Lake Superior – Page 2 – Valerie's Voice

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.

Sunrise over Lake Superior (3//20/2023).

Auntie Ag

We called her Auntie Ag. She was my dad’s older sister, Agnes. She was a special aunt…she never married so her nieces and nephews were very important to her, and she treated us well. She pass away in 2004.

Last summer I inherited a couple of her photo albums from the 1930-40’s. I was amazed at what I could glean from perusing the old photos, where few photos had captions, and very few were dated!

I have many good memories of Auntie Ag. I knew her well, particularly in her older years…But when I looked through her photos, I felt I learned a lot more about her as a young woman. I found it interesting that I felt I could capture her essence from the photos. I decided we had a lot of similar traits.

When I found this photo of Auntie Ag, I remembered a dress I wore to a high school winter dance that was similar. I don’t know the date of Ag’s photo. The photo of me was taken in 1969.

I resonated with the photo of my aunt overlooking Lake Superior when she was a young woman. The photo immediately caught my attention when looking through several of her old photo albums.

Auntie Ag on the north shore. Date unknown.

One similarity is our love for Lake Superior and the north shore. It is my happy place. It was fun to see how often the north shore showed up in her photos, and to learn she went there often. I also know that my grandmother, my dad and Agnes’ mother, had a love for the north shore.

Another trait I share with Auntie Ag is she liked to travel. She liked to travel a lot; across the country, and to cozy cabins, and to Norway in later years. I like to travel too.

She was an adventurer…There were photos of her on hikes, on bikes, on horseback, on the water, on a toboggan, and fishing…what fun! I, too, am fond of adventure and new experiences.

You could see from the different photos she liked being with friends, and she had a lot of them. She loved hosting them for breakfasts and dinner parties, as do I.

Agnes’ mother, my grandma, was always well-dressed. I think there are stories of grandma having more than one trunk of clothes when she traveled to Norway. I noticed Aggie was always well-dressed in the photos. I know when she was older, her outfits “matched” and she always wore “matching” jewelry. I am not a fashion bug by any means, but do like to dress nice.

Auntie Ag’s nieces and nephews, photo taken in 1971. I am in the front row, in the red dress.

There were hundreds of photos of our families. I know Aggie loved her extended family. She was a believer and prayed for me (and for her nieces and nephews) all her life…and for that, I am grateful. I too, am a believer, and deeply love and pray for my family.

My Grandfather Torkel and Grandmother Elizabeth in the front row. Again, I’m not sure of the year this photo was taken. Elizabeth died in 1962. The siblings in the back row L to R: Herbert (my father), Agnes, Earl, Bob.

Fall Color Haiku

Fall color tour...
Fluorescent orange, yellow, reds,
A beautiful gift!

I did not enhance these photos, before or after taking theses pictures.

The leaves were that brilliant.

The North Shore 2022

Our trip to the north shore proved to be a lot more colorful than we were expecting.

We had already started seeing pockets of beautiful fall colors on our drive up, so I started to get a little excited…and then the colors began to pop out everywhere…with wonderful contrasts to the evergreen trees.

The weather also turned out better than I had hoped for, with warmer temperatures and some nice sunshine and blue skies (and one cloudy day). We had packed clothes for colder weather.

Looking inland from the Tofte overlook, on a spur trial off the Carlton Peak trail. (1)

Looking inland from the Tofte overlook, on a spur trial off the Carlton Peak trail. (2)

We followed our annual routine of balancing cabin time and lake time with hiking and local drives.

We watched the sun rise over the big lake and had a camp fire on the rocks. We stopped in Hinckley and Duluth on the way up, and stopped in Grand Marais one day. It’s all so familiar, yet all so refreshing, relaxing, and restorative… and so much fun!

A leaf-covered hiking trail through the forest.

The colors were breathtaking…everywhere we went. It was spectacular to see and hard to photograph with my iPhone.

But it was enough to witness the colors and breath in the fresh air, smell the different whiffs of pine scents, lake water, decomposing leaves, feel the crisp air and to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8a).

I stand in awe of the Creator of these incredible autumn colors.

And the colors were not only up north…we saw them driving home, and right here in Northfield, and outside our front and back doors!

Our neighbor’s burning bush, where our mailbox is tucked in.

Psalm 23, Valerie’s Version

As we plan our annual trek to the north shore, I always reread my own version of Psalm 23.

The Lord is my Shepherd
I shall thank him.
He allows me to be on the shores of Lake Superior
And hear the calming waves.
He restores my soul.
He guides me on trails of the Superior National Forest, 
And leads me along the rocky shores of the big lake.
Even when the waves are rough – even when the lake is calm,
I am content to be near the water. 
And the Lord is with me.
His creation and His majesty, they comfort me.
He anoints me with many blessings
My cup overflows and I am grateful
Surely, I will praise him and follow him
All the days of my life,
I am grateful to dwell in His presence
On the shores of Lake Superior.

Below are just a few favorite photos (from hundreds!) I’ve taken over the years, of Lake Superior.

At Home in Norway

This wraps up my series on our trip to Norway. However, other stories may pop up in the future.

