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| Hiking | 6.00 Miles |
240 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.00 Miles | 7 Hrs | | 0.86 mph |
| 240 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | In Search of Autumn Color. Day One
The autumn season should be well under way in Northern Minnesota so I headed out, camera in hand to find the colors of autumn. My first destination was a trailhead along the Superior Hiking Trail a few miles South of Goosberry Falls and along the Crow River.
I hiked the short distance through the woods noting very little color in the trees that should have color by now. When I arrived at the footbridge crossing the creek, it only had an occasional puddle. I hiked up and down the creek but not much to peak my interest so I headed back to the trailhead.
Driving North again, I passed Goosberry Falls State Park and continued on to Split Rock Lighthouse State Park where I had to pay an entry fee to get to points where I could get some pictures. I hiked down the trails to get to the bottom of the cliffs along the rocky shores of Lake Superior. Like the rest of the tourist, I fought for locations where I could get some scenic shots of the lighthouse perched atop the hundred foot cliff. The sun was comfortable even though the wind was blowing as I hopped from one boulder to the next along the shoreline.
The lighthouse has been out of service for several years now thanks to improved GPS navigation by the ships making the trip to Duluth to pick up their load of Taconite Ore. The lighthouse and outer buildings are well maintained with lawns trimmed making it an enjoyable visit.
I jumped in the Explorer and headed North again, this time stopping in the little village of Beaver Bay and the Beaver River. The river is usually very scenic when the water's flowing, but this year has been slightly dry up here in the Arrowhead region so I hopped to see some color.
I spent some time jumping around on the rocks taking shots of the river and some trees in color that lined the banks. It was nice here with no tourists around and I enjoyed the crisp North Country air.
The afternoon was getting late so I was on the lookout for a place to park the SUV for the night but every wide spot along the road was posted against overnight parking or camping. I eventually returned to Goodberry Falls where there was a good rest area where I could park for the night. I still had a couple of hours of daylight left to check out the falls and autumn colors. There was only a small amount of water flowing in the river due to a late season drought but thankfully only a few tourists wandering around.
As I toured the upper and middle falls I found several quiet pools with multi-colored leaves floating on the surface that made perfect reflecting pools as the setting sun lit up the tops of the nearby trees. By the time I reached the lower falls the light was fading fast so I was glad I had the foresight to bring a tripod along on the trip. Using the last light of day, I had to go to 15-second exposures to catch the falls.
Walking back to the parking lot in the dim light, I was hoping that I wouldn't cross paths with a bear or worse, but I made it. As I was getting the Explorer ready for the night I was nibbling on a cold snack and wolfing down a cold beer and then crawled into a cold sleeping bag for the night. Note to self: Buy an air mattress if you're going to do this again. |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Light
I was surprised that there wasn't more color given the time of year. |
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| On every trip into the Superstitions, I find another Gold Mine. Today the mine was filled with Memories. I can not wait for the next trip. |
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