I’ve been thinking about geology wrong all my life? Part of the impact of natural monuments was that they’re the same now as a thousand years ago, and will continue that way for centuries to come. But that’s not true. The Pictured Rocks lakeshore is actively and constantly changing. Miners Castle had a spire fall into the lake just recently. Every fall is actively crumbling its bed. These are vibrant places moving on their own time scales.

And the rocks aren’t just a thing for life to grow on, but integrated into it. The colors splattered on the face beside Miners Falls shows a web of plants and animals making homes and interacting. Every year more rocks chip off the top on Munising Falls, and trees at the edge grow like hooks to grab onto what’s left. You can see one recently split and fell into the basin, now making its own small system as it decomposes.

Maybe it’s good the boat tours are canceled for high waves because I might be too overcome by the Pictured Rocks themselves.