Skywatch Friday from the North Woods

These are sky views along the upper north shore of Lake Superior between Grand Rapids and the Canadian border taken in September. The shoreline is so impressive with rocky outcroppings and pine trees but no beaches. Its easy to imagine how this rugged shore could be dangerous for ships.

I've included this view of the lake because if you enlarge it and look toward the bottom of the photo you can catch a glimpse of lake rocks because the water was crystal clear and an incredible blue that day.

More incredible skies here.

praying for rain

September's full moon floating over Lake Superior last Saturday--a peaceful sky view from Grand Portage Chippewa Reservation, Minnesota near the Canada border.

The next day as we rode back to the Twin Cities I took this [shaky] photo from the motorcycle of the sky approaching Duluth. The clouds were full of smoke from the wildfires burning in the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area near Ely and the sun was fiery amber.  What a contrast with the North shore's blue skies and beautiful sunsets. The fires are still burning.

See more skies of note @ Skywatch Friday. 

summer sees red

I saw red all weekend in the Lake Superior Northshore woods where the leaves have barely started to turn. Rose hips and berries look ripe and ready to sustain the forest diners too. See more autumnal reds  @ RubyTuesday.                       


But even alone it was beautiful and he fed the fire to cut the night chill. There it is again, he thought, that late summer chill to the air, the smell of fall.
from Gary Paulsen's novel Hatchet.                              

Skywatch Friday from the Land of Sky Blue Waters

Another photo of the highway running through the Chippewa [Ojibwa*] National Forest from a motorcycle trip a couple of weeks ago. This forest is unique because it has both a mix of northern hardwood forest between the western Minnesota prairies and northern boreal [coniferous] forest to the north and east toward Duluth and Lake Superior. And the sky is always huge here.

*The Ojibwa people call themselves Anishinabe in their own language, which means 'original person.'

Visit Skywatch Friday for more sky views.

Gray skies are just clouds passing over. (D. Ellington)

Last weekend for our 38th anniversary we traveled to Lake Superior staying in Ely, in the Boundary Waters area. This was taken on Highway l leaving Finland, Minnesota as we approached the lake. What a sight! Just the tip of the lake runs for miles.

We had snow and gray skies which followed us back to the Twin Cities where it snowed the rest of the weekend.

Visit SkyWatch to see more sky views from around the world. You'll want to join the fun!

Happy Friday!

you've been invited

to see more family photos from our trip to Lake Superior's North Shore and Gooseberry Falls. Enjoy!
note: to turn off the music, mouse over 'slide' in upper left hand corner then click on the speaker icon

SkyWatch Friday: Duluth or bust!

On a recent trip north towards Duluth, we spent time soaking in this dreamy view of the north shore of Lake Superior from Gooseberry Falls. The hazy horizon blended with the water for peaceful ethereal view and an abundance of blue.
For more sky views, visit SkyWatch Friday.

Dog Sled Races - Part Deux

The winners are in! Bios from the Beargrease website; emphasis mine.

2008 Marathon Winner
JASON BARRON - Lincoln, Montana

Jason has a 30 year history with dog mushing starting as a five year old. He and his wife, Harmony, started their Kanabear Enterprises in 2000 and now have 45 [!] dogs in their kennel. Jason has finished 7 Iditarods [!] and Harmony has finished 3, winning the most improved musher in 2005. Their 13 month old daughter, Oksana, is already a dog lover just like mom and dad.

2008 Mid Distance Winner
DON GALLOWAY – MAKINEN, Minnesota

Don shares a kennel with partner and wife August Galloway, who he met working at a sled dog business eleven years ago. Don works full time as a health practitioner in Virginia/Cherry, MN.

333 note cuteness!

Mush-- its not just for breakfast anymore!

Sunday we went north to Duluth to see the start of the three-day, 411 mile long John Beargrease Sled dog Marathon starting in Duluth and running three days to Grand Portage, Minnesota and back. This was the 25th running of the race (they had to cancel last year for the 1st time due to lack of snow.) The race honors the memory and spirit of Ojibwe native John Beargrease, who with his brothers was the winter mail carrier (by dog sled & row boat) between Two Harbors and Grand Marais, Minnesota during the last two decades of the nineteenth century. He was the link to the outside world to the settlements along the north shore of Lake Superior.

We were especially excited to see the dogs and the mushers, some of whom will be competing at the Iditerod in March. There were sledders from the U.S., Canada, Australia, Ireland and Finland. We saw many Siberian Huskies that resembled our Pashka so closely. We found out listening to the announcer--who had been a musher for 45 years--that the breed of Siberian came from crossing wolves with the Spitz breed. Not all dogs were pure Husky but various mixes of hounds with Alaskan Huskies.

The dogs are very eager to get going when they see the ropes and harness equipment appear. Lots of jumping and yapping!

This fashionable dog could have been our Pashka about 12 years ago; same markings and same beautiful face.

The new generation of lightweight sleds.

Flags flew for the U.S. Austrailia, Canada, Finland and Ireland. The temp was in the mid-30's with plenty of sunshine and snow.

'Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace.' - Milan Kundera