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| Hiking | 5.00 Miles |
240 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.00 Miles | 4 Hrs | | 1.25 mph |
| 240 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | In Search of Autumn Color. Day Two 
After a very uncomfortable night I'm convinced that the Explorer is Not a camping vehicle. The temp was a chilly 41 degrees but very clear. It's too bad there was so much overhead lighting at the parking area because there was a slight Aurora Borealis weaving a curtain of colored light above me  A very special experience.
It was 0430 and very dark as I made my way to the visitors center to wash and brush before hitting the road to points South. I drove to a tunnel and parked where the old two-lane highway went around the face of a cliff and hoped to get some photos of a rising sun.
The dim early morning light made for some challenging camera work with long exposures. I tried some "light painting" where I snapped the camera with a 15 second exposure time then went in front of the camera with a flashlight and painted a nearby tree with light. However, my LED flashlight wasn't strong enough to highlight the tree 
As the sun was breaking, I was able to get some shots but with a cloudless sky, the sunrise was less than spectacular (not like an Arizona sunrise). I found some flowers still in bloom and wondered if they were aware that winter was just around the corner. As I was about to leave, I noticed a pair of Peregrine Falcons flying around the cliff face above the tunnel. They had a nesting area high in the rocks so I hit max zoom (35X) on my camera and got off a few shots. The rising sun lit up the rocks too much for good contrast, but I got em.
Driving South and getting closer to civilization, (Duluth) I found an old rest area along a long deserted section of Hwy 61 that had good views of the lake and color to boot  A trip along Lake Superior's North Shore is always a special experience that I have done many times a long time ago. Now the trip is along a speedy 4-lane expressway that whisks you past all the old and special scenic spots along the shoreline. In the past, I could park my old van along the highway, grab my fishing gear, hit the streams and fish for Steelhead Salmon, now, everything's posted. I'll have to do this again, hopefully next year, and plan on driving all the way to the Canadian border then heading back from there. But I'll have the Explorer better set-up for camping with an air mattress. |
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Autumn Foliage Observation Moderate
Found isolated spots with good color. |
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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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Route Editor
Route Scout
