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“The hard path is often the right one. The river teaches more than the shore.”
― Maxime Lagacé
Rocky section of the Big Fork River at a Wayside on Minnesota Highway 1 near Effie, Minnesota.
... or as close as I dare to get to the edge of the top of the Middle Falls at Gooseberry Falls State Park.
The park is located in Castle Danger, north of Two Harbors, Minnesota.
"Thoughts can create such a barrier that even if you are standing before a beautiful flower, you will not be able to see it. Your eyes are covered with layers of thought. To experience the beauty of the flower you have to be in a state of meditation, not in a state of mentation. You have to be silent, utterly silent, not even a flicker of thought - and the beauty explodes, reaches to you from all directions. You are drowned in the beauty of a sunrise, of a starry night, of beautiful trees."
- Rajneesh
Lilies in the garden at Sunnyside retreat house near Pine City, Minnesota.
Finally processed in October 2019. Image was originally uploaded with no processing.
"The starry night sky echoed across my thoughts, the expanse of my own void filtered in its quiet solitude."
- Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword
Tall old-growth pines, spruce and balsam fir silhouetted against a starry, starry sky at Esther Lake off of the Arrowhead Trail in Grand Portage State Forest near Hovland, Minnesota.
Minnesota Highway 38, aka the Edge of the Wilderness Scenic Byway.
This upsy-downsy, curvy, sometimes bumpy two-laner runs for just 47 miles from Grand Rapids to Effie, Minnesota. They have "improved" parts of the highway, but as of September 2017, there are still parts of it (like this) that do what most old highways used to do.
On the south end, Grand Rapids has numerous attractions and points of interest, including the Forest History Center and Judy Garland Museum.
On the north end, the route intersects Minnesota Highway 1, another fun old two-laner that runs from North Dakota to Lake Superior.
The awesome old road crosses the Laurentian Divide where water flows either north to Hudson's Bay or south to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River. Part of it also goes through the Chippewa National Forest (granddaddy of the Superior National Forest) with a ranger station in Marcell.
The lakes and woods along the way provide great places for fishing, hunting, hiking, and other recreational activities. You'll find several resorts and campgrounds in both the Grand Rapids and the Marcell area.
There are points of interest and interpretive stops along the way, making it not only scenic and fun, but interesting, too. I highly recommend taking this route if you're ever up in this part of Minnesota.
River View Trail view from above the plateau that is above the Middle Falls at Gooseberry Falls State Park.
The park is located in Castle Danger, north of Two Harbors, Minnesota.
"Not every lake dreams to be an ocean. Blessed are the ones who are happy with whom they are."
- Mehmet Murat ildan
Rocky point of land on Esther Lake in Grand Portage State Forest near Hovland, Minnesota. Esther Lake is a Designated Trout Lake - one of several in Northeastern Minnesota. Nothing but trout here. It's a lovely lake, about seven miles from the Canadian Border and about 40 miles from Grand Marais on Lake Superior.
Attempt at showing the size of one of the big virgin red pines in the Lost Forty forest.
This section of forest lies within the Chippewa National Forest near Bigfork, Minnesota. A Minnesota DNR Scientific and Natural Area, the 32 acre Lost Forty SNA, is also part of this beautiful site.
Due to a surveying error back in 1882, this 144 acre section was never logged. As a result, there are numerous 300-400 year old magnificent old-growth red and white pines in this special place.
The sight of these incredible trees isn't the only thing you experience here. The smell of this forest is unique. The sound is also unique. The breeze blowing through the crowns of these old pines make this piece of the north woods sing a totally different tune than most other sections of forest up here. You have to experience it to understand what I am saying.
For more information about the Lost Forty, go to the Chippewa National Forest's Lost Forty Website or the Minnesota DNR's Lost Forty SNA Website.
“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.”
— George Eliot
October 1980 35mm film shot of Forest Road 166 (Six Hundred Road) as it goes around a bend on Heartbreak Hill in the Superior National Forest inland near Tofte, Minnesota.
The story goes that the hill got its name during the days when the horses pulling the rigs hauling logs out of the forest couldn't make it up the grade in the winter. I've heard other tales, too.
