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.
Illgen Falls.
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.
High Falls.
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.
The greens and yellows are pretty.
We saw waterfalls at both Temperance River and Cascade River State Parks,
Temperance River Falls.
Cascade Falls.
all intermixed with spending time sitting on shores of the Lake Superior;
Our deck off the cabin…
either reading, eating our picnic lunches,
Beachcombing.
Lovely shoreline.
Naturally tumbled rocks.
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.
When I told others we were taking a trip to Idaho most people asked why. I explained. “of the fifty states, Idaho is the only state I haven’t been in” (although my brother told me we were on a road trip with our parents and drove through Idaho to get to Washington when we were young. He is four years older so he remembers.)
Delicious potato chips, made in Idaho.
Now, if people were to ask me, “Why Idaho?” I would say because it is a beautiful state with a lot to offer…including a large portion of the Rocky Mountains and 3,500 miles of rivers. We spent a lot of time by the Snake River.
This ice cream is shaped to look like an Idaho baked potato with sour cream. It was fun to try.
Idaho is known for its potatoes. While doing some research I learned about Westside Drive-In in Boise, that offered potato-shaped ice cream. That was curious. We made the drive-in our first stop out of the airport. It was tasty treat and a great way to start our vacation. Then, we drove two hours to Twin Falls and settled into an AirBnB in southeastern Idaho. We took day trips from there.
The amazing Perrine Bridge.
We spent a lot of time along the Snake River viewing canyons, gorges, water falls, and watching Base jumpers jump off the Perrine Bridge…counting on their parachutes to open and land safely on the ground 486’ below. It was fascinating to watch.
An experienced jumper attaches another person to his harness for a tandem jump. Unfortunately I couldn’t figure out how to post the video of this endeavor.
This screen shot is of the BASE jumper from one of the videos.
The Perrine Bridge is a stunning arch bridge and stands 486 feet above the Snake River, and has the distinction of being the eighth highest bridge in the United States. The Perrine Bridge attracts BASE jumpers from all over the world because it is one of the few structures they [jumpers] can use without getting special permits.
Trying to capture how deep this gorge is…this is looking down at the river…ripples from a motor boat and a kayak in the picture too.
(BASE jumping is an extreme sport where an individual leaps from a fixed object and uses a single parachute to land. The term “BASE” is an acronym for the four types of locations: Buildings, Antennas, Spans (bridges), and the Earth (cliffs).) We were fortunate to witness four jumpers, (one tandem) while walking next to the bridge.
At the visitor’s center, on the other side of the bridge, was a temporary 911 memorial display (we were visiting close to that date). The group hung a gigantic American flag on a cable over the gorge. It was impressive.
Shoshone Falls…there is not much water flowing over the falls this time of year. (Twin Falls is considered high dessert.) However, in the spring Shoshone Falls is called the Niagara of the west and the falls are gushing and look very full (in photos).
We picnicked at Shoshone Falls, and saw Perrine Coulee Falls and many other miscellaneous waterfalls.
Perrine Coulee Falls.
We also walked to the Devil’s Washbowl, a waterfall within the Malad Gorge in Thousand Springs State Park.
The waterfalls in Malad Gorge.
Looking down on Malad Gorge, formed by the Malad River that flows into the Snake River.
We hiked in Adams Gulch and caught the beautiful sight of quaking aspen trees, their leaves turning from green…to lime green… to a brilliant yellow, that contrast beautifully with the green evergreen trees.
The striking contrast of the yellow aspens and evergreen trees.
We hiked on a well-defined hiking, and mountain biking, trail.
We drove to Ketchum, the ski village near Sun Valley Resort, nestled within the Rocky Mountains, specifically in the Wood River Valley at the base of Bald Mountain.
Beautiful Bald Mountain and the Sun Valley Ski Resort.
Sun Valley was America’s first destination ski resort.
One big bicycle near Ketchum.
The mountains are inviting so we continued to drive north of Ketchum for several miles to see their majesty.
On our way up a mountain…and then down into a valley.
Looking at a valley from Smiley Lodge. We turned around here and drove back up the mountain pass.
