God’s Glory

Lingering thoughts from the glorious, snowless, time up on the north shore…

Sparkles, like dazzling diamonds, are twinkling in a wide swath on the waters of Lake Superior, reflecting the sun.  It is one precious view that money can’t buy.  

Sparlking water.

The white foam waves clap against the rocky shoreline, producing a lovely sound and creating dancing droplets in the air. The blue water mirrors the blue sky and the temperatures are above normal for October.

White foam waves
Cool blue gentle laps.

Gold leaves, like coins, carpet the hiking trail that leads up the Minnesota mountain through leafless trees to the top. Once on top the views are stunning. The yellow birches and dark evergreens create the gorgeous contrast for this time of year.

Golden trails.

All along the shore, there are only a few maple trees with colors of red and orange but it is the yellow leaves mixed with the evergreens that create the new and different pattern for us along the shore of Lake Superior. 

Yellows and greens and blues, o my.

This wondrous place always takes my breath away and is always hard to describe…my soul feels at home in this holy place and I’m so grateful to be in the moments that pass too quickly up here on the north shore… a reflection of God’s glory. 

Twinkle, twinkle.

I often try to describe how spectacular it is through words and photos but they do not do it justice. But then, who can describe the Lord? 

Exodus 15:11  Who among the gods is like you, Lord? Who is like you – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?
Calm waters.

Themed Hike

The Oberg Mountain trail is one of our favorite hikes on the north shore. It’s a fairly easy 2.2 mile hike…climbing up and circling around the summit. There are eight fantastic overlooks along the loop trail. Some places look out over Lake Superior….

Leveaux Mountain from the top of Oberg.

…other areas view the inland forest and Oberg Lake. It’s a hike that never disappoints and is always enjoyable. 

Looking inland towards Oberg Lake with the colorful maples past peak.

This year as we approached the top I saw a sign posted that looked like it could be another Story Walk – like the one we discovered at Forestville State Park a few weeks ago.

However, the sign project on top of Oberg was not a storybook walk. It was referred to as a themed hike.

Along the trail several signs were posted near trees to identify them and talk about their characteristics, or tell stories about their species. The United States Department of Agriculture logo was listed on each sign so I assume it was their project, in collaboration with the Forest Service.

I’ve often thought, while hiking through the forest, that it would be helpful if all the trees and flowers and bushes and plants in the forest could all have little signs identifying themselves – so I liked the concept of this themed hike.

Although I can identify a lot of the common trees there are many more trees I do not know.

I’ve noticed these sweet, little seedlings growing next to the trail. They are soft and elegant.

I was happy to learn about these precious, little pine trees I have seen lining the hiking trails. Sign number 10 identified them as Princess Pine…a fitting title I think.

Over all there were eleven trees highlighted on this trail: White Cedar, Mountain Maple, Quaking Aspen, Beaked Hazelnut, Sugar Maple, Red Pine, Black Ash, Balsam Fir, White Spruce, Princess Pine and Paper Birch.

According to the last sign they plan to create another themed hike about a different topic…hopefully next year. 

I’m thankful for these intentional ways different organizations are helping the public learn about nature, out in nature.

Snapshots from the North Shore

Here are some photos from our time up on the north shore of Lake Superior. Some stories (and more photos) will follow later, but for now I want to share some pictures of the various sunrises and some of the spectacular colors we enjoyed while up north. The beauty is indescribable.

The sunrise on the first day.
The sunrise on the second day.
Some colorful foliage along the shore.
From the top of Oberg Mountain overlooking the lake with yellows from the birch/aspens in contrast with the evergreen trees.
A lone tree in it’s glory against the fall blue sky.
Another view of the yellow and dark green combination.
The awesome Lake Superior.
Beauty along the roads close to the lake. There are maple trees inland but their colorful leaves had been blown off the trees.
Except there was an occasional maple tree in full color near the lake.
Sunrise on the third day; the sun clouded over but soon broke through.
Tamarack trees, also know as larch trees; they are deciduous trees with needles that turn yellow in autumn and fall off.
Tall red pines, mistakenly called Norway pines by the immigrants from Norway because they resembled trees back in Norway.
Dramatic morning light as it get closer to sunrise.
Finally, the sun pops up…and it melted the clouds away that morning, making way for another clear and beautiful day on the north shore.

At the Cabin

I’m delighted to be up on the north shore of Lake Superior. We are in our happy place. I’ve been anxiously waiting for our time to check in, relax and be renewed in this very special place.

My happy place.

The drive up was gorgeous…many golds and yellows leaves along the highway, interspersed with evergreens. The beautiful sunny sky and warm October day added to our pleasure. 

Beauty along the highway.

We made our usual stops along the way: Canal Park in Duluth…

Duluth’s aerial bridge.
The light house at Canal Park.
A ship coming to port in Duluth.

…Gooseberry Falls State Park for a picnic lunch, Black Beach and then Tettegouche State Park for a quick hike before arriving at our beloved rental cabin on the shores of Lake Superior.

