Duluth (North Shore Scenic Drive)

This morning I drove North up the East shore of Lake Superior. I hoped that higher latitudes might produce some of that elusive Fall foliage color. I headed out early and drove straight to (almost) the most Northern point of my route, planning to slowly work my way back.

I arrived at Grand Marais about 9 AM and walked out to Artist’s Point , so named because of the brightly colored lichen growing on the rocks. I had bright sun, which made photographing the surfaces a challenge; I found a few compositions in the shade.

My friend G. texted that I MUST drive another 10 miles north to see an art installation in front of a house on the highway. I will admit it was pretty wild, one of the densest I have seen.

I drove back into Grand Marais seeking a cup of coffee and a snack. I found both at Java Moose Espresso. I immediately knew it must be good because the line was literally out the door. While I waited I chatted with Laura, who was visiting with Denny and Rudy (their beautiful silver colored Weimaraner) up from the Twin Cities.

I then continued down to Cascade River State Park to view the falls. I still had full sun, which made for a very contrasty situation. As well, the viewpoint was not optimally placed to get all of the cascades in the frame. Again, I did my best, but it was a sub-optimal situation.

Next, I drove down to Cross River Falls . This was another challenge as the falls are literally on the side of the highway, and, like other similar situations, obscured by a tall fence. This one at least had some larger holes, but it still required a lot of contortion, and yet again, the results were sub-optimal. Zero for two so far.

Next up was Tettogouche State Park . I did not have time to hike the 3 miles to the falls, so settled for the three quarter mile hike out to a view point. It would have been pretty if there were actually fall colors, and under different light conditions. I did not even take a shot as I knew it would just be a discard. Up to zero for three. I did have a chance to chat with Janice and Jason from South Dakota and we hiked back together.

I continued South to Black Beach . By now, the clouds had come in and the wind had kicked up. I was able to find some compositions using both the foliage, which at least had a bit of color, and the water. It was probably my most successful situation of the day. By the time I left it was starting to drizzle.

My last stop was Split Rock Lighthouse . While historically significant, it was an almost impossible photo because of the railings that had been installed and the limitations on view point access. I called it a day and drove the remaining hour back to Duluth.