Snowy Owl. I finally ran into one on my way home from work. They are much easier to spot with six cars parked around them 🙂
Category Archives: Wildlife
01.17.14 – Two Trumpets
Two Trumpets. I was traveling for work the other day. On the way home I happened to catch these two swans flying out of the corner of my eye. I followed them for a good bit until I found a road that turned to cross their path. The rest was simple – hurry up and wait. It wasn’t long.
The In-Between, Day 2 | Minnesota North Shore #exploremn
Fall 2013 MN North Shore series
Day 2 on MN North Shore began exquisitely. We made our way down to waters edge for the Sunrise @ Grand Marais shoot. Nature cooperated nicely. From there, we back-tracked a bit to Cascade River State Park for a beautiful morning hike up the river gorge among the picturesque cascades.
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
Cascade River State Park photos
Next we got off the beaten path (Hwy 61) and made our way towards another destination (Hollow Rock Resort). After checking in we were off on the Gunflint Trail to drive a loop through the forest in search of Devilfish overlook. We got closed, but missed a road and stumbled on a Red Fox – cute little bugger; then just continued on our way. We decided to take another run at a sunset at Honeymoon Bluff that overlooks Hungry Jack Lake off the Gunflint Trail. The second attempt yielded better results than the first.
Another full day on the MN North Shore. Love this place. There is a surprise around every corner.
The in-between photos
Blue Mound State Park | MN Buffalo Ridge
MN Buffalo Ridge series [The To and From] [Gibbon, MN] [Pipestone National Monument] [Blue Mound State Park] [Morton, MN Monuments]
From Pipestone, MN we traveled South 30 minutes to Blue Mound State Park. This is another fine example of the wild beauty that nature has provided for us. Situated minutes North of Luverne, MN in Rock County, Blue Mound State Park is touted in local folklore as the mound that was used as a buffalo jump before European settlements – no archaeological evidence exist however. That would be quite the sight.
The “mound” definitely sticks out of the landscape with cliffs up to 100 feet high. The Sioux Quartzite bedrock can been seen from quite a distance; even though it is pink in color, it appeared to early settlers as a blueish mound – hence the name. There are well maintained trails all about the park, but be sure to wear suitable shoes – seems like common sense, I know – however we ran out of that when we pulled into the park. The excitement to get out and see the huge rock formation had us on a 5+ mile hike with no water and I with dead batteries in one of the two cameras I was lugging along for the excursion. We should have turned back and dropped my one camera off and acquired some portable H2O, but that didn’t happen (my fault). It didn’t seem like the hike was going to be that far until it was….ever been there? Beware of a small creek crossing on the South end of the park on Bur Oak Trail. The big hunk of wood in the middle of the stream that appears to be a worthy stepping stone is an invitation to get acquainted with the muddy banks of this innocent looking creek crossing. Thankfully the interpretive center, on the opposite end of the park from where we parked, was not far. It was a welcomed oasis. Some water to wet your parched whistle was just the ticket.
The lower path provides nice views of cliffs where the upper provides sweeping views from atop the mound to the surrounding farm land. There were lots of Western Prickly Pear and some Prairie Smoke, but with the odd Spring weather we had, it was still pretty early and nothing much was in bloom. There were plenty of birds, butterflies and other critters to hold our interest. We spied a very interesting bird; it looked like it had a yellow helmet on. I have never encountered anything like that before. If anyone knows what it is please comment below. We saw the buffalo heard on the way in close to the road, however, when we were done with our hike they were way off away from any photo opportunity. Oh well, perhaps another time.
Cyndie and I very much enjoyed this wonderful state park despite being prepared to really enjoy it. Next time there will need to be more time, comfortable footwear and plenty of aqua. We are very lucky in Minnesota to have so many great state parks. Get out there and explore a state park near you! You may be surprised with what you find and maybe stumble upon other interesting things in between.
Abandoned Hunting: The In-Between | MN, SD & ND
This is the follow up post to Abandoned Hunting | MN, SD & ND.
We were afforded quite a variety of scenery and subjects in our travels. The wildlife was plentiful and spectacular. The sheer number of geese that will congregate in one area can be quite the spectacle. We were reminded how nature can often be raw and brutal. We witnessed a bald eagle ripping away at a deer carcass and another that dispatched Fluffy on the side of a road and then proceeded to carry it away. The Whitetail deer were seemingly as numerous as grains of sands. There were three different occasions that we spotted entire herds milling about in the middle of the day. I very much enjoyed the small towns we passed through. I could have spent a lot of time photographing their character, but per usual, we were on a mission.
Shooting Swans | Central MN
This is an absolute site to see. The $10/hr./photographer for private deck access just off the water was more than worth it.
Reservations: Rich Thurman | 201 Mississippi Drive | Monticello, MN. 55362 | richthurman@fnmmail.com.
There is a public area to observe the swans adjacent to the residence with the private deck if you would rather go that route – Monticello Swan Park. Either way, please consider making a donation to carry on what Sheila Lawrence stared.
Between my two camera’s I have a little bit over 1000 frames to look through. I’ve gotten better at trashing the obvious non-winners. Here are the 37 frames I kept.
Private observation deck
Private observation deck – 4 slots
Public observation area
North Dakota Safari | ND Drift Prairie
There wasn’t any extreme off-roading at all on our trip to North Dakota; there were roads everywhere. We roamed about freely; pretty much uninhibited by obstacles with the exception of the “bridge out” signs in the middle of nowhere and the occasional pond/lake right in the middle of a road. The GPS was rather amusing with its informative display of where we were driving. Often it stated unpaved road or simply – Driving on Road. You can truly find the middle of nowhere in ND. I love it.
When traveling through the middle of nowhere don’t be surprised if you encounter a train of machinery blocking your way. You can see the dust cloud miles away. That is your hint to pull off and get out of their way. Harvest time was in full gear when we were there. The dust from the roads and the picking of corn and beans made for some interesting photos.
know I have used the term “dirt road” rather loosely; to include gravel roads, etc. – anything not paved. We were actually on dirt roads in ND – black fertile dirt very compacted from grain trucks and other farming machinery. These field roads were smooth. In fact, they were often smoother-riding than some of the black top roads. The weeds on these dirt roads were a bit tall in spots though. There were several times that we stopped to shoot some wildlife and all you could smell was simmering grasshopper guts and burnt weeds.
There was plenty of wildlife between each town and abandoned place we happened upon. I very much enjoyed my close encounter with a hawk and just the sheer numbers of them that we saw. We chased around egrets for a while as well and stumbled upon some baby turkeys. They are not cute at all – as most baby animals usually are. Everyone of those puddles held an abundance of waterfowl with no shortage of goose poop.
This was two of the better days we have enjoyed out shooting in a while. Great locations, weather and of course my company is always wonderful.