My brother, his friend and I found out the hard way that a Ford Econoline Van doesn't make it up the hill on glare ice either. It also doesn't like to stay on the road when you're trying to back it down. It isn't called "Heartbreak Hill" for nothing...
Sailboats moored in Grand Marais (Minnesota) Harbor waiting for their owners to take them out for a spin.
In 2017, I re-took the same shot that I had taken at this wayside on the Sawbill Trail in 1980 (the previous photo in my photostream). My, but the trees in the foreground have grown!
The Sawbill Trail (County Road 2) runs for about 23 miles into the Superior National Forest from Highway 61 in Tofte, Minnesota to Sawbill Lake, a Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) entry point.
Among the roads that it intersects are the Honeymoon Trail (USFS 164) and "The 600" (USFS 166), both of which are premier fall color routes (as is the Sawbill itself).
It also intersects with "The Grade" (USFS 170) and runs with it for a short distance before "The Grade" splits off at the site of a former CCC Work Camp.
"A lighthouse is both an invitation and a warning. A lighthouse says Welcome home. But next to that, right after that, it also says Danger."
- Nathan Hill, The Nix
The Split Rock Lighthouse with beacon lit during the November 2008 commemoration of the 1975 wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
After a storm on Nov. 28, 1905 had damaged 29 ships, Congress authorized $70,000 to build a lighthouse and fog signal at Split Rock. The light station was completed in 1910.
The light was taken out of service in 1969 when modern navigation methods made it obsolete, but the beacon is lit once a year on November 10th to commemorate the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The historic light station is one of Minnesota's most popular and iconic landmarks. It is located on the North Shore of Lake Superior on Minnesota Highway 61 (formerly US 61) about 40 miles north of Two Harbors, Minnesota.
Learn More about the history of the Split Rock light.
"This oak tree and me, we're made of the same stuff."
- Carl Sagan
Gnarly old oak tree along the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Blanket of white wildflowers growing in an area where the US Forest Service had done a controlled burn a couple of years before this picture was taken. The spot is along USFS Road 172 (Wanless Road) in the Superior National Forest near Sawbill Landing, Minnesota.
"There are few things in life
That can soothe the soul
And calm the mind
Like the lonely call
Of a loon
On a northern lake."
- Martha Decker
Rescan of a photo that I took in about 1991 of a Loon on North Star Lake. Pam, my mom, and I were staying in a cabin at Big Timber Lodge Resort.
This pretty lake is on Minnesota Hwy 38 (Edge of the Wilderness Scenic Byway) in the Chippewa National Forest near Marcell, Minnesota.
I had used an earlier, very low resolution scan of this picture on my old Website, The WOODSHED, for years. I decided now that it was time to get a better scan.
The sideways pothole or cave that is on the side of the Middle Falls at Gooseberry Falls State Park.
The park is located in Castle Danger, north of Two Harbors, Minnesota.
“Look at the sunset
As a hope for tomorrow
I hope that you don’t keep your pain a secret
And that you don’t look at life with sorrow”
― Lidia Longorio, Hey Humanity
Sunset on Rush Lake near Rush City, Minnesota
"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness."
- John Muir
Driving up the Gunflint Trail surrounded by yellow summer blankets of wildflowers. Unfortunately, I think they might be Yellow Hawkweed which is an invasive species in Minnesota. Like the Lupines (another invasive species) that now grow all over the place up here, they sure are pretty in spite of their invasiveness.
The Gunflint Trail (Cook County Rd 12) winds its way through Minnesota's Superior National Forest from Grand Marais on Lake Superior to Saganaga Lake, one of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area's entry points.
It's a beautiful drive, with access to oodles of lakes, resorts and National Forest roads that lead to more lakes and numerous campgrounds as well as free remote campsites. The road is much improved from the first time I drove it some 40 years ago. Most of the bumps have been smoothed out and it is now paved end to end.
According to the Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center's blog, the road got its name from the chert, a flint rock that Native Americans and Voyageurs found on the shores of one of the big lakes in the area (now called Gunflint Lake).
