Something New

This evening I tried out a "new" (to me) location along the Lake Superior shoreline North of Grand Marais, MN. It turned out to be a wonderful spot and I had great fun spending the evening shooting here. I still can't believe I've never been down to this spot before! It is just a short walk from Highway 61, and is actually part of the Superior Hiking Trail. Many thanks to my friend Bryan Hansel (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bryanhansel/) for letting me know about this amazing little slice of Lake Superior's shore.

Most of the beach in this area consists of small pebbles, but there is also a small rocky outcrop that juts out into the lake. On the tip of this rocky outcrop is a small island that is only a few feet from shore. It just so happens that the moon was rising over this small island during my visit. Also along the rocky outcrop were several types of plants that were coated in ice from recent waves and spray coming off the lake. As many of you know, winter is a favorite time of mine for photography mostly because I loooooove photographing ice!

After shooting for about an hour and a half along the Lake Superior shore, I headed home for a bite to eat. As soon as my stomach was full I headed back out to do some more shooting. It was a beautiful moonlit night and I wasn't about to let that go to waste! So, I headed up along the Pigeon River and made some photos of Partridge Falls bathed in moonlight. What a great day for some early winter photography!

Rush hour in Blount county

Cute little guy, but he wouldn't let us anywhere near him. A little girl was making friends by throwing something edible at him, so we left them to it.
That is a belt around his neck, which I did think was a little strange.
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Updated: After a few emails, I can see that it is not obvious for people with those nifty little lightweight, but tiny-screened, laptops. That is a GOAT in the road!
By the way, you can always click on any of the pictures to make them larger.

Packing, Bike Ride, & Eclipse

Got a good night's sleep last night. Yeah think the bike ride might have something to do with it? Did most of my packing of my clothes.

Set up for a bike ride with my cousin Don. We met at the Central Ave. trailhead on Paseo del Bosque. Rode South to Rio Brave. Stopping on the way back, asked some of the folks along the trail to take a photo of us. They were support vehicle for a Boy Scout 50 mile badge ride. Anyway, today's photo is of Don and me on the "Bosque".

Lunch was my treat. Don sprinted to the vehicles after our photo was taken. Pigged out on Village Inn breakfast, coffee and pie/cake.

Finished the day with visiting a friend I met on-line. We went West of town to watch the solar eclipse. LOTS of other foks had the same idea I did. Parked along the road West of Volcanoes Day Use area (Paseo del Volcan). It was a "happening"!

Back on the road in the morning. Tomorrow evening in Taos.

Envirionmental adverstising

On a wall at Edinburgh University - a charity event, environmentally advertised. Who says students these days only think about themselves?

The Toad, the Damselfly and the Owl

We were out walking with Harry when he gave a yell and crouched down, telling me excitedly about a baby toad he had spotted.. I could see nothing, but took his word (and better eyesight) for it. I pointed the camera and took half a dozen photos of what looked like grass and ivy...but he was right, there was a beautiful little toad hidden deep in the grass.

A Tiny Toad

Well done Harry!

Damselfly

I spotted the blue flash of a damselfly and ...

was delighted to find I had captured this photograph of a little beauty.

We were just turning for home when we spotted a large bird flying around the meadow...I couldn't make out what it was, but I could guess... point, click, hope for the best...

Barn Owl

Apologies for the poor quality, but there it is, a barn owl. Daylight hunting to feed her young. She was a very long way off, so I was thrilled to get this photo of her.
Now that is what I call a wonderful country walk.

Ponca's Revenge

After an all to short night's sleep, Saturday morning I headed to Ponca State Park to shoot the mountain bike race. The weather was clear and pleasant - 70s in race time.
The field for the Beginner and Junior races was pretty small. There was only one wave to start. With that and the short (1-2 laps) races, I did nor get very many photos of that race.
Since the Revenge this year was not a marathon, the Kid's Race was run.
Pretty good turn-out for the Sport and Expert/Semi-Pro category. I found a couple spots to shoot the race. I am not pleased with the overall quality of the race photos. Some is the unfamiliarity of the race course. Other is I was just not on top form.
I am still working on the photos - when done they will be posted on my web site. (I also have the photos from my Army Reunion that need to be processed and posted).

Rio Grande Riverside Trail

Yesterday was a day off the bike. My body needed it. But back on the bike today - I HAD to ride today.
Why, you ask? It was the last day of January and I needed 10.5 miles to break 100 miles for the month (and year-to-date). I decided to continued to explore the trail along the Rio Grange River.
The trail is called the Paseo del Bosque to the Riverside Trail. I parked my car at the Central Ave trailhead. The goal was to complete the trail South from Central Ave.
For almost 7 miles, the trail follow the river. At that point, the trail turns left (East) and is along the South Diversion Channel. The channel arcs to the North. At Bridge St, the trail turns left along the south side of Rio Bravo Blvd.
This took me back to the Riverside Trail. At this time, I was at 11 miles into my ride. It was 5 miles back to Central Ave.
While it was warm (57 degrees) it was a bit chilly because it had been a cloudy day. Back at the room, it was laundry time -- needed to wash my cycling kits.
Today's photo shows my hybrid bike at the junction of South Diversion Channel and a sice channel (the concrete rivers).
OH - and I met my goal. 106 miles year-to-date.