Gooseberry Falls.
Black Beach.

Once we unpacked and settled in we were looking through the books at the cabin and one stood out in particular… we laughed that this book was in our cabin. The title? Outwitting Squirrels. This adds to our reading pleasure during this 2020 squirrel capturing season.

The book we found in the cabin…how appropriate for our squirrel adventures this summer.

Stone Apron

We always enjoy our trips to Lake Superior. We never grow tired of sitting on the rocks, watching the waves roll in. Or crash in…depending on the weather.

And I seem to always get caught up in looking at the rocks…large and small, that roll onto shore with the waves. I love how the rocks feel so smooth after years and years of tumbling in the water. I like their colors too.

Beautiful Lake Superior rocks.

For years we had a great spot, near a cabin we rented, where we could collect fairly large stones and brought them home; a few each year. We used them to line our back garden.

Lake Superior rocks lining our garden in the back.

I also have accumulated smaller rocks that I pocketed here and there. They were adding up so I started to place them around our front flowers, but due to some work we had done recently we had to remove them. I took the smooth stones and created a new apron for our shed.

Shed apron before….

The original shed apron was a conglomeration of pieces of limestone and other rocks I’ve found in the area. Over the years I just started putting them by the door of the shed and it eventually formed an apron. I liked the idea and decided to pull out all the old mismatched rocks and remake the apron with our pretty Lake Superior Rocks.

The new stone apron. This will grow larger as more rocks are collected!

It was a fun project and I was pleased with the result.

The Stars Aligned

When we planned our mini-trip up north to visit my uncle in Brainerd we decided to swing by the “Lake” on the way home…Lake Superior that is. Yes, it was two hours away but it sounded like a good idea so we did it, and I’m glad.

I took this photo of the rocky shoreline of Lake Superior on Monday after most of the clouds lifted.

I knew of a resort on the lake not too far north of Duluth. We’ve thought about staying there before but it never worked, besides they had a two night minimum stay. But I called last minute to see if they would accept a one night stay and he said yes. And, he included an early check-in and a late check-out time. How nice is that?

A view of the cabin from the shore edge.

There was a full moon that night, but the forecast was for cloudy skies. On our drive over from Brainerd to Duluth we kept seeing peaks of sun through those clouds. I tried not to get too excited. Eventually the sky mostly cleared and we had a beautiful afternoon and saw a stunning moonrise over Lake Superior that night. I was excited!

This photo I took on Monday late afternoon showing beautiful tinges reflecting the sunset, although we were facing east.

Our cabin was right on the water. The cabins were originally built in 1932 so there were no zoning restrictions at that time. It was a cozy, one room log cabin with a wood burning fireplace and a bundle of wood included in the price.

Looking out the cabin’s patio door to deck and water below.
Fire wood arranged in fireplace…just light a match!

The patio door led to the deck overlooking the lake.

The deck. They use plexiglass for the railing so not to block the view.

One of my favorite moments was walking into the cabin and seeing a stuffed black bear sitting at the kitchen table, welcoming us. That whimsical touch warms my heart. I love it when people do things like that.

Our friendly greeter.
More whimsical art in the cabin.

The cloudy morning turned into a beautiful afternoon and we were in a lovely cabin right on the water… I was in my happy place. I brought soup for supper, and after dinner we lit a fire and watched the moon rise over Lake Superior.

The March full moon.

When we crawled into bed (all in one room) we moved the sofa so we could see the fire embers fade away as we fell asleep.

The wood-burning fireplace was in the corner so we could look out to view the moonrise while enjoying the fire.

I wondered if it would be clear in the morning to see a sunrise. That would be too good to be true.  I didn’t set my alarm, although the sunrise was at 7:30. We were up in time and we did see a glorious sunrise over the lake.

March sunrise over Lake Superior.

We definitely got our “Lake Superior” fix….with everything falling into place and I’m grateful!

A little bit of dramatic winter ice on some rocks near the cabin.

Moon Cathedral

Full moonrise over Lake Superior, September 2019.
A Moon Cathedral
by Valerie Bollinger
 
Looking out over the expansive dark lake, at night
Gazing at the full moon rising
Reflecting a sparkling path on the water
Streaming it’s light directly towards shore
Guiding my eyes upward
Resembling a cathedral between the trees.
Behold, A moon cathedral,
God-made, inviting praise for His beautiful creation.

A Second Look

We were blessed to have an opportunity to travel to the north shore a second time this fall, within two weeks of our first trip up to Lake Superior.

Yellow Birch and Aspens contrast with the dark evergreen trees that line the shores of Lake Superior and Highway 61.

The first week up on the north shore we had a great time with family and saw abundant fall colors. Our second trip to the north shore we enjoyed showing off one of our favorite places to our visiting friends from New Hampshire.

The forecast was dismal…rain was predicted for every day we were to be up north. And, on our first day – the drive up – it was misty rain all day.

The beauituful, brick Split Rock Lighthouse.
The Fog Signal Building next to the lighthouse.