Chik-Wauk's blog says that the French gave it the name “Lac de Pierres a Fusil” which means "Lake of Stone Flint" in English, hence the name for the Gunflint Trail and lake.
“Man must behave like a lighthouse; he must shine day and night for the goodness of everyman.”
― Mehmet Murat ildan
Split Rock Lighthouse on Lake Superior's North Shore not far from Two Harbors, Minnesota.
After a storm on Nov. 28, 1905 had damaged 29 ships, Congress authorized $70,000 to build a lighthouse and fog signal at Split Rock. The light station was completed in 1910.
The light was taken out of service in 1969 when modern navigation methods made it obsolete, but the 1,000 watt 3rd-order bivalve Fresnel lens beacon is lit on November 10th every year to commemorate the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Learn More about the history of the Split Rock light.
"Explored" on Flickr, Nov 11, 2008
Shot of the Hull-Rust-Mahoning mine in Hibbing, Minnesota from the former Mineview viewing area.
The mine is a conglomerate of several other mines and has operated continuously for over 100 years. It is the largest open pit iron mine in the United States.
This viewing area was supposed to have moved in 2018 so they could mine at this location. I have found no evidence that it has moved. In 1919, the whole north end of the town of Hibbing was moved due to expansion of the mine.
Somewhere in the distance in this photo is a rare triple divide. Native Americans called it the "Hill of Three Waters." The St. Lawrence and Laurentian (Northern) divides meet here, resulting in three ways a drop of water could go from here.
It could either flow north into Hudson's Bay, east into the Great Lakes via the St. Lawrence Seaway, or south to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River.
Check out Minnesota Brown's Hill of Three Waters article for an interesting perspective on this place.
Regeneration in progress... pines growing in a logged area near Minnesota Highway 1, not far from Thistledew Lake and Togo, Minnesota.
Pastoral vista along Minn Highway 16 (formerly US 16) in rural Fillmore County between Preston and Lanesboro, Minnesota.
1993 35mm film shot of the pit lake at the former Hill Annex open pit iron mine in Calumet, Minnesota on the Mesabi Iron Range. Sometimes referred to as the "Grand Canyon of the North," the site is now Hill Annex Mine State Park.
The mine operated from 1913 to 1978, and according to a sign at the entrance to the park, the ore mined here was so pure that it could be sent to eastern steel mills with very little processing. By 1950, most of the high grade ore was gone and production decreased over the years until the operation was shut down in 1978. During its active life, the mine shipped 63 million tons of iron ore. It was the sixth largest producer in Minnesota.
The mine was sold to the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) for $1 when it closed, and the IRRRB created a museum and a tour route in order to share its rich history. The Minnesota State Legislature turned the site into a state park in 1988. The park normally offers daily tours, including a fossil hunt. Not sure about right now in 2020.
Note: This photo has been on Flickr for a while, but I just gave her a major "face lift" and re-uploaded her via the "Replace" function.
Click my INFORMATION SOURCE for more about the mine's history and the geology of the area..
Shot of the Hull-Rust-Mahoning mine in Hibbing, Minnesota from the former Mineview viewing area.
The mine is a conglomerate of several other mines and has operated continuously for over 100 years. It is the largest open pit iron mine in the United States.
This viewing area was supposed to have moved in 2018 so they could mine at this location. I have found no evidence that it has moved. In 1919, the whole north end of the town of Hibbing was moved due to expansion of the mine.
Somewhere in the distance in this photo is a rare triple divide. Native Americans called it the "Hill of Three Waters." The St. Lawrence and Laurentian (Northern) divides meet here, resulting in three ways a drop of water could go from here. It could either flow north into Hudson's Bay, east into the Great Lakes via the St. Lawrence Seaway, or south to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River.
Check out Minnesota Brown's Hill of Three Waters article for an interesting perspective on this place.
“The secret to a good morning is to watch the sunrise with an open heart.”
― Anthony T. Hincks
1977 sunrise over Lake Superior from Lamb's Campground in Schroeder, Minnesota. Dad and my brother Dave were canoeing in the Boundary Waters and my sister Barb and I and her two boys were camping in Schroeder, waiting to pick them up.
