This is not the first time I’ve written about my
obsession with the Great Lakes. My family traditionally travels to Lake
Michigan over Columbus Day weekend most years, but this year was an exception. I
wanted to travel to a spot that wasn’t crawling with tourists escaping Chicago or
other metro areas, so I looked for somewhere that would hopefully be less crowded.
Because I’d heard great things about Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior,
we chose that area for our trip. Though we’ve visited multiple areas along Lake
Superior, we’d never travelled to that particular area.
Noting several state parks dotting the shoreline, I tried
to prioritize which to visit during our short stay. While it was nice to take a
fall vacation, we still had to work around our daughters’ school schedules, so we
didn’t have enough time to visit all the places that looked interesting. I
booked a room in Duluth, thinking that would be a good starting point for areas
to the north or even if we wanted to visit the shoreline in Wisconsin. Duluth
itself is an interesting and beautiful city, especially with the fall foliage
dotting the hilly city, and nestled along Lake Superior, right into the
Minnesota border. We visited the Great Lakes Zoo, my daughter’s choice, and
also spent some time at Leif Erickson Park. We drove across the Aerial Lift
Bridge. But, what I was itching to do was hit the shoreline for some
spectacular scenery.
We were not disappointed. Between the beautiful fall
foliage, shimmering blue water, and granite shorelines, the scenery was
indescribable. The weather was perfect, and the light hitting the water,
granite hills, and tree leaves made things even more gorgeous. We traveled on
scenic Highway 61 northward to visit many parks—even as far as Grand Portage at
the Canada border. Knowing they wouldn’t let us in, we didn’t bring our
passports, but one of these days I hope to cross the border and travel all
around the lake.
We started off at Gooseberry Falls State Park. As the
name implies, there are waterfall and also streams, wooded trails, and
amazing views of Lake Superior along sheer granite cliffs. The view right
outside the visitor’s center is a perfect photo opportunity, with birch and
aspen trees framing the blue lake water in the distance—simply breathtaking!
From here, we continued north to the Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. We hiked along the shoreline but decided to visit the lighthouse until the next day. My daughter drove us back to Duluth, so I could sit back and enjoy the views along the way.
In addition to taking more time to explore Duluth, there are
dozens of other parks and natural areas I want to visit or revisit the next
time we make this trip. And trust me—there will be a next time!
As spring turned into summer, I switched to photographing prairie plants. I have hundreds of pictures of many of these plants as well, but still, I kept snapping pictures. I have a backyard prairie, so photo subjects were very handy. I’d snap pictures, view them on my laptop, and retake, if necessary, to get better shots. Soon, I was taking pictures of bees, butterflies, and whatever flying wildlife would sit still for a few seconds to have their pictures taken.
