Beautiful Sunlight on Rengo Road

Beautiful sunlight last night on Rengo Road in Grand Portage, MN!

Brewing Storm over the Pigeon River Valley

Impressive clouds last night building up over the Pigeon River Valley in northeast Minnesota.  I took this photo at the turn-around point for my bike ride, which was the Pigeon River Helipad along Otter Lake Road in Grand Portage State Forest.  

Presque Isle in Two Harbors

Earlier in the week I was down in Duluth for a couple of days and on my way home the clouds were looking good for sunset so I decided to head down to the lakeshore in Two Harbors.  As luck would have it, two of the 1,000 foot ore boats were down there.  One was just leaving; it was rounding the lighthouse and breakwall as I pulled into the parking lot.  The other, the Presque Isle, was lining up and pulling into one of the docks.  I quickly grabbed my tripod and camera and walked down to the water's edge where I made this photo.  It's been a while since I've been this close to one of these big ships.  They sure are amazing pieces of machinery!  

Pigeon River Foam

Taken on my hike to Middle Falls the other night in Grand Portage State Park.  Just a short distance upriver from the waterfall is a very calm section of the river that seems to have very little movement when the water level is low like it is right now.  Along the edge of the river in this area was this very interesting section of foam that had some intriguing shapes and patterns.  I couldn't resist pulling out the camera and making a photo of it.  

August Evening at High Falls

Last night after work I hiked the Middle Falls Trail in Grand Portage State Park, a rugged hike of almost 5 miles that covers a really nice mix of terrain.  On the return portion of the hike I decided to take the short spur up to High Falls, since I hadn't seen or photographed that waterfall in a while.  The water level is definitely getting on the low side as we haven't had much rainfall lately.  The ridge behind the falls was illuminated from the light of the setting sun.  The evening light combined with some nice clouds made for an interesting photograph.

Having fun in the moonlight on the drive home

After spending several hours riding the singletrack mountain bike trails at Britton Peak in Tofte, MN I drove the backroads to get home.  It was a beautiful moonlit night and I stopped along the drive to photograph my car and bike beneath this beautiful moonlit sky.

Sunflower Fascination

Sunflowers are amazing.  Not only can they grow to be absolutely HUGE, but they are very beautiful as well and have some of the most interesting patterns I've ever seen in the head of a flower.  I get mesmerized when I stared at the pattern in the head of this particular sunflower.  I find it endlessly fascinating!