Category Archives: Destination

Destination, Nature

The In-Between, Day 3 | Minnesota North Shore #exploremn

MN North Shore

day3

Grand Marais to Grand Portage

Ahhhh beautiful Grand Marais, MN.  This (and points North) is my favorite area of the MN North Shore.  We got off the beaten path and explored a few forest roads on our way to Judge CR Magney State Park.  The wild flowers were incredible as were the butterflies.  One of the forest road dead-ended out in the middle of nowhere.  That wasn’t terribly convenient and it forced us to backtrack back to where we started.  It could have been worse; we could be at work.

We spent a fair amount of time at Judge CR Magney State Park and generally took it a bit easier than we had in the last two days.  That pace we initially set was pretty aggressive pace initially and we were both starting to slow down some.  We arrived in Grand Portage in the early afternoon.

Lodging

Cabin lodging in these parts of the MN North Shore typically insist on a 2-night say minimum.  We had hoped to stay at Hollow Rock Resort so we could just wake up at sunrise and walk out right onto the shore for sunrise, but the two-day stay stamped that plan out.  The Grand Portage Lodge & Casino is a suitable solution to your one night stay needs.  Hollow Rock Resort is part of the casino and there wasn’t an issue gaining access to do a sunrise shoot there.

We checked in and then explored the surrounding area some as a late afternoon thunderstorm rolled on through.  An early dinner at the Casino and some much-needed shuteye seem like the perfect end of another full day of traveling the North Shore.

Here are my shots of the MN North Shore – The in between, Day 3

Destination, Nature

The In-Between, Day 2 | Minnesota North Shore #exploremn

The In-Between, Day 2 | MN North Shore

MN North ShoreThe second day started much like how the first ended – heavy think fog blanketing our surroundings.  The fog certainly added an extra element to the photos though.  After a bit of breakfast at the lodge we made our way out to the fish house and then out to the point.  The hike was great – especially in the fog.

After leaving Cove Point Lodge we went back South to visit Split Rock Lighthouse State Park.  It was too late the previous afternoon to go to Split Rock Lighthouse.  We spent a great foggy morning there before heading back North and stopping at Palisade Head.  There essentially was no view at Palisade Head, other than a ship heading for shore in some very dense fog.  Tettegouche State Park was the next stop.  We ended up skipping Gerorge Crosby Manitou State Park.  The entrance isn’t right off of Hwy 61 and we just plain missed the turn.  We continued on our way and visited Temperance River State Park as well as Cascade River State Parkbefore arriving in Grand Marais.  We secured a room for the night at The Shoreline Inn and made our way to My Sister’s Place for a much anticipated evening meal.  Traveling & photography are hungry business.

Here are my shots of the Minnesota North Shore – The in between, Day 2

Abandoned, Destination, Photography

Two Harbors Abandoned site | Minnesota North Shore

On our way back down the North Shore we stayed in Two Harbors.  Lou’s Fish House has some very tasty morsels for the smoked seafood connoisseur.  The smoked jumbo shrimp were fantastic!

If you are into architectural antiques, be certain to stop by North Shore Architectural Antiques and check out the inventory.  There are lots of interesting old pieces there to browse.  They offer a deconstruction service – three levels in fact.  I see this becoming more and more popular as society is taking to the repurpose, reuse, reclaim and recycle movement.

You can head down to the waterfront and observe a working ore dock by walking out on the break-water.  Also in the immediate vicinity are four locations operated by the Lake County Historical Society:  Two Harbors Lighthouse, The Depot Museum, Edna G. Tugboat and 3M Museum.

This is a great town to spend some time in.

two-harbors-abandonedThe Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway (DM&IR) is a railroad operating in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin that hauls iron ore and later taconite to the Great Lakes ports of Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota. Control of the railway was acquired on May 10, 2004, by the Canadian National Railway when it purchased the assets of Great Lakes Transportation.

— WIKIPEDIA

150px-logo_of_the_duluth_missabe_and_iron_range_railwayThe Duluth, Messabe and Iron Range Railroad began in Two Harbors with a 6-stall wooden roundhouse, but it didn’t take long for the railroad to expand. By 1930, a machine shop, boiler shop, car shop, boiler house, storehouse, foundry, engine room and a 50-stall brick roundhouse blanketed the 30 acres of DM&IR’s lakefront property. 109 locomotives were maintained by the shop, half of which were overhauled annually, while 30 or so received light repair. The roundhouse and machine shop ran 24 hours, maintaining the fleet for both a long ore season and abusive timber season, in addition to limited passenger service.

Out of the 30 buildings that comprised the historic shops, 8 still exist today, although the roofs of many are failing catastrophically. Historic roundhouses and locomotive shops all over the Midwest have been destroyed, but these are still preservable, in spite of the damage. With a little social-historical consciousness and the desire to save those reminders of bygone days that mark the American timeline.

