Tag Archives: Grand Marais

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

October 25, 2013 Dan Traun

Fall 2013 MN North Shore series

Day 3 was the day – the morning actually – the sunrise shoot we had hoped for back in July when we planned this trip. I love it when a plan comes together! Hollow Rock was right outside our cabin; a mere 100 yards or so to the shooting location on the rocky beach. That morning was absolutely gorgeous. Everything came together nicely. The clouds, color and sun all working in perfect harmony.

Gunflint Trail to Grand Portage

After an epic sunrise experience we set out to explore forest roads between the Gunflint Trail and Grand Portage. The color around Grand Portage [although past prime] was better than Grand Marais. I’ve never seen so many Ruffed Grouse in my life. I seen as many birds on this trip as I had all the years I used to upland hunt. We were also searching for the third waterfall, Partridge Falls, on the Pigeon River and eventually found it. We were unable to find a decent falls vantage point down river for a good photograph, but enjoyed the location just the same. It is quite peaceful out in the middle of nowhere. Natures beauty really consumes and carries you around from one location to the next. At one point our travels were impeded by the handiwork some busy beavers.

One bit of advice whilst out and about in strange lands and big wilderness – study a map or two before you set out. GPS, on more than one occasion, failed to provide adequate direction. A little bit of mystery is fine, but having a general idea of where you will be traveling – starting and ending up – is paramount to a good trip. “Ready to Navigate” displayed on the GPS, although humorous, is not helpful at all. As you can see from the Lightroom Map Module below from GPS data, we covered some ground over three days. It was a fabulous trip and experience with my betrothed.

Here are some photos from Day 3.

Destination, Nature, Photography, Wildlife

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

October 25, 2013 Dan Traun

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

Destination, Photography, Time-lapse

Sunrise @ Grand Marais | MN North Shore #exploremn

October 19, 2013 Dan Traun 1 Comment

Fall 2013 MN North Shore series

As luck would have it, our first morning of MN North Shore yielded a spectacular sunrise. The clouds and color were quite wonderful. I am very fond of Autumn sunrises as they happen much later than they do in the Summer 🙂.

Since we would be in position an hour or so before sunrise, I took this opportunity to practice some time-lapse photography again.

There are two parts. I was having issues with exposure; part way through I needed to adjust and that doesn’t bode well for a seamless end to end video. The two parts captured the clouds and color pretty well. I need to do more research on this and practice practice practice.

Part 1

Part 2

Here are a few frames from that lovely morning sunrise.

Destination, Nature, Photography, Time-lapse

Honeymoon Bluff – Gunflint Trail | Minnesota North Shore #exploremn

October 17, 2013 Dan Traun 1 Comment

Fall 2013 MN North Shore series

Honeymoon Bluff

There is a very picturesque place not so far away from Grand Marais, MN; just up the Gunflint Trail approximately 30 miles on MN North Shore. Honeymoon Bluff overlooks Hungry Jack lake; if you are lucky you will witness a beautiful sunset. This site is easily accessible by a well-mark and maintained trail. Steep as it was, it is over very soon. A quick 1/2 mile and you are looking out over pristine wilderness.

Our first attempt during our stay in Grand Marais/Grand Portage was met with cloudy conditions – not optimal for a sunset. You come all this way and you sometimes make do with what is available. I took the opportunity to shoot some time-lapse photography. Since we were relatively close the second day we decided to have another go at it.

Time-lapse is interesting to play around with; clearly I need to perfect the process more. The output is a bit crude as I had some dust and dirt issues and I still have the trial version of the software. Sunset I think is easiest as you just end up with a black frame eventually. Sunrise is a whole different thing; more on that in a future post.

Cloudy version

Sunset version

Here are my shots from both days – clouds and sunset. Cyndie and I really enjoyed this spot. It is easy enough to reach if you are in the area and it looks like there may be a good sunset.

Destination, Nature

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

July 24, 2013 Dan Traun

MN North Shore

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

July 23, 2013 Dan Traun

The In-Between, Day 2 | MN North Shore

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