Lake Superior

Lake Superior Splendor

We have hiked many trails on the north shore over the past forty years…some trails we hike every time we are up there, but we are still discovering new trails to hike and explore.

This year it was Illgen Falls, a part of Tettegouche State Park.

It’s a short trail to Illgen Falls, but a rugged one.

The trail to Illgen Falls is one of the shortest walks to a North Shore waterfall, and it leads to a beautiful 40’ drop of tumbling water in the Baptism River.

The mouth of the Baptism River, where the river flows into Lake Superior.

After the delight of seeing scenic Illgen waterfall, we hiked to High Falls on the Baptism River. It’s a longer hike, with a steep set of stairs (and currently the bottom of the stairs are washed out). High Falls is a 63’ falls. It’s very majestic, yet dangerous. A man tried jumping from High Falls in August 2025 and died.

We hiked up Oberg Mountain which is a trail we walk up annually.

An awesome view of Lake Superior from Oberg Mountain.

Although it was past fall-color peak (the red and orange leaves were mostly blown off the trees already), the yellows and greens were lovely.

Oberg Lake. Most of the leaves have fallen off the trees.

There are no waterfalls on this hike, but there is a beautiful view of Oberg Lake from one of numerous panoramic overlooks, and also a few of Lake Superior and the inland forest on this loop trial.

Hiking the loop trail on top of Oberg Mountain.

We saw waterfalls at both Temperance River and Cascade River State Parks,

all intermixed with spending time sitting on shores of the Lake Superior;

either reading, eating our picnic lunches,

beach combing or just contemplating…it’s always refreshing, rejuvenating and relaxing.

A stop at Grand Marais is always a treat. This year we discovered Superior Creamery. A small business that daily makes their own ice cream. It was delicious. The best vanilla I’ve tasted!

A perky sunflower outside Superior Creamery.

The harbor in Grand Marias…the water is percolating…and pretty.

The wall and rocky ledge to the Grand Marais lighthouse.

There were splashes of orange color still lingering on a few trees.

A Moon Rising

Rain was predicted for our time up on the north shore, but we ended up with stunning weather; clear, fall-blue skies and warmer-than-usual temperatures every single day. What a gift.

A gull enjoying a flight over the water near Gooseberry Falls.

We’ve been going up north once or twice a year for forty years. We are always refreshed and rejuvenated by the magnificent Lake Superior.

The lovely blue water of Lake Superior – photo taken off the deck of the cabin where we stayed.

A practice I started years ago was to check the time for sunrise. It is so precise! If it states the sun will rise at 6:56 you can count on seeing the orange ball pop up over the horizon at 6:56.

I make sure I’m up to witness this event, and will set my alarm if need be – that is determined by the time of year. It is awesome to see the sun rise over the big lake. I have hundreds of stunning pictures of a Lake Superior Sunrise.

I first saw the moon rising at 6:38 pm on Tuesday 10/7.

This year however, for the first time in forty years, we saw the moon rise over the lake. We have often seen a full moon shining on the lake (and a few times soon after it rose over the lake), but we’ve never seen it rising.

I knew we would be up north for October’s Harvest, or Hunter’s, supermoon, but I wasn’t expecting the event to happen until later in the evening.

Moon shimmering over the water, 7:36 pm Tuesday 10/7.

But I happened to walk out onto the deck and looked east and there, larger than I’ve ever seen it, was the moon already half way above the horizon. I continued to watch it (and videoed it). I was so giddy to see this stunning site. It was huge, and it was rising, and it only took about 30 seconds to come into full view.

It was another amazing gift.

This photo was taken the next day… as the sun is shimmers on the calm lake in almost the same place as the moon was at 7:40 the night before (10/7). This photo was taken at 9:40 am on 10/8.

Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights—
His faithful love endures forever.
the sun to rule the day,
His faithful love endures forever.
and the moon and stars to rule the night.
His faithful love endures forever.

Psalm 136: 7-9

A Poem: One Wave at a Time

One wave at a time…
Faithfully rolling unto the shore
Hitting the rocky bedrock
Bringing healing as I sit and watch.
For hours.
Each time a little piece of hope
Delivered in the rhythm of the waves
Reminds me God is faithful.
Such needed blessing
During these times of uncertainty.
I am grateful to be on the shore of Lake Superior,
Doing nothing,
Watching the waves roll in.
One blessing at a time.

by Valerie Bollinger 03/25

The North Shore

We went up to the north shore to celebrate my birthday last week.

