Milky Way over Tiny in Torrey

 

This tiny home in Torrey, Utah was our base camp for 4 days during our trip to southern Utah back in November.  Very thoughtfully planned and constructed, we absolutely loved this beautiful little home. It was very difficult to leave this place and we can't wait to go back. We were hoping this would be a nice place to enjoy the dark skies and boy was it ever!  The Milky Way looked glorious and was perfectly positioned to get a nice photo with the house. This was my first experience staying at an Airbnb and it set the bar VERY high! 

Sun Halo over Wauswaugoning Bay

 

A beautiful scene along my way to work recently.  It was a chilly morning and this sun halo looked glorious over Lake Superior and the Susie Islands. 

Pine Grosbeak Shadow

 

While driving along Old Highway 61 in Grand Portage recently I saw a few pine grosbeaks.  Most of them were flitting around in the trees and weren't really presenting themselves for any good photos. This one, however, was hopping around all over the roadway and eventually he stopped and posed right in the sunlight between two shadows.  I thanked him for giving me such a nice photo then continued on down the road. 

Snow Monster

 

An interesting find in the forest after the recent snow storms!

Busting Drifts

 

'Tis the season once again for plow truck photos!  Long-time followers of my photography know that photographing plow trucks in action is something I get rather exited about 😄

High Falls after Two Blizzards

 

After receiving almost 20 inches of snow in the past week, High Falls in Grand Portage State Park is looking quite beautiful!

Bald Eagle Morning

 

There was a lot of avian activity on the Bay Road this morning. Lots of ravens and several bald eagles were picking at something on the beach.  I couldn't get close enough to tell what it was without disturbing the birds but they were definitely snacking on something. There were 3 mature bald eagles and one immature bald eagle along with at least a dozen ravens. I was able to get some photos that I was pretty happy with... I think my favorite is the immature eagle sitting atop a tree.  What a great way to start the day!

Moonlit Campsite on the North Rim

 

One month ago today we were camping on the north rim of the Grand Canyon, and what an experience it was!  We had spent the majority of the day driving down a very rough and remote dirt road to get to this location and only saw 2 or 3 other vehicles along the way. 

Our dispersed campsite was on BLM land just outside of the boundary for Grand Canyon National Park. When we arrived at the campsite we couldn't believe our eyes as it was literally right on the edge of the rim!  The first thing we did was take a walk south along the rim.  The views were indescribably beautiful. After our walk we set up the tent and our camp chairs then waited for sunset to arrive. 

The sunset was amazing, as desert sunsets often are.  The clouds to the east over the canyon lit up like wildfire as the sun was going down behind us. Not long after the sun went down the stars gradually came into view. We headed into the tent to relax for a while and wait for the sky to get darker. After a couple of hours the view of the stars over the canyon was unreal.  The stars were so crisp and clear that my camera was actually able to autofocus on them. The moon was very low on the horizon now and the last bit of moonlight was illuminating the canyon below. After the moon went down we settled back into our sleeping bags for the night, still in disbelief at where we were and what we were experiencing. 

Solitary

 

A lone spruce tree stands tall amongst a sea of young aspen in Grand Portage State Forest, Minnesota. 

October Sunset over Chicago Bay

 

Pretty sweet sunset this past Saturday over Chicago Bay in Hovland, Minnesota.  We had been hiking that afternoon and as we were driving back down the Arrowhead Trail the sky started to light up with some awesome colors.  We made a quick detour down to the Hovland dock to catch the sunset.  The colors really hung on for quite a while.  It was an amazing view!

October Forest

 

There's nothing quite like the peacefulness of a foggy October day with a soft rain falling in the north woods of Minnesota. 

The Fallen

 

The "falling" part of fall is almost over, with the majority of our leaves now on the ground.  There are still some birch and aspen leaves hanging on but all of the maples up on the ridges of the sugar bush have shed their leaves. A walk in the forest now means walking on a bed of leaves!

Autumn Beaver Pond

 

A large beaver lodge sits on a small pond in Grand Portage State Forest in northeast Minnesota. Such a quiet and calm day, no ripples at all on the surface of the water. The reflections in the water were so cool. I have yet to actually see the beavers on this pond but you can tell they are very active here. Work on the lodge looked very recent and there was freshly packed mud on the dam as well. I'm hoping that one of these times when I pass by this pond I'll have the privilege of seeing the beavers hard at work. 

A peaceful autumn day

 

It was a super windy day along the Lake Superior shoreline today. The wind is making me think back to a day this past week where the conditions were the opposite.  It was so still in the forest that the only sounds were from the gently falling rain.  I do enjoy the stormy days but the calm and peaceful days are my favorite. 

Autumn Fog

 

The fog this past week has been incredible.  Almost every day a dense blanket of moisture has been draped over our northern forests, turning the environment into a mythic landscape.  

