Morning Discovery

Today started with an early drive down the misty, weavy Gunflint Trail. At one point, some inner voice told me to pull over and get a shot. In doing so, I almost skidded to a stop. I pulled to a safe position, so cars would miss me in the fog. Yanking out my cameras, I pointed my lense into a clearing, took a shot, and then noticed…there were two moose right before me! A mother and calf, munching on root bulbs. The mother would shake the water from her head and, in doing so, her ears would make a loud flapping noise similar to a dog's! I was but feet from them. The calf was cautious but the mother seemed to care most about the bulbs!

Ely Wrap-Op

I wrapped up my time in Ely with the first nice hotel-like stay of this trip. I was at the Grand Ely Lodge. The shoot of the day was at the North American Bear Center. This facility is brand new and does well in providing information about all the American bears. The layout is similar to something students would make - arial font on 8 x 11 1/2 paper, and pictures, posted to a black backdrop. There are several stuffed bears and props such as a Duluth pack and bear-proof trash receptacles. In the back there is an enclosed viewing area which is the home to a few black bears. There was one, about a year old, visible to everyone. It pounced up the tree with the greatest of ease, its movements resembling those of a primate. I knew they were good climbers, just not how dang fast they could jump up a tree!

Here are some last thoughts on Ely... Getting to spend some time with the town and people was a new experience. Like many, I normally visit this town only as a way-stop to the BWCA. But if you have the time, the International Wolf Center, Dorothy Molter museum and North American Bear Center are worth visiting. If you did the mine tour in Soudan as well, along with some walks and views of nature, the trip alone would be more than worth it. In town you have many different restaurants and shops.

Wise Guys pizza is some of the best I've had and the place is very inviting and fresh feeling. The owners originally ran the one in Centerville and have closed that to be up in Ely. Nice people and great pizza. Oh yeah, they have great ice cream cones too. And hot dogs... The Chocolate Mouse is the hip fancy place. As with everywhere, you can wear your hat and BW's clothes, but expect to look at the menu and say, "Hmm, this is expensive." My wild rice encrusted walley was good, and presentation would make the kinda folks that care for that kinda stuff happy. I can understand it as a treat, but the atmosphere was busy and that's often what I like to pay for as well - place to enjoy a meal and feel at ease. Busy, very busy. Vertin's cafe is a perfect cafe. Waitresses that have the seasoned look of life, good prices and the types of items you hope to see on the menu. It was also a place to be immersed in the local people. I watched an interacial family come visit grandma at work. So rich was the reunion, that you knew you were watching love incarnate. One of the pre-adolescent children was so enamored with being with grandma once again that he stayed with her as they rest went to town. I would not find that at the Chocolate Mouse.

Briton's cafe has a home-town feel as well and you might want to stop by the Ely steakhouse if you like steak. I found myself picking sinew out of my teeth for the next day or so. The Boathouse Brewery had great food! The soup and chicken I had tasted of all fresh ingredients. It's more noisy, but boy is the food good! And if you should consume anything, make it a Dorothy Molter root beer. You can find it at most convenience stores and most assuredly at the museum. Evidently, a friend of her's told me that her root beer could taste downright nasty sometimes! But the one currently sold is quite good and proceeds go to the museum and the localite causes which they support.

Grand Marais and the Gunflint Trail

Leaving Ely, I drove about 2 hours to Grand Marais, only to ascend back up the Gunflint Trail another hour. Most of my next shoots would be at this remote arm, tickling the underside of Canada, dotted with resorts and access points to the BWCA.

After shoots, I would make the hour plus drive out of the Gunflint in order to get phone coverage in Grand Marais. Here I check messages, etc., etc.

{Lots of Minnesotans are familiar with these places and have their own experiences, I’m just going to provide my own. ;) }

This first day Grand Marais was shrouded in thick fog. You could see only about a block and the call of gulls could be heard. This town is packed with art galleries and art shops. The Best Donuts shop is always hopping and cycling people through. You’ve got a giant walleye sticking out of the roof of the Beaver House. The Cook County Co-Op is small but has organic bins, fresh produce and a good organic coffee that only costs a buck. The Crooked Spoon has expensive but good food and the atmosphere is relaxed. Sven and Ole’s has great pizza, but expect to pay for it. They have different events that will bring the cost down and it’s also has a cult status. In my opinion, if you are going to grab something to eat, go to Blue Water Café. Good prices, good food, simple and Minnesotan.

Most of my shoots were on the Gunflint Trail - some 1h and a half in. Many lodges access BWCA entry points. It is remote = no phone, internet or TV. Trails end café offers simple options but the Center is much more happening and full of resorters, student workers, BW’s adventurers and locals. They’ll over daily specials such as fish, ribs, etc. You can also choose to eat at one of the resorts.

The weather has been rainy and cool. For most shoots nature's breath has put a stop to the rain and pushed cloud's aside only to close together and pour afterwards.

Past two months have been akin to lodging in someone's basement. Many lodges have that damp, moldy feeling that makes you look forward to when you get to leave again. Of course, there are cool aspects. Some individual lodges or cottages put you right along a northwoods lake. I was able to take a canoe around a Poplar lake on an overcast afternoon, casting my rod around an island. I had placed a big ol' rock in the bow to provide more ballast and prevent the wind from having to much of its own way. After a modified plyometrics workout I jumped off the dock and into the cool, black water. At night I was able to make a good fire, have my pipe and live in that realm so particular to the boreal border.

Being able to have time alone around nature, shooting video without constraints, has been the most soothing part of this expedition. It has helped to alleviate much of the redundancy that repetitive assignments, moldy lodgings and road weariness has brought on. For destination footage I spent time in the Cascade State Park, following the flow of the water. To be alone with the camera really allows me an intimate relationship with my surroundings.To do as the Blacklock's or Brandenberg get to do would be quite rewarding.

Driving 3+ hours every day is actually something I look quite forward too. In fact, my face often sours if I look down at the GPS and there is less than an hour until my destination. The homewards journey may be an exception to this rule.

Split Rock Day

Today I did a great interview at the Split Rock Lighthouse. The interpreter, donned in his old lighthouse keeper uniform, had worked there for 26 years! He gave me the overview and then took me up to the lens. The wheel still needed to be cranked every 2 hours to raise the weights which spun the lights. It was 7 quarts of mercury that was still used in place of ball bearings, upon which the mirror turned. The day was so clear and bright that the sun made many spectrums all around the house. It was the wreck of the Madeira (a ship that I dove with my dad a few years back) that prompted the light house to build. One man jumped ashore to the rocks, hoisted the others over with a rope, but one went down clinging to the mast, later to get crushed between the ship and the rocks.

I spent some more time below the house, looking back at the house in the “post-card” shot.

My next trip was to Palisade Head. I have kicked myself for never having visited this in the past! Man, is the absolute best view of the North Shore or what?! It’s an absolute must. The beautiful day made visibility the best ever. Crisp dark blue water, teased slightly by the wind, blue skies and bright sun. The octagonally-cooled lava pillars caused much of the rock to develop fissures. So, it felt even more precarious, to be at the edge of this immense cliff, 300 feet above the water, and imagine if one of these slabs decided to leave the face of the cliff. Quite exhilarating! I took plenty of shots and sat, taking it in for a bit.

Well, I’ll get this out. This blog is a bit messier, lacks pictures and feels rushed. Internet access is hard to come by and I want to throw something out there. I apologize for the form! And I'll get pics out there at some point!