In Norway, being close to the sea every day, surrounded by amazing beauty, was an incredible gift.

A scene off the western coast of Norway.

I felt so at home. I felt I belonged.

In Minnesota, my happy place is on the shores of Lake Superior. I felt the same feelings in Norway, as I do when I’m up on the north shore.

I’ve been told my Grandmother Elizabeth loved being up on the north shore too. It reminded her of the homeland she left behind in Norway, when she was a young woman. I like to think about our connection. She died when I was ten years old.

I love my rich Norwegian heritage, and am proud of it!

I am wearing my American cousin’s Norwegian bunad. It represents the Hardangerfjord, the area where my relatives live in Norway. I borrowed this costume to wear to work in 2011, when Norway’s King Harald V visited St. Olaf College.

I was grateful that Gary made so many travel arrangements to make this trip happen. And that he embraced my relatives, and they embraced him.

And, of course, I’m grateful to all my many relatives in Norway for the marvelous and abundant hospitality shown to us.

My heart is full, yet part of it was left behind Norway.

Along the Sea

We were in Florida last week, on the gulf side, close to Clearwater Beach. It was beautiful. Sunny… every day, temperatures in the 80’s…every day.

We spent time near the water, and submerged ourselves in the water once. It felt wonderful. We walked along beaches and enjoyed the fine, white, sugar sand, and seeing the awesome shades of turquoise water, beautiful blue skies, shore birds, sea shells, sail boats. We “soaked” it all in…sun, waves, sea air, warm temps.

We didn’t know the name of these interesting shorebirds.

Usually when I am on the water’s edge I look for sea shells…(or rocks if I’m on Lake Superior’s rocky shore). I can’t help myself. As I walked along looking for shells I thought about a poem I wrote several years ago. I looked it up after we returned home and am sharing it below.

Along the Sea (2010)

Here I go again...
Walking along the beach,
Tides go out, tides come in,
I’m open to what it’ll teach.

Water rolling over the toes,
Sun sparkling across the sea,
The gentle sound of waves,
All soothes the core of me.

I walk along and sing psalms
As the pulsing waves repeat,
I feel a sense of calm
As my eyes draw to my feet.

I reach down for a token
From the bounty of the sea.
And check to see if it’s broken,
If so, I toss it back quickly.

I can’t resist, so I pick up more
Searching for one without mars,
Noting what likeness to people they bore,
Broken, wounded, with scars.

So, I start being less selective
And find new beauty in these...
My mind gently corrected
As I choose shells along the sea.

Lake Superior in March

I always thought it would be fun to be at safely tucked into a cabin on Lake Superior during a November gale. At a previous cabin we rented years ago, the owners had recorded, on VHS, a November storm that we could watch while staying at the cabin. It was always intriguing to see how incredibly high those waves came slamming into the cliffs at that resort.

Snow falling on our rented cabin on Lake Superior.

We just came back from a couple days on the north shore, safely tucked into a cabin on Lake Superior during a March snowstorm. The waves came slamming into the rocky shore sending up sprays of water into the air.

The lake was full of white caps and the waves coming to shore were huge. Not like a November gale, but still a memorable snowstorm for us.

We managed to get in a hike that morning before the predicted storm. It was fun to walk along the lake, through trees, and we were delighted to find little gnomes along the trail. Three times we came upon these little trolls, cheering us on.

Once back in our cabin we settled in for the rest of the day, and the storm. It was cozy. The snow started falling and the wind was whipping and churning up the lake as we sat indoors, by a nice crackling fire and watched it unfold through the large patio doors overlooking the lake. The amount of snow that fell was not what was predicted, but the wind was wicked, and the lake turbulent.

Last year when were we up at this same resort on the north shore in March, the temperatures were in the 50’s and 60’s. This year the temps were in the 30’s with wind chill temps even lower. But no matter what, Lake Superior is my happy place and it was great to be on the shore once again.

Snow falling on an old, picturesque, fishing hut along the shore of Lake Superior.

Fall on the North Shore

We often go up to the cabin we rent on Lake Superior in the fall. One never knows what kind of color autumn will have painted on the trees and foliage when we arrive.

The leaves usually change up there in late September/early October. The last couple of years we have seen some good color up on the north shore, even though our dates staying up at the cabin have varied – a lot.

This year, the day we went for our annual hike up Oberg Mountain, was one of those perfect fall days…bright sunshine, a vibrant, bold, blue, autumn sky, great temperature…it was stunning.

And the vistas from the seven lookouts on top were very colorful.

A lot of people were on the trail, and a lot of people were up north in general…more so than usual… evident with traffic and full parking lots. However, back at the cabin all was peaceful.

On another hike, in Tettegouche State Park, we spotted an unusual mushroom. It was golden…it looked like it was spray painted but it was far enough off the trail to know that was unlikely.

I tried to identify this mushroom with a quick internet search, but was unsuccessful. We saw other fun fungi on that same trail.

As wonderful as our hiking and biking and fall color drives were, the time spent with our son and daughter-in-love, and our two grandchildren, up north, at the cabin on Lake Superior, was the best!