Sable Falls Area Hike

I went for a long hike all around the Sable Falls area this evening.  My goal was to get exercise as well as to investigate the acceleration of spring.  There are wild flowers everywhere.  One of my favorite, of course, is the trillium.

I originally planned on heading into the dunes, but instead I hiked the Sable River trail toward the Visitiors' Center.

At the "Magic Shelf Mushroom Tree" I went off-trail and bushwhacked up into the woods.  There is a certain freedom that I feel when I go off trail.  This is not a good time of year since the darn ticks are out, but I was in the mood.  The best way to investigate spring growth in the forest is to walk through the forest -- not on a trail.  But first, a couple of shots of the "magic" tree.

Then I headed through the woods.

I found a creek that is flowing through what appears to be an old glacier river valley.  There was a lot of up and down as I tromped through the woods.  Now I know why the trail goes around all of the glacial land forms.

When I climbed up one of the hills, I found these unfurling fiddle head ferns.

More up and down...

Is this shelf fungi dancing?

Trilliums and more trilliums....

I finally found the trail and took it back toward Sable Falls.  This is the trail bridge that goes over the creek from a few pictures back.  It would be interesting to walk this whole creek valley.  It would also be rugged.

Rainy Dunes Hike and More

Yesterday I decided to go for a hike, even though it was raining. It has been years since I hiked in the rain. Given the severe draught that Grand Marais has suffered, I must admit that it was refreshing. Plus it is easier to hike in the sand when it is wet.

I parked at the Log Slide and hiked east.  There were wild flowers all through the forest, plus in the dunes. 

This more than 100 year old telegraph pole is down, but it still has wires attached.

This telegraph pole has survived upright.

And to finish this blog posting, I'll include a video that I took the other night from the break wall.

Dunes plus Bay Sunset

The other night after walking out the break wall, I headed into the dunes to catch some more moon rise photos.  It was a calm night on Sable Lake.

And on Lake Superior...

The moon was definitely brighter than normal.

Here are a few after sunset photos from the south side of Grand Marais bay taken last night.

Here is another beach video taken a few days ago.



Grand Marais Breakwater Moon Rise

This month the full moon is a super moon event. The official full moon is this weekend, but it is supposed to be cloudy here in Grand Marais. So last night I decided to go out to the harbor breakwater for moon rise. A super moon happens when the moon is closest to the earth. Because the moon is 50,000 miles closer to the earth, it appears 14 percent closer and almost 30 percent brighter. The next super moon occurs in 2029.

I arrived at the end of coast guard point in plenty of time, but due to hazy conditions east of town, the moon was not visible until it was well above the horizon.

As I was walking out onto the breakwater, I documented the freighter heading westbound.

There were a handful of people fishing. 

Views from the breakwater....

Then I walked over to the inner harbor lighthouse to get a shot of the rising super moon.

Since I had to walk by the commercial fisherman's memorial, I decided to document it. 

Lake Superior Beach Video and Photos

I've gone for a couple of beach hikes this week to take pictures of rocks for the online rockhounding adventures.  Yesterday I collected specimens at First Creek so I can get some close up photos.  I decided to add an extra segment to the Lake Superior Agate rockhounding adventure.  I am creating a photographic identification key.  The key will help you identify beach rocks by having you answer a series of questions, referring to the photographs.  By clicking on the YES and NO responses, you will be able to identify over 20 different beach rocks.  Although I am featuring rocks from the Lake Superior shoreline, the information is relevant to igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks found throughout the world.  I'm not including all rocks found on our planet, but I am covering the most common.

For today's blog posting I'll include a couple of photos.

Here is a picture of what is left of First Creek, located on the west end of town.  There is not much water, so the creek is not reaching Lake Superior.

A fishing boat passed by....

Looking west....

Here is a video taken from the beach...