain the process that has happened over millions of years at Cave Point. I can only describe what I saw and heard yesterday.
Years ago, when I visited Cave Point for the first time, it was a ghastly day, with high winds left over from a mighty storm that my family and I had camped in. Lake Michigan had built herself up to a giant roil and the waves were eight-to-ten footers, which is a perfect condition in which to experience Cave Point because the waves come crashing into the caves that are below the rocky mini-cliffs and you can feel the spray right beneath your feet and hear and feel the pounding of the waves. Yesterday, Lady Lake was much calmer - only three-to-four footers - so much of the sensory experience of Cave Point was reduced, but the impression of strength and power was still very much present and obvious.
Cave Point showcases how Mother Nature applies her energy to create a natural beauty that is, at once, awe-inspiring yet daunting when I think of how erosion can be so damaging when captured in a place that is sensitive to its effects. At Cave Point County Park, on the shore of the western side of Lake Michigan, the wind and waves work in tandem to continue to cause further exaggeration of an already beautiful effect that has created caves under the rocky mini-cliffs. The fact that the public can walk over breaches in the rocks and can also peer over the cliffs to see the caves below them is an added bonus.
I was in the presence of awesomeness yesterday. I felt small, tiny, and insignificant in relation to the sensory magnification that I felt. Raw nature has its own appeal and attraction. I was in the right place, at the right time. Thank you, Mother Nature.
Ancora imparo
