Photo Safaris - Lake Superior—Minnesota's North Shore in Autumn

Digital Field Workshop


		Dates	Sep 22–28, 2007
		Leader	Len Rue, Jr.
		Fee	$2,395 from Duluth, Minnesota
		Deposit	$300
		Limit	8
			Terms and Conditions

"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," the song by Gordon Lightfoot, tells the tale of how turbulent Lake Superior can be during winter storms. It is the graveyard for many ships and, understandably, the rugged shoreline north of Duluth, Minnesota, has its share of picturesque lighthouses. Highway 61 hugs the northern shore of the lake for over a hundred miles and, at every turn and overlook, the scenery is breathtaking. Lake Superior, the largest of our Great Lakes, is truly a huge freshwater inland sea. Like an ocean, Lake Superior has many moods—it can show the awesome power of nature with huge storm-generated waves or it can be serene and peaceful. This is an untamed land where the lake collides

with the rocky edge of the ancient Canadian Shield creating a picturesque coastline of cliffs, points, headlands and the constant action of water smashing against rock.

The rise and fall of the cliffs along the shore are mirrored inland with many high points including the Lutsen Mountains, a popular ski area in the Sawtooth Mountain range. There we'll take a tram to the top of the mountain to photograph an amazing panorama of forests filled with sugar maples turning red and orange, white-barked birch changing to brilliant yellow, and with a vista that can extend over a hundred miles displaying multi-hued forest and the dramatic shoreline of Lake Superior. This is canoe country and to the northwest lie both the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Voyageurs National Park. Many of these lakes empty into rivers that flow into Lake Superior along the North Shore. These rivers and streams quickly drop in elevation prior to entering Lake Superior. This jagged shore is sliced by the inflow of a multitude of creeks and rivers offering tall, dramatic and often many-tiered waterfalls, rapids and gorges. Thus, the North Shore makes up one of the largest concentrations of photogenic waterfalls to be found in the US.

Northern Minnesota is rich in history. The lands north of Lake Superior, populated by Ojibwe—Native Americans whose cultural influence spans centuries. In the late

1700s the Northwest Company, in competition with the Hudson's Bay Company, ran the largest fur trade depot in the middle of the continent at Grand Portage at the mouth of the Pigeon River. Here, trade goods coming in from Montreal were traded for furs brought in by voyageurs paddling birchbark canoes from all over the Canadian Northwest wilderness. The depot is now a national monument and has been restored to look as it did in 1797. The main industry in the 20th century was iron ore mining. The Mesabi Iron Range, just north of the lake, provided most of the iron ore that built modern America and that created the arsenal that won two world wars. To this day ore boats symbolize Lake Superior and still load at large terminals in Duluth and Two Harbors.

As we travel north from Duluth to Grand Portage through lake vistas, lighthouses, rough rocky coastline, waterfalls and colorful north woods habitat, the dramatic scenery grows ever more spectacular! This is a land where wolves and bear still roam free. Photograph the surprising North Shore in autumn and capture its amazing beauty.

Day 1 (Sep 22)
Participants fly to Duluth, Minnesota arriving by 3:30 PM. We offer round-trip transportation to our accommodations near Silver Bay. (D)

Days 2–3
After breakfast we'll begin an exploration that will include the Split Rock Lighthouse and the myriad waterfalls and vistas that mark the central part of the North Shore. (BLD)

Day 4
We will photograph northward along the coastline today arriving at our lodging in Grand Marais that afternoon. (BLD)

Days 5–6
The restored trading post at Grand Portage and the tram that takes will take you to the summit of Moose Mountain, the North Shore's highest peak, are two of the highlights as we photograph in the northern section of the coastline. (BLD)

Day 7 (Sep 28)
We will drive back down to the Duluth Airport after breakfast for afternoon flights home. (B)



	Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris, Inc. P.O. Box 655, Vashon Island, Washington USA 98070 Phone: (206) 463-5383 Fax: (206) 463-5484 Email: info@photosafaris.com Copyright © 2008, Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris, Inc.