A trip down the shore

(Click on the above right photo to see the chipmunk on the trunk of the tree)

My plan for today was to head down the shore in the morning and do some contract photo work for someone that I know, however as I was getting ready to leave my dad called me from work and asked if I could bring someone down to see the spirit tree (witch tree). I told him that any other day I would be happy to do it but today I had work to do! Well, as it turns out it was a fellow employee from another state park (I work at Grand Portage State Park, for those that don't know) so I told him I would do it. A little while later I met up with Michelle who works at Tettegouche State Park and brought her down to the tree. This was her first time to Grand Portage, and she seemed to really enjoy her visit.



I was glad that I ended up taking her down to the tree, because we had some really good conversation and while we were at the tree we saw a tiny chipmunk running up and down the trunk of the tree....he must have been quite young as he was about half the size of the chipmunks that I have around my house. Also, as we sat by the tree we could hear these faint sounds coming from the lake (it was foggy so we couldn't see very far).....obviously bird sounds.....we kept hearing these really short, soft "whoop... whoop... whoop" noises getting closer and closer, and just as I had the thought "Hmm....that sounds like loons!", 4 loons came out of the fog, swimming right towards us. We were right at the water's edge and they came to within about 25 to 30 feet of shore, then swam back and forth in front of us for about five minutes before making their way further down the shore. Every now and then one of them would duck their head under water, presumably looking for fish. Of all the days to not bring my telephoto! Oh well....sometimes its better to just have the experience and the memory of seeing something.





I got a pretty late start for my trip down the shore as a result of the tour to the tree, but it was worth it. If you get a chance to read this, Michelle... I thoroughly enjoyed taking you down to the tree and I hope you enjoyed your time in Grand Portage. Hopefully you saw some neat things on your overnight hike to Fort Charlotte!

I took a LOT of photos throughout the remainder of the day.....some highlights included a bunch of HUGE ferns at Cascade River State Park (they were shoulder-height on me, and I'm pretty tall.....about 6'2"), and a quick stop at Palisade Head where the fog was just starting to break up along the shore. A great finish to the day was spending the evening at Gooseberry Falls State Park, where I saw a couple of young deer feeding with their mother.









After watching the deer for a while I spent the last couple of hours of daylight photographing the various waterfalls along the river. I started to walk back to the car at 9:20, and along the way I met three women who were staying in the campground and were out for an evening walk. I had my tripod and camera up on my shoulder and one of them said to me (as it was getting pretty dark by then), "Oh, did you run out of light?" I said "Nope.....you never run out of light.....as long as you have a tripod you can take pictures all night long!" They were intrigued by that, so I showed them a few of the images I had taken just moments before, and they were blown away that I could get images like that when it was almost totally dark. Its always fun to share that knowledge with people :-)

Border Travels

Today I took a drive up into Ontario and drove as far as Northern Light Lake, which is about 80 miles from Grand Portage. I have heard a lot about this lake from my uncle Norman and from my dad, but had never actually been there myself. After seeing the lake I cannot wait until I get a kayak and am able to explore the lake with it. It looks like quite a paradise. On the way there I passed a beautiful bog right next to the road, definitely worthy of a few pictures. I also stopped along the Arrow River and Middle Falls on the Pigeon River on my way back. The sunset over the Pigeon at Middle Falls was especially nice.....and as the sun was setting I could actually feel the temperature rise quite a bit....and watched as some light fog started to develop over the surface of the water. A beautiful end to another great day :-) Enjoy the pictures!

(Below: The Arrow River)

(Below: Middle Falls on the Pigeon River)

A "Grand" Morning

Those that know me know that I tend to stay away from Grand Marais in the summer time..... too many people for my liking..... but today I made an exception. I had to pick up some prints that I had matted and framed at Sivertson Gallery that are going to be displayed in the soon-to-be-open Heritage Center at Grand Portage National Monument, so I thought I would head in early and make a day of it (a big thank you to the staff at Sivertson Gallery, especially Neil, for doing a FANTASTIC job on the framing.....thanks guys!). For anyone who wants to see the prints, the Heritage Center will be opening sometime in August (not sure of the exact date yet). Along with the matted and framed prints, some of my photos are also being used in the exhibits and interpretive displays.

Anyway, I headed into Grand Marais early to watch the sunrise over the harbor. The morning was incredibly calm and peaceful, lacking even the slightest breeze. The streets were very quiet, with only a few early-risers out and about.....a few locals at the gas stations for their morning coffee, and the dedicated walkers and runners conducting their exercise routines. Grand Marais at 5:00 AM is very peaceful, a stark contrast to the tourist-choked streets that are common later in the day. All in all, a very nice morning :-)

Fireworks over Grand Portage Bay

As usual, we had another fine fireworks show over the bay..... I took these images from the shoreline near the mouth of Grand Portage Creek. Hope everyone had a great 4th! Enjoy.....