BEVERLY SHORES | When he heard a special series of Dunes-inspired stamps were going to be released, Beverly Shores Postmaster Garry Smith knew the perfect spot to celebrate.

"We just thought this is the dunes, and it's the perfect spot for this," Smith said standing outside a temporary post office along Lake View Beach.

The Great Lakes Dunes stamps, part of the U.S. Postal Service's Nature of America collection, depict a scene at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan with native plants and animals. Smith said the scenes are available on regular sheets of 42-cent stamps and a series of postcards for purchase at select post offices.

Beverly Shores resident Carol Gallagher picked up a sheet and a few postcards Thursday afternoon. With the brisk wind blowing off the lake, Gallagher said she plans on saving them for a while.

"I just like to have it for a collectible," she said.

Coinciding with the stamps' launch, patrons also received a special postmark with a lakeshore scene commemorating the 42nd anniversary of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Smith said the postmark, often sought by stamp collectors, will be available through the Beverly Shores post office by request through the end of October.