We also spent time in Craters of the Moon National Monument. I will write about that another time.
Our final evening, a farewell dinner on the deck at Redhawk Gastropub, overlooking the Snake River.
Our time went fast, as it usually does while on vacation, but I’m glad we were able to see a few of the wonderful sights in beautiful Idaho, and to make some fun memories there.
And I did it! I can say I’ve been in all 50 states.
São Miguel Island is the poster child for the Azores. When you see brochures for the Azores, you see a picture of a caldera on San Miguel Island. A caldera is a large, bowl-shaped depression formed by the inner collapse of a volcano’s summit. It’s distinct from a crater, which is a much smaller, depression typically formed by outward explosion of material during an eruption.
This is photo of a photo in an ad promoting the Azores, taken on Såo Miguel.
This is our photo of the famous caldera the day we saw it…still beautiful even with the cloud cover. photo gb
One of the jeeps in our caravan.
For this discovery adventure with OAT, we were divided into small groups, and rode over rough terrain in jeeps to the western part of the island to see this caldera. Although it was overcast, we enjoyed seeing the stunning landscapes along the way.
Mata Jardim José do Canto – one of the botanical gardens on São Miguel.
Also, on this island we went to a botanical garden (Mata Jardim José do Canto) with a thermal pool. The hot springs look muddy, but its minerals in the water that make it look that way.
The thermal pool, in the botanical garden. photo gb
We were told to bring an old swimsuit since they would get stained from the water. It felt good to be in the hot pools.
Inside one of the greenhouses on the pineapple plantation. photo gb
We visited a tea plantation (Henrique -our tour guide- worked there when he was younger), and we visited a pineapple plantation.
Cascada (Portuguese) = Cascade (English).
Full and lush and green. photo gb
We stopped at Ribeira dos Caldeirões Park, with beautiful waterfalls and more lush, green plants…São Miguel…aptly nicknamed the green island…Ihla Verde.
The green island.
On this island we experienced a local dairy farm, milking about 25 cows. It is run by a Gena and João, a couple dedicated to a small, self-sufficent, organic farming operation.
Gena and João, in the barn on their dairy farm. photo gb
As we stood out in the field with the dairy cows, one cow in particular kept nudging everyone. Later, back in the barn (which was connected to electricity just last year) we gathered around the milking stalls and took turns milking a cow by hand.
Gary milking a cow by hand.
Henrique at the head of the farm table. photo by Gena
Back in the soon-to-be remodeled stone outbuilding, a wonderful dinner was set for us and we ate their home-grown food. This type of farming reminded Gary of his grandparent’s farm…with their old-fashioned ways of doing things.
At the grocery store, with our assignments.
Earlier that morning Henrique divided us into groups and gave us some Euros and a short shopping list, in Portuguese, to buy a few items to bring to dinner at the farm later that day.
The local grocery store. (Decked out for the upcoming festival. Most store fronts are decorated for the special festival.)
He showed us which store to shop for local fare, and asked us to try and not speak English. That was a fun outing. We succeeded in finding the food…not sure about the not speaking English.
The lighting ceremony on the plaza in Ponta Delgado, on São Miguel Island. The ceremony marks the beginning of the festival “Festas do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres” (Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles).
On our last night on this island there was an opening ceremony for a huge annual religious festival. We were leaving the island the next day, but were able to walk to the main plaza after dinner to watch the lighting ceremony. It was a festive atmosphere and a pretty sight to see.
As I was walking in the cobblestone plaza, I tripped and fell into two women in the crowd. They kept me from falling…I said “Obrigada (thank you)”, and they replied, “that’s what we’re here for – to hold each other up!” Another fun interaction with strangers!
A very small village along the coast of São Miguel. photo gb
We enjoyed the natural wonders and beauty of São Miguel.
Over the past few days our activities, unintentionally, took us to three major rivers.
Our first hike was at Ft. Snelling State Park. Gary and I have a long, but brief, history with this park. When we first met in 1976, Gary was in the habit of hiking in this park. At that time, he had taken an awesome photo of the Mendota Bridge from a unique perspective and had it printed and framed in a 8X10 format. He gave me a copy when we first met. And, then he took me to this unique park in the heart of the city.