Dad died a few years later at age 57 when an aneurysm brought him down at work. It was the day after he and I had started planning our own trip to the Boundary Waters. I still haven't done the trip; probably never will.
Photo was taken with a Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic SP-1000 35mm SLR Camera with a RMC Tokina 80-200mm 1:4/55 Zoom Lens. It was put on Photo CD in 1994.
Surfing in Minnesota? Oh, heck yah!
At a spot on Lake Superior called Stoney Point, you'll find an adventurous group surfing in the spring, summer, fall and even in the winter when it's 20 below zero (Fahrenheit). Basically, if there are waves, they'll be out there in their wet suits catching one of them.
Stoney Point is accessible from the North Shore Scenic Drive between Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota.
View from the top of the Palisade Head looking up the Lake Superior North Shore towards Shovel Point. This unbelievable place is now part of Tettegouche State Park near Silver Bay, Minnesota.
Emerging Fiddlehead(?) Fern with an attitude! I found him at Gooseberry Falls State Park along the trail that goes down to view the Middle Falls.
The park is located in Castle Danger, about ten miles north of Two Harbors, Minnesota on the North Shore of Lake Superior. It is one of Minnesota's most popular and treasured state parks.
It was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the late 1930's/early 1940's as part of the New Deal getting men back to work during the Great Depression. There are several awesome historic buildings here along with lots of trails, many feet of rocky Lake Superior shoreline, a campground (book a year ahead of time for summer camping!), an awesome picnic area with CCC-built tables still in place and lots more.
It's a "must stop" place if you are going anywhere on the North Shore.
Faint Northern Lights, clouds, stars and a falling star, along with other odd lighting over Cove Bay on the south end of Lake Mille Lacs, making the sky and snow-covered bay look like something out of a sci-fi flick. #ONLYinMN #UpNorth #Aurora #NorthernLights #MilleLacs #OnamiaMN #WahkonMN #Minnesota #MN #Pentax #KS2
Site of the Lost Forty, a magic woods in northern Minnesota.
This section of forest lies within the Chippewa National Forest near Bigfork, Minnesota. A Minnesota DNR Scientific and Natural Area, the 32 acre Lost Forty SNA, is also part of this beautiful site.
Due to a surveying error back in 1882, this 144 acre section was never logged. As a result, there are numerous 300-400 year old magnificent old-growth red and white pines in this special place.
The sight of these incredible trees isn't the only thing you experience here. The smell of this forest is unique. The sound is also unique. The breeze blowing through the crowns of these old pines make this piece of the north woods sing a totally different tune than most other sections of forest up here. You have to experience it to understand what I am saying.
For more information about the Lost Forty, go to the Chippewa National Forest's Lost Forty Website or the Minnesota DNR's Lost Forty SNA Website.
One of many spots on Lake Superior called "Agate Beach" - this one is at Black Beach Park in Silver Bay, Minnesota. The Palisade Head is visible in the upper left hand side of the picture.
Looking down the valley from the Riverview Trail in Gooseberry Falls State Park at the mouth of the Gooseberry River.
The park is located in Castle Danger, north of Two Harbors, Minnesota.
The Upper Falls at Gooseberry Falls State Park.
The park is located in Castle Danger, north of Two Harbors, Minnesota.
1977 film shot of my nephew getting in some last-minute fishing at "the pond", a friend of my uncle's piece of land (AKA "Looney Acres") outside of Fountain, Minnesota.
Area near the beginning of the trail in the Lost Forty with interpretive information about this extra special forest.
This section of forest lies within the Chippewa National Forest near Bigfork, Minnesota. A Minnesota DNR Scientific and Natural Area, the 32 acre Lost Forty SNA, is also part of this beautiful site.
Due to a surveying error back in 1882, this 144 acre section was never logged. As a result, there are numerous 300-400 year old magnificent old-growth red and white pines in this special place.
The sight of these incredible trees isn't the only thing you experience here. The smell of this forest is unique. The sound is also unique. The breeze blowing through the crowns of these old pines make this piece of the north woods sing a totally different tune than most other sections of forest up here. You have to experience it to understand what I am saying.
