Tag Archives: MN North Shore

Destination, Nature, Photography

Minnesota North Shore – The In-Between, Day 4 #exploremn

MN North Shore

MN North ShoreThis was finally the morning where there was no fog to speak of along MN North Shore.  Although waking up at 4:30 a.m. while on vacation seems a bit crazy, sometimes it pays off.  The Grand Portage Trading Post (gas station) is not open at this hour.  You are stuck with the coffee in your room.  We made our way to Hollow Rock Resort for a sunrise shoot.  It is a very short distance from the casino.  It was a cool morning and the mosquitoes where a titch unruly, but manageable…at times.  Our Hallow Rock Point sunrise shaped up nicely – no fog, clouds on the horizon and beautiful color.

Grand Portage National Monument was next on the list.  There is some amazing history to learn about there.

CanadaMN North Shore

The journey didn’t end here.  We ventured into Canada.  I have never been into Canada from this entry point and finally my curiosity was going to be over.  Not far in we spied a cheese sign and had to check it out.  Thunder Oak Cheese Farm was a nice little pit stop along our way and certainly filled the void during snack time, which happened to be at that very moment.

We made our way through the city of Thunder Bay on our way to find some Amethyst.  There are a few veins of the purple rock North and East of the city.  Amethyst Mine Panorama is where we ended up (B on the map above).    The mine is about 80 miles from Grand Portage, MN and 63 km from Thunder Bay, CA off of the 11/17 Trans Canadian Hwy.  How exciting this destination is – is directly related to how much you like Amethyst.  The mine tour is pretty minimal.  You exit the office and walk by some really big Amethyst rocks and then stand there overlooking a hole in the ground.  The gist of it is that there are two miners picking out the premium Amethyst.  What they don’t want (the not-so-premium stuff) they dump in an area where you can go and dig around yourself.  That is precisely what we did.  They have tools for digging and buckets to collect your treasure in.  When you are done with all of that, there is a washing station to scrub your gems clean to get a closer look at them.  Once you have decided what you cannot live without, it is a short trip to the office to pay $3.00/lb.  Cyndie found some really interesting specimens; for $12 we got to bring them back home.

WARNING & BEWARE

Crazy Canadian blood-sucking vampire gnats abound in the treasure hunting area.  We suffered a bit of a casualty that beautiful July afternoon.  Cyndie was bit in the eyelid a few time – enough to make her one eye swell almost completely shut and there were also a couple of swollen welts on her neck.  There were a few eye patch and pirate jokes.  She was a trooper.  The gnats didn’t bother me, but the crazy Canadian blood-sucking vampire mosquitoes were all over me tapping me for much O Negative nectar.

Amethyst Mine Panorama

We had a pleasant excursion into Canada.  We had planned to visit a couple of provincial parks, but didn’t make it there.  We made our way back to border crossing and then back to Two Harbors.  That was a long day (just shy of 3oo miles), but we saw a lot of beautiful country.

Here are my shots of the Minnesota North Shore – The in between, Day 4

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Destination, Nature, Photography

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

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.

MN North Shore

Here are some photos from Day 3.

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Destination, Nature, Photography, Wildlife

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

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Destination, Nature, Photography

The In-Between, Day 1 | Minnesota North Shore #exploremn

Fall 2013 MN North Shore series

Any long-time follower of this blog knows that with Cyndie and I; although destinations are great, it is all about the journey in between those destination that really stand as lasting memories through the years for us.  This trip tot the MN North Shore was no exception.  The in between was great on the MN North Shore!

Our first day we made it as far as Grand Marais.  This is by far my favorite area on the MN North Shore to be.  Its close proximity to The Gunflint Trail, Judge CR Magney State Park, Cascade River State Park, Temperance River State Park and all of the back roads, forest roads and loops you can travel are via car are phenomenal.  It’s beautiful country.