— SUBSTREET.org

This site was absolutely fantastic!  I must say that it is my all-time favorite abandoned site to date that I have had the privilege to shoot.  The lighting inside was amazing and the graffiti outstanding.  I shot this location with my trusty Nikon D60 coupled with the Tamron 18-270mm @ 7.1 on auto ISO.  This is the camera that is by my side at all times.  You’ll notice the grain in the photos.  I think it adds character to the images.  I was going to process this location all in B&W, but the colorful graffiti, moss and other aspects of the building dictated otherwise. On some level I wish I would have spent more time and used a different camera, lens and tripod.  Different gear and more time would have allowed for a more complete exploration of the light and angles of this relic and captured some rock-solid exposures.  I think some really amazing HDR photography could be produced here.

An extensive account of the history of this location is available via Sometimes-Interesting.com’s Ghosts of the Duluth, Missabe, and Iron Range Railroad.

Destination, Nature, Photography

Hollow Rock Point Sunrise | Minnesota North Shore

While in Grand Portage, the fog cleared enough on the morning we were to depart long enough, to get a sunrise shoot in.  It was early and the mosquito’s relentless in their desire to rid us of our blood.  It is not exactly in the forefront of your mind to get up at 4:30 a.m. while on vacation, but some days it is worth it.

We stayed at Grand Portage Casio instead of Hollow Rock Resort because we were only going to be in this location for a day (two-day minimum stays :-\ boo).  I get it, though, why mess up a cabin for only one night.  I definitely want to get back here and stay the minimum two night or more.  We inquired at the front desk if it would be o.k. to go to the resort and shoot the sunrise; it wasn’t an issue.  Drive in, park, be quiet and get your shoot on.

Hallow Rock is right out the front door of most of the cabins as are wonderful views of the lake and shoreline.  It is a beautiful location to capture a sunrise.  I consulted the Photographer’s Ephemeris for details.  There would be no sunrise alignment in July, but you can catch the light in the hollow rock.  If you are looking for absolute alignment and want to see the sun rise through the hollow rock, sometime between October 13 – 20 is likely your best opportunity.  There is some room for variation of position on the shoreline, but I think that would be the most ideal window to work with.  Sunrise is at a more reasonable hour (7:15 a.m.) and there would hopefully be less skeeters then too 🙂

tpe
The Photographers Ephemeris

Here are my shots of that lovely morning sunrise.

Destination, Nature, Photography

Grand Portage National Monument | Minnesota North Shore

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Grand Portage National Monument is located on the north shore of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota.  It exists to preserves a vital center of fur trade activity and Anishinaabeg Ojibwe heritage.  Opened in 2007, the Grand Portage National Monument Heritage Center features exhibit galleries about Ojibwe culture and the fur trade, a bookstore, multi-media programs, park offices, archives and a classroom. The center is a collaboration between the National Park Service and the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

History

As early as 2,000 years ago, Indian Nations probably used Gichi-onigaming, or “the Great Carrying Place”, to travel from summer homes on Lake Superior to winter hunting grounds in the interior of Minnesota and Ontario. In 1729 Cree guide Auchagah drew a map for some of the first French fur traders, to show them how to reach the “western sea” of Lake Winnipeg. In time, Grand Portage became the gateway into rich northern fur-bearing country, where it connected remote interior outposts to lucrative international markets.

The Grand Portage trail is an 8.5-mile trail connecting Grand Portage with Fort Charlotte on the Pigeon River. Voyageurs from the interior of Canada would carry their furs by canoe to Fort Charlotte, and portage the bundles of fur to Grand Portage. There they met traders from Montreal, and exchanged the furs for trade goods and supplies. Each canoe “brigade” then returned to its starting place. The fur traders built Fort Charlotte as a trading fort at Grand Portage. There they built the Grand Hall in the French colonial style, which housed their meetings, a general store, and other facilities.

In mid-July 1802, partners of the North West Company, the most successful fur trade company in North America, met in their Grand Hall at Grand Portage. They voted to move their summer headquarters from the protected shores of Lake Superior’s Grand Portage Bay 50 miles north to the mouth of the Kaministiquia River. Almost from the time the Anglo-Scot Nor’Westers had organized at Grand Portage in the mid-1780’s, an emerging United States wanted them to stop competing with Americans in this territory.

The July vote meant that the North West Company would tear down its 18 buildings and transport the materials north in company schooners for use in constructing the planned new Fort William, far from U.S. soil. The buildings were constructed from native squared spruce, pine and birch and were surrounded by more than 2,000 cedar pickets.

Here are my shots from a recent visit to Grand Portage National Monument.