But, even so, we stopped at the New Scenic Café for a delicious lunch, and then toured the impressive, historic, and iconic Split Rock Lighthouse, which opened in 1910 and was deactivated in 1969. 

Looking out over Lake Superior from the platform of the lighthouse…where is the lake?
The spiral staircase in the Split Rock Lighthouse.

Looking out over the railing we could not see the big lake. It was fogged in and clouded over, but inside we climbed up the spiral staircase to the top to see the special lens. Click here to read more on this fascinating lens.

The special lens in the lighthouse, only used for special occasions now.

We also toured one of the lightkeeper houses. An antique oven was lit while bread dough was rising so it was very cozy in the house as we warmed up in the kitchen on a cold blistery day.

A docent showing off the antique oven in the light keeper’s house.

Even in the rain we stopped a few more places along the way to Tofte, where our friends had rented a condo.

A different view than I normally see of a Lake Superior sunrise.

Much to our surprise we saw the sun rise over Lake Superior the next two mornings. What a treat – what a delight! We were grateful!

The view from the deck of the condo.

For two days it did not rain, and was partly sunny…to mostly sunny.

Looking Up.

We took a another look on Oberg Mountain by hiking the trail for a second time in two weeks. The colors were fuller and even more vibrant than on our first hike two weeks prior.

From the top of Oberg Mountain.
It’s hard to capture the yellow trees closer to the lake which turn color later than the inland trees. Lake Superior is in right hand corner.

We meandered a long time at the top of Oberg, to enjoy God’s spectacular creation and amazing colors.

Another view off Oberg Mountain.
Near the mouth of Temperance River.
Along Temperance River.

We showed our friends a taste of the wonderful north shore: Temperance River, Grand Marais, Naniboujou Lodge, and we spent time on the rocks, had a bonfire, and drove one of the fall color tours on the back roads. 

The skies clearing in Grand Marais.
The Grand Marais breakwaters, backlit with sunshine clearing from the west.

It brought us much joy to show off the beauty of Lake Superior. Time went by too quickly.

A stretch of Lake Superior shoreline.

Early in the morning, on the last day, our friends headed north – they were driving back home through Canada. We headed south – back to Northfield, once again basking in the glory of the north shore and grateful for a second look at it this year

Honeymoon Trail

I needed my two-year-old granddaughter to walk Honeymoon Trail with me. I wanted to go at her “stop and look at every thing” pace….only I would stop and take pictures.

But she had already gone back home when we drove on this dirt road one rainy afternoon up north. Even in the rain the colors were stunning. 

However, the next day the rain had stopped so we decided to ride our bikes on Honeymoon Trail. This road is a segment of one of the suggested Fall Color Tours on the north shore.

We’ve been going up to this area for 30+ years so we know this road and have always enjoyed it in autumn. But we don’t always see it so colorful. It was amazing.

It’s easier to stop on a bike to take pictures than stopping in the truck. These photos are taken with my iPhone. I can’t imagine having a specialized camera and capturing more of the beauty.

I just couldn’t get enough of the fall colors and I couldn’t stop taking pictures. I guess it’s a good thing I wasn’t walking.

Our ride was great fun and it was a new adventure for us…riding our bikes one Honeymoon Trail.

While driving back to the cabin we saw a wolf cross the road. That was a first for us. I was not quick enough with the camera.

Walking at the North Shore

Walking at a two-year-old “I want to stop and look at everything pace” is a wonderful way to walk…it slows us down and opens our eyes to see things we might not notice while walking at our normal pace. We enjoyed several of these walks with our grand-daughter and her mom and dad while they were here with us on the north shore.  It was delightful.

Early morning sunrise to begin the day.

After they went back home we continued our stay at the cabin for a few more days to enjoy more hiking and biking and relaxing. One trail we always hike is the Oberg Mountain Trail. It’s a rather short hike…2.2 miles round trip. You hike up, walk around a loop on top and witness great vistas of Lake Superior and of inland trees and Oberg Lake. It’s a favorite hike of ours. 

We arrived at the trailhead early one morning and spent a good two hours meandering the top and sitting to enjoy the vistas – even stopping a couple of times to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee and muffin we brought along. We were pleasantly surprised at all the fall colors. We were not expecting these colors so early in the season.

Gary taking a photo of Oberg Lake.

Here is a photo essay from our hike on the Oberg Trail.

Oberg Lake.
This is a vista point overlooking Lake Superior. It’s hard to photograph since it’s into the sun. The leaves have not changed along the shore of Lake Superior.
One of our coffee stops overlooking Lake Superior on the left and Mt. LeVeaux.
Looking down on colorful treetops.
Mt. LeVeaux.

Such astounding beauty. It was breathtaking. Pictures, of course, do not do it justice. I am grateful for this opportunity to see this beautiful change of season, to feel it’s fresh air, and to smell the distinct fragrance of the fir trees, which also add the dark green contrast to the beautiful oranges and reds and yellows.