There was a beautiful sunrise the morning of my birthday, and the sun continued to shine all day long.

We wanted to do a little hiking. We had tried hiking at Gooseberry Falls the day before, but we had to turn back due to a very icy trail. Although there was no snow on the ground anywhere, the shaded trails in the woods still had ice cover making it difficult to hike on them.

When we stopped for a specialty coffee at Vanilla Bean in Two Harbors, another customer joined our conversation with the waitress about places to hike in the area that might not be icy. The stranger asked us about the Gitchi-Gami bike trail. And it was one of those ah-ha moments; “I can’t believe we didn’t think about the wonderful paved bike trail with sections all along the north shore.”

An portion of the Gitchi-Gami Bike trail along Lake Superior.

So we found our safe place to hike along Lake Superior, and it was lovely.

Besides the sparkling lake, we saw different images on two different hikes. Do you see what I see?

A bat…a sheet of ice still clinging to a large rock in Lake Superior, facing south (no sun to melt it).

The head of a wolf (right), and a deer lying down looking out (left) in the hollow of a tree.

Several little bear cubs climbing up the tree.

It was a fun birthday; with hiking, cabin time, and watching the waves roll in. A great beginning to another trip around the sun.

Color and Light, Morning to Night

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.  
                                                                                                Psalm 118:24

7:03 am on 10/1/24… the moment of sunrise.

A couple hours later we trekked up Oberg Mountain and saw more beautiful colors of a different kind. Once again, I was grateful to be able to hike this trail, and was thankful to have the opportunity to do so.

10:15 am on 10/1/24…a view out to Lake Superior on the Oberg Trail.

10:30 am on 10/1/24… one of seven outlooks on the Oberg Trail.

And back at the cabin…the lovely, wispy clouds.

The sky was constantly changing, but the waves continue to roll in, year after year, reminding me of God’s faithfulness.

7:43 pm on 10/1/24… the cabin backlit by the early evening light.

8:30 pm on 10/1/24 …the end of our day, fire light on the rocks and a stunning display of stars overhead in the night sky.

Amen.

Our trip to Duluth to see the Bentleyville “Tour of Lights” also provided an opportunity to witness some beautiful and interesting scenes of the magnificent Lake Superior.

Sand and snow on the shore of Lake Superior.

A sandy beach on Park Point, Lake Superior.

We arrived on a bright and sunny day. Except for an small accumulation of snow -remnants of a recent snowfall- the shores of Lake Superior look like an ocean beach. There were no tropical temperatures though!

As the sun set, the skies remained clear so we could see the full moon rise and shine (however, the clear skies kept the temperatures below freezing!)

Morning light: 6:39 am the next morning.

The next morning a cloud bank appeared over the lake.

The silhouette of a ship in the mystical misty fog rising from Lake Superior.

A freighter heading towards the canal in the early morning light.

I went out on the balcony, which faced north, to take a few photos. As I leaned over the balcony and turned to the east, I saw the stunning sunrise and images over the lake.

I’m not even sure how I captured this zoomed photo, but I like it.

I do so enjoy this lake! It’s very entertaining.

Where sky and sea meet on Lake Superior. This photo was taken at 9:10 am, a few hours after the beautiful orange, sunrise.

Fairy Doors

On the shores of Lake Superior, I noticed something unusual in the woods near the cabin. There were wooden, painted fairy doors leaning on the base of three different trees.

The working doors had hinges and a small door knob. I was intrigued. I went to each one and opened the door, but there was nothing behind any of the three doors. I was disappointed.

I went into the cabin, found a piece of paper and a pen, and wrote out three short encouraging messages. I folded the paper in two, and placed one behind each fairy door so the next person to open the door will find a treasure.

Lake Superior Venture

We just returned from an amazing time on the north shore of Lake Superior. As I’ve written before, it is one of my all-time favorite places to be. When we arrive at the cabin we rent, I sigh a happy sigh when I walk through the door and see the lake through the floor to ceiling windows. It is a marvelous and breathtaking sight that I never grow tired of. I literally feel a calm come over me. I miss it when I’m not there.