Current view of the Mendota Bridge from Ft. Snelling State Park.
I don’t remember the trail but I remember the hike because we walked to the confluence of the mighty Mississippi River and the Minnesota River. This was years ago. There were a few times we stopped at the park since then, after we had children, to visit the beach area. And we’ve been to the historic Ft. Snelling itself, which is interesting, but we didn’t hike on Pike Island again until this day, 45 years later. (It’s kind of hard to wrap my head around that).
The confluence of the Mississippi (on left) and Minnesota rivers.
On Pike Island, one side of the trail leads you along the Mississippi River. You approach a point, with a sandy beach, which is the confluence of two major rivers: Mississippi and Minnesota. Then you turn and walk back on the other side of the island, along the Minnesota River. It’s a 3.7-mile loop.
The wildflower: Trillium, found at Ft. Snelling State Park.
It was interesting to be at Ft. Snelling state park a few days after my jaunt in Nerstrand Big Woods where I saw multitude of wildflowers. There were very few wildflowers on Pike island, although I did see a trillium, which I hadn’t seen at Nerstrand.
There were, however, many huge trees on the island, and many of them had hollow spots. It was an interesting trail.
Just a couple days later we were at Interstate State Park, near Taylors Falls. Again, drastically different from both Fort Snelling and Nerstrand Big Woods state parks. This park offered many glacier formations and a scenic view of the St. Croix River. We hiked along the St. Croix River for a couple of miles. The sandstone cliffs tend to make this area of the river very scenic.
The St. Croix River.
Another view of the beautiful St. Croix River from Interstate State Park.
As we entered Interstate state park there was an information sign that read, “Looking for Taylors Falls? There is none.” Although Taylor Falls is the name of the town, there are no falls there. However, the sign told of the nearest falls 10 miles away in Osceola Wisconsin, so we ventured there to explore. We had been to Interstate many times over the years and knew there were no falls in Taylors Falls, but we did not know about the Cascade Falls in Osceola.
Cascade Falls in Osceola, Wisconsin.
They were very pretty…full, wide and cascading. We walked down flights of stairs provided by the city of Osceola, to the falls and then proceeded to hike a quarter mile away to the St. Croix river to see the river from another perspective other than Interstate park. The falls and surrounding area was a fun discovery.
Ahhh. Here’s the morning sunrise I love to see. The sun pops over the horizon in an instant…it so surprising to see it’s not there and then it’s there. Such an amazing gift. It’s going to be another great day on the north shore.
The sun’s light trail glistening on the water.
Yesterday’s sky was a beautiful autumn blue. We went for a bike ride on the Gitchi-Gami trail, a hike at Temperance River State Park, sat on the rocks outside our cabin for reading time, walked to Tofte Park with baby Aria in the stroller, enjoyed our family time. It was a starry, starry night and we made s’mores over the campfire.
We visited a Minnesota State Park that we have not been to before. Minneopa State Park near Mankato has a lot to discover. It has a two tier waterfall with a drop of about 30’+ on the second tier. I didn’t know before we went but the word Minneopa comes from the Dakota language which means “water falling twice.” I like that! It is a beautiful waterfalls. Some trails take you down to the base of the falls. It was fun to explore although it was very crowded as there were many people out on a beautiful Saturday in November enjoying the unusually warm weather.
The park also has a bison herd. We did not see any on the drive along the fenced in area where they roam. However, the road took us to an old historic wind mill, Seppmann Mill, built in 1862 and completed in 1864, by a German immigrant for the purpose of grinding grain into flour. Originally it had cloth sails which, of course, no longer exist, but the base of the windmill made of stone is very impressive. The Seppmann Mill is on the U.S. Register of Historic Places.
It was a fun day making all these discoveries, in a “new to us” Minnesota State Park. On a side note, we saw a little boy who was getting scolded in sign language. It was clear what was happening and it was so interesting to watch as we walked by this silent exchange that “spoke” loudly.