The Grad Portage Trail – seen here in red – must have been quite a haul.  The North Canoe was used on this routed.  At 25′ long, 4′ wide with about 18″ of draft when fully loaded; the canoe itself weighed about 300 lbs.  This was about half the size of the Montreal Canoe that was used on the Great Lakes.  Even with a crew of 5-6, transporting the 300 lb. canoe and just under 3000 lbs of supplies all divided out into 25-30 90 lb packs called pieces, could not have been an easy task.  Those voyagers where hearty stock no doubt.

grandportageroute1
Beginning at the stockade on Grand Portage Bay of Lake Superior, the 8.5-mile trail leads westward into the wilderness to a mid-point on the Pigeon River. It passes numerous rapids and a variety of waterfalls.  The most notable are Middle Falls and Pigeon Falls.  Both are part of the Grand Portage State Park and are within the Rove Formation.  Middle Falls is most easily seen from Pigeon River Provincial Park on the Canadian side of the border. To avoid numerous short portages, the Grand Portage was developed.

 

Destination, Photography

Cooter Pottery | Minnesota North Shore

dsc_4502As we traveled along the North Shore on our way to Gooseberry Falls State Park we stumbled upon an interesting destination.  Cooter Pottery is located a few miles northeast of Two Harbors, MN; the turn is just past Betty’s Pies – look for their sign.  On the sort 3 mile trip off of the beaten path you will drive right by the Northern Rail Traincar Inn on your way to Cooter Pottery.  The rail cars appeared plenty cozy.  We may have to stay there some time.

Dick Cooter

My pots are fired in a 125 cu. ft. wood-burning kiln inspired by traditional Korean kilns.  The kiln much be stoked with wood every 10 minutes for 36 hours until 2400 degrees Fahrenheit is reached.  Pots emerge from this river of fire with a richness of surface that cannot be duplicated by more modern means.

The pots are sturdy, simple and reflect the processes of making them.  I intend my pots be used for storage, serving and preparation of food, display of flowers, etc.  I hope they bring pleasure and joy to the rituals of daily life.  They are free of toxic materials and are dishwasher and microwave safe.

I follow the tradition in which making a pot is a collaboration among clay, fire, potter and user.  The potter seeks the tension among them so that each element has its place and none dominates for too long.

Dick Cooter’s studio is open daily 10-5 year round.  The next time you are in the area stop by and see his pottery.

Dick Cooter Pottery | 2046 Fors Rd., Two Harbors, MN 55616 | 218-834-5242

Here are my photos of my recent visit to Cooter Pottery.

Destination, Nature, Photography

Two Island River/Taconite Harbor | Minnesota North Shore

taconiteharbor

The third point of interest we found on our way up the North Shore to Temperance River State Park is the Two Island River.  It is approximately 15 miles long and flows into Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota at Taconite Harbor.  This private harbor is maintained by the Minnesota Power Company and Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc.  The harbor is a basin less than a mile long and not quite a half mile wide, protected by Gull and Bear Island and a series of breakwaters.

There isn’t a wayside rest here although it would be a perfect candidate for just that.  With coal power plants under environmental pressure, the Taconite Harbor Energy Center may completely twoislandriver-taconiteharborshutdown at some point (at least 1 of 3 turbines by 2016).  Train tracks criss-cross the river with the large taconite operation in the immediate vicinity.  Big industry and the public milling about recreating isn’t necessarily an ideal equation I suppose.  One can image and dream though.

I still maintain this would be a wonderful location of an expansive wayside rest with a short trail upstream along the cascading waterfalls and another down to Lake Superior.  Beautiful views of the waterfalls, river and the numerous wildflowers in full bloom made this an easy decision to turn around, park and explore further.

Schroder, just up the road, is another great place to stop.  There is a pretty good set of cascades on the Cross River – depending on the water level and flow – which all of the North Shore rivers and waterfalls are subject to.  Google Maps captured a photographer capturing the scene as it did its drive-by.

Cross River - Schroeder, MN -Google Maps, Street View
Cross River – Schroeder, MN
-Google Maps, Street View

Here are my shots from our stop along side Hwy 61 at the bridge over Two Island River.

 

Destination, Photography

Judge CR Magney State Park | Minnesota North Shore #exploremn

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Judge CR Magney State Park

Judge CR Magney State Park | Minnesota North Shore

Judge C.R. Magney State Park is the seventh park you will encounter along the North Shore.  Devil’s Kettle Falls is the main draw here. This is a very unusual, and even mysterious waterfall.  As you can see in the featured image, the river is split in two as it goes over the falls.  The section on the right, lands at the base of the falls and continues downstream.  The section on the left vanishes into a pothole known as the Devil’s Kettle and no one knows where it goes.  It is believed that the water makes its way out to Lake Superior by means of underground passages, but the exact details are unknown.   They have thrown dyes and logs and other things into the pothole, but apparently nothing ever comes out. If you have ever worried about falling over a waterfall, imagine falling into the Devil’s Kettle.  Read more on Devil’s Kettle…

History

Concrete foundations in the campground and picnic areas of the park are remnants of a transient work camp built there in 1934 by the State. The camp provided work and lodging for men displaced during the Depression years. In addition to building trails, logging, and completing public service projects, these men helped fight a fire in 1935 that burned more than 10,000 acres in the area. Later the men set up a sawmill and began to salvage fire-damaged wood.