Wet Leaf and Mossy Rock

 

My favorite find from today.  A maple leaf covered with water droplets and the mossy rock upon which I found it. It was a very wet day in the north woods of Minnesota and I saw countless leaves covered in water droplets but none so perfect as this one. 

Maple Splendor

 

There are few things as beautiful as the maple forest in the fall.  An explosion of color that can overload the senses! I only wish the season lasted a bit longer...

Backlit Maple Leaves

 

Sometimes lying down on the forest floor gives you the best views of the fall colors. I made this photo while doing just that... lying flat on my back and looking straight up into the trees. 

Intertwined Maples

 

I don't know how it happened as I have driven and biked past these trees more times than I can count but I never noticed their uniqueness until last weekend. Now that I know they're there I won't be able to pass by this spot anymore without seeing them. 

Colorful Canopy

 

The maples were looking amazingly good this past week despite the extreme drought we were in for most of the summer. Everyone seemed to think that the fall colors were going to be a bust but I guess we received enough moisture in September to still make the forest incredibly beautiful once the leaves started changing color. 

Autumn Birch in the Maple Forest

 

Last weekend while out photographing fall colors we spent some time wandering around in the woods away from the roads in various places. We kind of branched off in different directions but after a while Sarah hailed me and said I had to come and look at something.  She had found this very cool birch tree. The colors surrounding it were magnificent and I was able to frame the sun next to the trunk of the tree.  I stopped the aperture of my camera lens down to f/16 in order to get the starburst effect. 

Maple Variety

 

The many colors of maple leaves create a cornucopia of color in the north woods of Minnesota. 

Swamp Lake Swans

 

A couple of weeks ago while we were out canoeing this pair of swans came seemingly out of nowhere and swam in front of us.  It had already been an awesome evening of paddling but these beautiful birds gracing us with their presence made it even more special. 

Resting Fly on Lily Pad

 

My favorite image from a recent canoe outing on one of our local lakes. We were just slowly drifting our way through a bunch of lily pads when I happened to look down and see this tiny fly sitting there on top of a lily pad. Thankfully it stayed there long enough for me to get a picture of it. 

Late Summer Afternoon, Swamp River

 

Just enjoying a late summer afternoon on Swamp River in northeast Minnesota.  It's a perfect day to be outside!

Coneflowers Are Cool

 

One of my favorite things about late summer is the coneflowers. They are such a cool flower and the pollinators love them!  

Evening Sun Rays on the Grand Portage Hills

 

Last night we headed up into the local hills to catch the sunset. As we drove inland it looked like it was probably going to be a dull sunset as we couldn't see very many clouds. When we got high up on our chosen vantage point, however, we saw a nice cluster of clouds to the west.  The sun was behind the clouds and rays of light were bursting through and washing over the landscape below. Even though it was really windy, it was worth the outing to see this majestic light show!

Finally some rain!

 

In case you haven't heard, it's been a very dry summer in northeast Minnesota. Until this past weekend hardly any rain fell since the first week of July. Over the past couple of days, though, we've finally received a decent amount of rainfall!  Just under two inches fell in the Grand Portage area. Most of that fell last night and this morning the fog and clouds were crazy cool over Lake Superior.  The landscape looked more like a painting than real life.  The view over the Susie Islands was especially awesome.  

The Coast Guard and a Kayaker

 

We were in Grand Marais this afternoon to get some groceries and grab a burger for lunch.  We typically sit over near Artists' Point to eat our burgers but today we went over by the campground.  While we were sitting there eating our lunch the coast guard patrol boat entered the harbor.  Not long after that someone came along in a kayak and paddled out beyond the breakwall.  The sky was very overcast and a few intermittent rain drops were falling.  It was a very peaceful afternoon. 

Smoky Summer

 

Thanks to a plethora of wildfires across North America we sure have been seeing a lot of smoky days this summer. Some days our air quality has been extremely poor. Probably the worst days have been this past week as we now have around a dozen or so fires in northeast Minnesota. The largest of these has burned over 20,000 acres so far and is still listed as 0% contained. We have received very little rain since early July but this weekend the forecast is looking pretty promising for some moisture.  Hopefully it pans out as we could sure use some rain to knock down the fires and the smoke. 

Solitary Swan

 

This swan has been hanging around on the small lake behind our house for most of the summer.  I'm thinking it must have lost its mate.  It hangs out in this area most of the time but on occasion will fly away for a while then come back. It's been nice to see the beautiful bird so much but I can't help but feel a bit sad for it. 

These photos were both taken with my Sony RX10 Mark III camera. The first one was at its full wide angle of 24mm and the second one was taken zoomed all the way in at 600mm.  It's an amazing camera to have so much zoom range and image quality in a relatively compact package. 

Milky Way and Airglow

 

A beautiful night scene over a small lake in northeast Minnesota.  The Milky Way shines brightly while some airglow adds a little mystique to the atmosphere. We had just finished watching for Perseid meteors from the middle of the lake when we noticed this cool view from the boat dock. It was an unforgettable parting shot to top off an incredible night of sky gazing.