During our time at the cabin, we did what we normally do…we enjoy God’s bountiful creation. We bike and hike, drink our morning coffee on the deck, watch the sunrise, have a bon fire on the rocks, relax, read good books, eat delicious food overlooking the lake, and just sit and look at the lake.

I had good intentions of cleaning up my computer files, or deleting photos off my phone, do a little writing, but none of that happened. The lake is alluring and mesmerizing, and we can just sit and do nothing but enjoy the vista for hours…and so we do, and we do not worry about getting anything accomplished. I believe we are being rejuvenated from the inside out.

We traditionally go up to the north shore in September but this year we had reservations in July. The weather was cooler than normal for July, the sunrise is earlier in July…5:20ish…and different kinds of flowers are blooming in July…like beautiful lupines, perky daisies and bright yellow bird’s-foot trefoil.

A photo exposition follows:

A view outside the cabin. I was pleased to see lupines on the property. We started seeing lupine along Scenic Drive as we were driving up. Lupines are not in bloom in September, when we are usually at the cabin.

One of our hikes…overlooking Oberg Lake in summer, 2023.

This is same overlook of Oberg Lake in autumn, 2019.

Streets lined with gold…Highway 61, back roads and bike trails were lined with bird’s-foot trefoill. It was impressive.

This is a bridge on the new section of the Gitchi-Gami bike trail, which we rode on from Cutface Wayside Park into Grand Marais.

Temperance River…a hike we always enjoy, along the gorges of this wild river.

We enjoy a bon fire on the rocks outside the cabin.

Clear water reveals the rocks underneath the waters of Lake Superior.

Our hike to Caribou Falls…down 156 steps to see this beautiful waterfalls, then back up 156 steps! It’s worth it. It’s gorgeous.

Our son Tim took a photo of lupines and a single daisy years ago…it was fun to recapture a similar posturing.

Lake Superior…some days it’s calm, other days it’s not…somedays it’s gray, other times it’s blue, sometimes it’s somber…sometimes it’s glistening… with everything in-between. And, sometimes it all happens in a day. (I told Gary these are the kind of glistening diamonds I like.)

I’m so grateful for our time on the shore of Lake Superior.

An Unusal Gift

Thank you for all the wonderful happy birthday messages. 
I was delighted to read each one.

The sunrise over Lake Superior, the second day.

We had a very relaxing and refreshing birthday/wedding anniversary trip to the north shore of Lake Superior. Our cozy cabin had a wood-burning fireplace next to patio doors to the deck overlooking the lake.

Enjoying a fire while viewing the lake from the cabin.

We had fires In the morning and fires in the evening…and enjoyed watching the lake with its many moods. On Tuesday the lake was churning with huge waves crashing against the rocky shore. The other days it was much calmer.

Huge waves crashing and spraying high above the rocky shore.

Mesmerizing Lake.
All our attention goes there,
It’s restorative.

A calmer day…photo taken from the deck of the cabin.

However, we did bring along our cross-county skis, snowshoes, and Yaktrax to get out for fresh air and exercise.

We hiked at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park.

This is the upper falls at Gooseberry Falls State Park, where we hiked.

A old Norwegian fish house on Stoney Point Drive…a nice walk from the cabin.

Our hikes kept us close to the lake, but cross- county skiing took us inland.

We usually ask locals for recommendations. Our resort owner told us about Korkki Nordic.

In the morning, the sun was shining and it was a decent temperature so off we went to ski this trail. Next to the warming house (a nice touch to this trailhead) was a guy standing near a snowmobile with trail grooming apparatus hitched on the back. We started a conversation and found out he is the regular trail groomer. Mark lives on the property and grooms four ski trails.

The ski season is, of course, winding down – it was the first day of spring after all- so he was not planning to groom many more times this year. During our conversation, we mentioned it was my birthday. He was a jovial sort and said, as a gift to me for my birthday, he would go ahead of us and groom the trail. It would make skiing much easier for us.

And so he did, and we followed about three minutes behind him, and the skiing was great.

That is one of the more unusual gifts I’ve received for my birthday. It was a random act of kindness and we were grateful.

March 20

The first day of spring…(We are up near Two Harbors on the shores of Lake Superior, and there is a snowstorm predicted for tomorrow!)

and it’s my birthday…70 years young…

God’s gifted me with a beautiful sunrise over Lake Superior.