For more information about the Lost Forty, go to the Chippewa National Forest's Lost Forty Website or the Minnesota DNR's Lost Forty SNA Website.
"Knowing when and how to change course is important to success. Self-doubt is a lighthouse that will keep you from running aground. Don't become shipwrecked on the rocks of time. Be willing to rethink your decisions and change course."
- Harley King
Long shot of Split Rock Lighthouse on Lake Superior's North Shore. The historic Minnesota and Lake Superior icon went into service in 1910 and was decommissioned in 1969. It has been an extremely popular North Shore destination since the highway was being developed in the 1920's.
The lighthouse is on Lake Superior's North Shore, not far from Two Harbors, Minnesota.
Learn More about the history of the Split Rock light.
Small forest of hardwoods keeps watch over Seminary Fen Scientific & Natural Area in Chanhassen/Chaska, Minnesota.
This was originally the site of the Mudcura Sanitarium, a world-famous spa that was opened in 1909 and operated until 1951.
Per MNOpedia, in 1951, the sanitarium was sold to the Black Franciscans, Order of Friars Minor Conventual, from Louisville, Kentucky. They named it Assumption Seminary and the site became linked with both the Colleges of St. Catherine and St. Thomas in St. Paul.
The Seminary remained in operation until 1970 and then sat vacant for many years, becoming a popular hangout for teens and other thrill seekers. The main building burned and was demolished in 1997.
The land is now home to the Minnesota DNR Seminary Fen Scientific & Natural Area that protects the rare calcareous fen that is now the star of the show here.
Explored on Flickr, October 24, 2020
White tail deer grazing in the campground in Gooseberry Falls State Park.
The park is located in Castle Danger, Minnesota (north of Two Harbors) on Lake Superior's North Shore.
My Samsung Galaxy S7 cell phone being dwarfed by a huge old-growth white pine in the Lost Forty forest.
This section of forest lies within the Chippewa National Forest near Bigfork, Minnesota. A Minnesota DNR Scientific and Natural Area, the 32 acre Lost Forty SNA, is also part of this beautiful site.
Due to a surveying error back in 1882, this 144 acre section was never logged. As a result, there are numerous 300-400 year old magnificent old-growth red and white pines in this special place.
The sight of these incredible trees isn't the only thing you experience here. The smell of this forest is unique. The sound is also unique. The breeze blowing through the crowns of these old pines make this piece of the north woods sing a totally different tune than most other sections of forest up here. You have to experience it to understand what I am saying.
For more information about the Lost Forty, go to the Chippewa National Forest's Lost Forty Website or the Minnesota DNR's Lost Forty SNA Website.
"Lighthouses are endlessly suggestive signifiers of both human isolation and our ultimate connectedness to each other."
- Virginia Woolf
Daytime portrait of the historic Split Rock Lighthouse on Lake Superior's North Shore about 40 miles northeast of Two Harbors, Minnesota.
Funds for the light station were appropriated by Congress in 1907 at the bidding of U.S. Steel Corp. and other iron ore interests after a November 1905 storm on Lake Superior damaged 29 ships (a third of which were uninsured and owned by U.S. Steel).
The station was opened in 1910 and was decommissioned in 1969 during the era when technology was making lighthouses obsolete. The State of Minnesota has had the site since 1971, and in 1976 it turned operations of the light station over to the Minnesota Historical Society. It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2011.
Learn More about the history of the Split Rock light.
“Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn.”
— Elizabeth Lawrence
Fall colors light up and reflect in Two Island Lake in the Superior National Forest in Northeastern Minnesota. Some friends and I were on an October camping trip at the Two Island Lake campground for about a week. We were able to watch the colors change every day.
This is a scan of a film shot I took in 1995 with my old Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic 35mm SLR using a Tokina 80-200mm zoom lens.
Unique looking tree (really cool tree in my book) keeping watch over the way from the Lakeview Shelter at Gooseberry Falls State Park to the Lake Superior shoreline.
The park is located in Castle Danger, north of Two Harbors, Minnesota.