In 1957, a 940-acre parcel of forest along the Brule River was set aside as Brule River State Park. The park became Judge C. R. Magney State Park in 1963 when the Minnesota legislature selected this park as a memorial to the late Judge Magney, a lawyer, mayor of Duluth, justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, and a strong advocate of Minnesota State Parks, especially those along the North Shore. With his influence, he was instrumental in establishing 11 state parks and waysides along Lake Superior. Over the years, parcels of land have been added to the park which today totals 4,642 acres.

Park Features

More than half of those 4,642 acres have no trails.  The upper two-thirds of land this park occupies has almost no trails.  The only trail runs parallel with the Brule River and eventually veers off to connect with the Superior Hiking Trail.    There are 9 total miles of hiking trails in the park.  This park has a good amount of semi-modern drive-up campsites.  Fishing opportunities are plentiful here on the Brule River or a tributary, Gauthier Creek, for Brook and Rainbow Trout.  The Spring time brings on the Steelhead run and Fall host the Salmon run.

Here are my shots of Judge C. R. Magney from a recent visit.

Destination, Nature, Photography

Cascade River State Park | Minnesota North Shore #exploremn

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Cascade River State Park

Cascade River State Park

Cascade River State Park is the sixth park you will encounter while traveling the North Shore.  This park doesn’t have much of a presence right off the road; there is a wayside that looks out over Lake Superior, but the best parts are along the easy hiking trails opposite the lake.  These cascades are spectacular.  The River cascades over one ledge after another as it drops 900 feet in the last three miles as it makes its way to Lake Superior.  The volcanic canyon is home to many fragrant cedar trees and we even stumbled upon some lady slippers in bloom.  The 18 miles of hiking trails loop up around Lookout and Mouse mountains as well as parallel Lake Superior right along the beach (1.5 miles) where you will find seven picnic sites.  This park offers a variety of camping options which include several semi-modern drive-up, two group camps and five back pack-in sites.

I think this was by far our favorite park of the trip.  The cascades are just so beautiful as our your complete surroundings.  I definitely would like to make plans to return here in the Fall for the leaf color.  From Temperance River on up is my favorite stretch of the MN North Shore.  I stumbled upon the Trifecta:  Three Parks.  Three Trails.  Three Days.  This would be absolutely fantastic to do – especially along this stretch of the North Shore.

Park History

Years ago, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) had a camp at the Cascade River. The men in this camp worked on a variety of conservation projects. Today, you can see some of their handiwork on the trails that wind along the river. One enrollee told how they cut and moved the large pine logs from Cascade down to Gooseberry Falls State Park to finish buildings in that park. From the beginning, Cascade was thought of as a state park, but it wasn’t until 1957 that it was officially designated as such. – wikipedia

Here are my shots from my recent visit to Cascade River State Park.

Destination, Nature, Photography

Temperance River State Park | Minnesota North Shore #exploremn

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Temperance River State Park

Temperance River State Park | Minnesota North Shore

Temperance River State Park is the fifth state park you will encounter along the shore.  In 1957, Minnesota organized 539 acres into the Temperance River State Park.  This park is a gorgeous.  The river plunges through a narrow gorge just before reaching Lake Superior; the surround tails provide ample opportunities for viewing the wonderful water.  There are several miles of hiking trails to explore and direct access to the Superior Hiking Trail.  The Superior Hiking Trail passes through the park, along the river gorge before climbing to the top of Carlton Peak, almost 1000 feet above Lake Superior.  Two campsites grace the shoreline here, one on either side of the river.

History

Pierre Esprit Radisson and Medard Chouart, Sier des Groselliers, were probably the first white visitors to the North Shore when they traveled up the shore of Lake Superior during 1660. Along with the Ojibwe Indians, the French controlled the North Shore area until 1763. The first white settlers in the area were probably clerks at American Fur Company posts located along the shore in the 1830s.  It is said the park got its name because, unlike other North Shore streams, the river had no bar at its mouth. At one time, the waters of this particular river flowed so deep and so strong into Lake Superior that there was no build-up of debris. This meant that there was no “bar.” What could you call a river without a bar?  For an appropriate, if slightly tongue-in-cheek selection, “temperance” fits perfectly. The area became a state park in 1957. Campsites on both sides of the river, plus the park’s hiking trails and picnic areas, draw a steady stream of visitors to this North Shore park.

Here are my shots of our visit to Temperance River.