Minnesota Mountains

 

A common comment that I hear when people visit Grand Portage and see the dramatic hills that we have is "Wow, we didn't know Minnesota had mountains!" Indeed, we do.  Not by western standards, of course, but our mountains are ancient and at one time were a lot more dramatic than they are today. Of course, in some places, they are still quite dramatic such as the view shown here, of Highway 61 on the east side of the Mt. Josephine pass. The hills and bays of Lake Superior in the background are actually in Ontario, Canada where the landscape gets even more dramatic. 

In this photo, Dean Berglund's 2007 Peterbilt Model 379 transport truck is heading south on Highway 61 as it climbs to the summit of the Mt. Josephine pass. Dean (of Grand Marais, MN) makes the run from Hedstrom Lumber to Thunder Bay twice a day hauling wood chips. Mt. Josephine is big enough that it has its own local weather patterns. Its not uncommon for it to be shrouded in fog in the summer or experiencing more dramatic snowfall in winter than the immediate areas surrounding it. 

The John G. Munson passing by Hat Point

 

One of the most interesting things about this time of year is how close the ships hug the north shore.  It gives us great views and perspectives that we don't get at other times of the year. Yesterday my dad alerted me that the Stewart J. Cort and John G. Munson were passing by our area in fairly close proximity to each other. As I was heading home from work I was lucky enough to catch them as they were passing by Hat Point in Grand Portage. 

A December Winter Wonderland

We certainly have had our fair share of snow already this winter!  It's been a little hard to comprehend after having a winter of almost no snow last year. Just this past weekend we received anywhere from 12 to 16 inches of wet, heavy snow in Grand Portage. Because it was so wet and sticky, the entire landscape was covered in a blanket of white. The drive to work this morning was especially beautiful with the morning sun lighting up the road ahead of me.