Inland Lake Dinner Picnic

Last night friends and I tried to have a beach fire picnic.  It was way too windy so we found a cool inland lake.  It was a beautiful, peaceful spot.

For dinner we had chicken, vegetable medley with cheese sauce, and potatoes with onions. Of course we had s-mores for dessert.

Sunset and Waves

As all of you regular followers have noticed, I have not had the time this summer (or the energy) to get out on adventures.  This is the first year I have worked all the museum's hours -- seven days a week!  However, the summer hours end next week and fall hours begin.  I am hoping to get out more on Grand Marais adventures in September and beyond....

First of all, I enjoyed watching the 70 percent partial solar eclipse from Grand Marais.  Part of me wishes I would have gone south, along with millions of others, to watch totality.  Below is a photo I took off the NASA live feed when totality hit Oregon.

Photos from Agate Beach last night....

Beach Photos during Rockhounding Class

The other day I took a few photos during a rockhounding class I conducted on the Grand Marais, MI beach.  Thanks to the participants for being a great class!

The photo below is a zoom shot I took looking east toward the boardwalk.  Lots of beach goers...

First Creek sentry trees...

Evening Beach Hike

Thanks to Susan and Doug Moore for a great visit over the weekend.  I am glad that Grand Marais is a half-way point during your annual visit to Ontario. 

After pizza we went for a short beach hike east of town.

By the way, sorry for the lack of blog posts this summer.  As some of you know, this is the first season in just short of two decades that I have worked all of the museum hours myself.  Given there are other museum-related tasks in the off hours (this week including sorting rocks and artifacts for a tent sale I had on Saturday), I have not had time for any hikes or other adventures.  I am looking forward to the shorter September hours so I'll have time for hiking!

Gitche Gumee Museum drawing from 2000

Thanks to Lindsay Isenhast for donating an original drawing to the Gitche Gumee Museum. An architect, Ray Jansma, drew landscapes in his free time. He and his wife, Phyllis, lived in Fremont, MI. They visited Grand Marais every year beginning in 1951. Mr. Jasma recently passed away. Lindsay has taken on the responsibility to donate the drawings to the original subjects in the illustrations. He drew this drawing of the museum, featuring the Niemi's fish tug, Shark. Mr. Jasma titled this drawing "Tugher." He drew it in September 2000, a year after the museum re-opened and five years before the porch was added.

Given that I had to have the Shark removed last year, due to its state of disrepair, it is nice to have this drawing.  I am going to have my son, Jonathan, make a custom frame so I can hang this drawing in the museum.  

Thanks to the Jasma family and to Lindsay for the incredible donation!

November weather in August

Yesterday was a bizarre weather day.  Although it is early August, yesterday felt more like November.  It was cool -- in the low 50s -- with sustained winds around 20mph and gusts up to 40mph.  There was a rip tide warning all day, so hopefully everyone stayed out of the waves.  I went for a quick drive with friends to check out the waves.

First we stopped at the end of Cemetery Road.  The waves were crashing on the big lake beach, the other side of the Sucker River.

Two sail boats were at the marina, taking refuge from the storm.

The waves were crashing against the break wall at the end of Coast Guard Point.  Some tourists were leaning against the break wall, including small children.  This is not at all safe.

Some repairs have been made to the break wall.

 

Friends, Jamey and Lois, went with me to check out the waves.  When I picked them up, I captured a few photos of their beautiful yard at the Agate Cross B&B.

 

Beach hike and White Tail Buck

As many of you have figured out, I am in the middle of my busy summer schedule.  As much as I would like, I just have not had the time or the energy to get out on adventures.  Last night, however, Jamey, Lois, and I decided to share a pizza and go for a hike on the beach.  We all needed it!

East of town there is a remote beach that actually has a staircase...

Looking east...

 

There are lots of rocks on this section of beach...

On our drive back to town we spotted this buck feeding.  We watched him for several minutes.  It is a buck with velvet-covered horns!  He was not at all afraid of us.