Beautifully shaped old growth pine tree standing watch and dwarfing the other trees along Otter Lake/Rengo Road, just a few yards away from the Canadian border in Northeastern Minnesota.
Goldie (my dachshund) and I had some time on our hands - we had a flat tire and the spare under the van was rusted in place and wouldn't come down.
We wandered around and I took a few pictures while we were waiting for the $300 tow that took us the 50 miles or so into Grand Marais to buy a $100 new tire. I didn't know at the time just how close to Canada we were.
Mask of Chief Little Crow (Taoyateduta) created by Ed Archie Noisecat in Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Originally slated to be a state park and ending up becoming one of the premier Minneapolis parks. Minnehaha is now part of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area run by the National Park Service.
Little Crow was the leader of the Dakota during the 1862 Dakota Conflict (formerly known as the Sioux Uprising), however he advised his people against going to war. "But if you strike at them they will all turn on you and devour you and your women and children just as the locusts in their time fall on the trees and devour all the leaves in one day" he told them. In the end, he reluctantly agreed to lead them saying, "Taoyateduta is not a coward, He will die with you."
Little Crow survived the conflict, but was killed after the war while he and his son were picking berries near Hutchinson, Minnesota. A settler and his son who were out hunting came upon them, and after an exchange of gunfire, Little Crow was dead.
His skull and other remains were displayed in the State Capitol building until 1915 and then ended up in a box at the Minnesota Historical Society. After years of trying, Little Crow's grandson, Jesse Wakeman, finally convinced the state to turn the remains over to him in 1971. Wakeman had them buried in a family plot in Flandrau, South Dakota.
Vintage, rustic-style entrance sign on Highway 61 at Gooseberry Falls State Park. This sign is one of my earliest memories of the North Shore.
The park is located in Castle Danger, about ten miles north of Two Harbors, Minnesota on the North Shore of Lake Superior. It is one of Minnesota's most popular and treasured state parks.
It was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the late 1930's/early 1940's as part of the New Deal getting men back to work during the Great Depression. There are several awesome historic buildings here along with lots of trails, many feet of rocky Lake Superior shoreline, a campground (book a year ahead of time for summer camping!), an awesome picnic area with CCC-built tables still in place and lots more.
It's a "must stop" place if you are going anywhere on the North Shore.
Foggy Split Rock Light on Lake Superior's North Shore. Photo taken from the wayside/scenic overlook along Highway 61.
Gunflint Lake Scenic Overlook on the Gunflint Trail. The "trail" is actually Cook County Rd 12, but it became known as the Gunflint Trail because of Gunflint Lake. Native Americans and Voyageurs found chert, a black flint rock, on the lake shore. The French named it “Lac de Pierres a Fusil” which translates to English as "Lake of Stone Flint."
The Gunflint Trail is a 57 mile long road that winds its way through the Superior National Forest from Grand Marais on Lake Superior to Saganaga Lake near the Canadian border. It is paved from start to finish.
The Gunflint Trail Welcome Signs are located in downtown Grand Marais, Minnesota. A bear in a motor boat and a voyageur carrying a canoe invite people to take a drive up the Gunflint. It has been decades since they were on the actual Gunflint Trail entrance, but they are Grand Marais and Minnesota icons.
The stone piers that the signs stand on were built in the 1930's by either the WPA or the CCC. The signs were made in the 1950's by an unknown entity. They were both refurbished in 2012 and put back up in 2013.
The Gunflint Trail itself (Cook County Road 12) runs north into the Superior National Forest, and then turns west when it nears the Canadian border. It passes by pristine north woods lakes, hiking, snowshoeing and skiing trails, snowmobile and ATV trails, scenic vistas, first class resorts and campgrounds on its way to Saganaga Lake.
It started out as an Indian trail from Gunflint Lake to Grand Marais on Lake Superior. The route probably came to be due to the chert (a sparking rock similar to flint) that was found on the shores of Gunflint Lake. The trail gradually became a road after being used for some mining exploration and logging operations.
It is now a paved, two-lane scenic highway with the amenities mentioned above. It also offers access to U.S. Forest Service roads that will take you to Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness entry points and a variety of Superior National Forest recreation, camping and interpretive areas.