Along the way to Grand Marais we stopped at Temperance River State Park.  Later in the afternoon we made out way out to Honeymoon Bluff.  There was no sunset to be had as it was cloudy and overcast, but we made the best of it.  It was full day.  Even Though the color was 100% or past peak (in most areas), there was still some great color and likely 80% less people than a week ago.  Day 1 was pretty smooth sailing; Day 2 though, we were part of a 3 car traffic jam on a forest road.  The congestion cleared soon enough though.  Here are some shot from day 1.

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Destination, Nature, Photography

Grand Portage State Park – Gunflint Trail | MN North Shore #exploremn

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Fall 2013 MN North Shore series

A favorite destination along the MN North Shore – actually all the way up to the northern tip – is Grand Portage State Park where the Pigeon River flows over the tallest waterfall in Minnesota.  It is a pretty spectacular site.  It is one of the destinations along the shore that Cyndie and I very much enjoy photographing.  A great attribute of the park is that it is handicapped accessible with a paved trail, boardwalk and ramps to a viewing platform.  The path the falls is a short distance through the forest.  It was overcast that day, but that didn’t seem to dampen the glow of yellow and orange of the Autumn color – it was quite brilliant.

There is a 3.5 mile trail out to middle falls as well.  We found the third waterfall on the pigeon river too (Partridge Falls).  Partridge Falls is pretty good size, but it lacks a decent down-river vantage point.  More on that later…

Here are two views of the high falls and another of the pigeon river flowing toward Lake Superior.

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Destination, Nature

North Shore Abstracts – Gunflint Trail | MN North Shore #exploremn

Fall 2013 MN North Shore series

You can find yourself doing all sorts of things when you are out and about along MN North Shore.  We made good use of our midday going to and from locations.  The lovely Autumn colors provided some great backdrops for some abstract shots.  It is something different to do photographically and some time you get some pretty interesting shots.

For those of you who have never done anything like this, you can get shots like this with a small aperture (f/16 – f/32) and a slow shutter speed.  Click the shutter and move your camera either up or down from where you started.  Side to side works well to.  You can also zoom in or out to create a pretty neat effect.  Go nuts; there is no wrong method.

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Destination, Nature, Photography, Time-lapse

Sunrise @ Hollow Rock | MN North Shore #exploremn

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Fall 2013 MN North Shore series

Hollow Rock

resortlocationHollow Rock is located a handful of miles South of Grand Portage, MN on MN North Shore.  Hollow Rock Resort is situated in between Hollow Rock Creek and Hollow Rock Road.  The rock formation is located right off of the shore from the resort.  Cyndie and I stayed in Cabin #5 – Moose; Hollow Rock was right out the cabin’s front door.

Being right on location was certainly nice.  All that was needed was to wake up, have some coffee and then set up to shoot.  The in-floor heat was a plus; it made the cabin nice and cozy.  I was also happy to see the tank-less water heater.  It is always good to have hot water.  This is what I like to refer to as remote/comfortable.  There is no cable TV, cellular service or Internet here.  It was quite peaceful.  A great place to get lost for a few days.

outdoorguyphotography-3267

Here are a few other shots from the cabin and around the immediate area outside the cabin.

At this particular time of year, the sunrise lines up nicely with hole in Hollow Rock.  We had a picture-perfect morning for a sunrise.  The weather, clouds and color came together quite nicely.  Here are four frames from that magnificent sunrise shoot.

I continued to practice my time-lapse photography at this location as well.  I had the same issues as before, but I am pleased with the results.

Part One

Part Two

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Destination, Photography, Time-lapse

Sunrise @ Grand Marais | MN North Shore #exploremn

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Fall 2013 MN North Shore series

grandmaraisharborAs 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.

Views: 451

Destination, Nature, Photography, Time-lapse

Honeymoon Bluff – Gunflint Trail | Minnesota North Shore #exploremn

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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 honeymoonbluffmappyou 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.

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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

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