The dramatic view of Lake Superior at the end of the Split Rock Lighthouse Costal Hike
Back in early June, my family and I had the pleasure of spending a long weekend along Minnesota’s sensational, untouched North Shore of Lake Superior. I’d written quite a few posts about the gorgeous hikes we did in this area (to read them click here) but never had a chance to write about our final hike along the Split Rock Lighthouse Coastal Trail.
Jacksprinter’s Sunday post is valuable. Something we find and hold near and dear to our hearts. It could be money. It could be land. It could be freedom. Or it could be memories. For me, there is nothing more valuable than my childhood memories of our annual fall trip to climb Eagle Mountain. A tradition that started a lifelong love of nature, togetherness, family, and hiking.
Eagle Mountain, the highest point in Minnesota, will always hold a special place in my heart. Located in the northeastern part of Minnesota at the start of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Wilderness, it is one of the best kept secrets in the Midwest. Pristine forests, magical untouched lakes and impressive wildlife are all the wonderful things you will find along the trail.
Photo credit: Wikipedia Commons
As a child, I hiked this trail every single fall with my family, until I moved away to college. It was a family tradition that I will never forget and is held deep within my most precious, sacred memories of childhood. The fall colors once we reached the top were an artistic tapestry of brilliant hues of pumpkin orange, golden yellow and crimson red. If I close my eyes, I can almost see it now. Almost.
Author’s note: I’m back to my series on our long weekend at the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota. To read recent posts in this series, click here.
One of the most popular State Parks along Lake Superior’s North Shore is Cascade River State Park. Located about 10 miles southwest of Grand Marais, Minnesota this park offers spectacular waterfall views and rushing rapids of root beer-colored Cascade River. There are over 18 miles of trails within the park and it also meets up with the 286-mile long Superior Hiking Trail. There is a wide variety of flora and fauna to be discovered but what I enjoyed most was the sounds and sights of the roaring river and multiple waterfalls.
Author’s note: This is the second post on our hike up Carlton Peak in Northeastern Minnesota. In case you haven’t heard, the most devasting, damaging floods in history have recently struck this part of Minnesota. Over 100 million dollars of damage is estimated. Roads are closed, homes and universities are flooded. Even the zoo was impacted with a dozen animals drown and the dramatic rescue of a seal and a polar bear who escaped the escalating flood waters. Let’s keep our thoughts and prayers in mind for the people impacted by this devastation. To read full updated article, click here.
Our first morning along Lake Superior’s North Shore wasn’t looking too promising. Dark clouds had rolled in over the lake and we could hear the low rumble of distant thunder all the way across to Wisconsin. I sat out on the oversized verandah, sipping my morning juce (mi gasolina, as it was nicknamed during my recent trip to Guatemala) and listening to the dramatic, haunting call of the loons.
If you have never heard a loon before, then you probably don’t know what their song is like. One you hear it, you will never forget. It is perhaps one of the most beautiful, melodic sounds I’ve ever heard. To prove it, see for yourself. Click below, close your eyes and listen. It is a cry you will never forget. A beautiful mourning wail…
In honor of father’s day, I thought I’d do this next post on my dad. I made a promise to him that it wouldn’t be sappy or a tear-jerker like the one I wrote for my mom. You know how us women can be! We love to be emotional, don’t we? So, I will try my best to make this post light and fun, ok dad?
Picture of my dad and I on top of the world at the highest point along the Annapurna Trek in Nepal in November 2010.
Picture of my dad and I on top of the world at the highest point along the Annapurna Trek in Nepal in November 2010.
Around the world and back with dad.
The state of Minnesota may have some severely cold winters, yet one thing that makes up for it is the fact that we do have lakes. Lots of them. Recent estimates have put Minnesota’s lakes in the 11,000-13,000 range, depending on what you count as a body of water. Lakes not only provide us with water but with everlasting, pure beauty and recreation. You can hardly drive anywhere without seeing a lake.
I felt like I needed to spice my blog up a bit. Lately I’ve done an awful lot of posts on Minnesota and even have another one in the queue. When I started this blog it was mostly for sharing my stories and photos from traveling somewhere else. Yet I came to realize that many of my readers have never even been to Minnesota and perhaps don’t realize how incredibly beautiful it really is. Hence my recent focus on places around the land of lakes (we do have over 13,000!).
This morning I wanted to share some photos I’ve reworked from my trip to Iceland back in the summer of 2008. Iceland truly appealed to me. It has all the nature you could ever desire, loads of hikes, and not many people. I found a lot of peace and serenity in such a beautiful, magical place. It is my hope that I can return someday as there is much to see in this gorgeous land.
Here are some photos that will help illustrate what I mean. Hope you enjoy!
Lately I’ve been having fun playing around with new iPhone applications like Snapseed and Instagram. For a novice photographer, these photo processing applications are a ton of fun. You just snap away and can process the picture into amazingly different styles right at your fingertips.
Since early spring, I’ve been using my iPhone a lot to take pictures, mostly of flowers. One reason is that it is so easy and portable. I always have it with me usually in my pocket. Another reason is that my iPhone actually zooms much better than my small, pocket-sized Canon Elph. I must admit that I am no professional photographer. I just love to take pictures during my travels and am actively working on getting better at it.
Besides using Snapseed for photos I’ve taken with my iPhone, I’ve also began using it to revisit older pictures I’ve taken from the past such as these ones I took back in 2003 in Patagonia. These photos were scanned since I didn’t have a digital camera at the time. I took these files and imported them into my iPhone into Snapseed and here is what I came up with. Not bad, huh?
Yesterday was a beautiful spring day here in Virginia. The sun was bright, the birds were singing and everything was returning to life once again. We couldn’t think of a better way to spend the day than to do a two family picnic and hike along the Shenandoah National Park.
It is not possible to wake up at 4:30 am, hike a volcano and not follow up with an immediate visit to most popular natural spa in all of Guatemala. The plan to go immediately to Fuentes Georginas proceeding my volcano climb popped into my head during the knee-aching, slippery descent of Santa Maria. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the remainder of the day, rewarding my tired body and soul, and soaking in one of the four hot pools of Fuentes Georginas located in the mountains nearby.
