If you have never been to Pictured Rock National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula I would highly recommend it.  It is a very beautiful lakeshore and part of the state of Michigan.  I took my entire family there last summer and everyone absolutely loved it.

MLive is reporting about one very lucky nature and wildlife photographer from Saint Peter, Minnesota named Jon Smithers.  He just happen to be flying a drone from a pontoon boat on August 12th taking video when he and his fellow photographer heard a loud sound.  That loud sound was a very large part of the rock shelf breaking apart and falling into the Lake.

Mr. Smithers is quoted in the article saying:

I was really shocked…I had never seen anything like that before.

A kayak guide with Northern Waters Adventures in Munising, Van Ouellette-Ballas, was near the area when the rock shelf fell and said:

That entire shelf just fell off right in front of our eyes,” he said. “It was just really incredible. The aroma of old dirt was just ridiculous. Honestly that was as cool as seeing it fall…It was a really big wake-up call…I was 20 seconds away from getting completely smashed. I’m pretty excited to still be here.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore’s chief of interpretation, Sue Reece, said the sandstone cliffs are prone to erosion, leading to “releases” like this one from time to time. She went on to say that small releases actually happen as often as every year but these release usually occur in the spring due to the thawing of the soil.  She did say that bigger releases happening about once every five years.

It’s just one of the risks with sandstone; it’s very soft and always eroding…But it’s rare to catch it on film…It’s pretty rare for someone to catch something like that on film, that’s how uncommon it is on a day-to-day basis.

The beauty and awesome power of nature at work.

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