Foggy Spires Approach.
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.
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
The 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
