Year in review

The days are getting longer now that we have officially met winter. Three months until spring, four months until quality hiking, five months until graduation, and six months until an overdue trip to Thunder Bay. Ok, so graduation doesn't have much to do with weather or hiking, but it certainly will allow me to plan without time restrictions. I have much to look forward to this upcoming year, though the new year is not here quite yet.

Last New Year's, I made a resolution to spend more time with my camera and more time blogging. In doing so I had quite and active year. On top of work full-time, school full-time, two softball leagues, and hanging out with grandpa as much as possible, I was able to fit in 11 state parks. At those state parks I scaled walls, stood too close to the edge of cliffs, took thousands of pictures (literally), and miraculously escaped with only sore muscles and maybe a few scrapes. In those travels I ate lunches consisting of crackers and cheese overlooking waterfalls, disconnected from the world, found commonalities with hundreds of strangers, and forged a friendship.

One last trip is on the slate, and most likely it will be the first post of the New Year. Ditching the cold and snow of Minnesota for the warm, sandy beaches of Florida will provide a welcomed break from the daily grind. With camera in toe, I'll be slathering on sun screen to protect this fair complected, freckled, Minnesotan body.

This year's resolution?

More trips, more pictures, more blog entries.

(And keep eating healthy, keep running, keep my grandpa schedule, keep frequenting the E, keep working on being a better person, keep trying to surround myself with good people, keep searching for my niche in the technology world, keep on keepin' on)

See you on the flip side.

Just what I needed

On my way to the community center last night, there was a gorgeous sunset over Serpent Lake. What actually caught my attention was a gaggle of geese that had landed in the bay. Though they were a little too far away to get a good shot, the cat tails turned out alright.

So, just as I was bumming about the impending winter, Mother Nature gave me something to be excited about.


Serpent Lake

Withdrawal

Winter hasn't event started, but I've got a pain in my side.

I'm experiencing withdrawal.

Withdrawal from summer, hiking, and outdoor photography.

Now, I know that hiking and photography aren't synonymous with summer, but I hate being cold and so does my camera. We as a team are slow lethargic and much better suited for the warmer temps of spring, summer, and fall. If it weren't for the other 7 months of the year, I would seriously think about relocating.

None of my withdrawal symptoms, however, have anything to do with these photos overlooking St. Paul.

St. Paul, MN

Capitol

Mille Lacs Kathio State Park

I kind of missed out on the fall colors this year. My partners in crime were indisposed with prior engagements, and hiking just isn't as much fun by my lonesome. When I was set and ready to catch the fall foliage on the golf course, Mother Nature threw in a monkey wrench with some ill timed snow-- I don't have snowshoes.

This particular Saturday was about the only day that was worth getting out of bed for... the sun actually decided to shine. I'd been spying this day on the forecast when Amy told me she would be free for a hike at Mille Lacs Kathio State Park. I'd been to this park, but never hiked it or actually chose to enjoy it. Outings like these don't seem quite as much fun when you're a kid.

The leaves were past peak, but wonderful nonetheless. Golden hues from maples, rusty browns from oaks, and changing grasses made for some spectacular scenery.

The morning started out quite beautiful, but as time wore on, the clouds became thicker.

These two weren't taken in black and white nor filtered.

I usually don't do people: Ruttger's Oktoberfest '09

You may have heard of this little thing that Ruttger's does called Oktoberfest. In short, it's not a little thing. Oktoberfest is a three day celebration complete with more food than you can shake a stick at, over 150 vendors, and lots of beer and polka.

I'm not going to lie-- I had a sweet job this year. My mission: take pictures. Though I'm still not certain that I captured what the administration was looking for, I did have a ton of fun doing it. I struggle with having people pose, so I avoided that as much as possible. I can confidently say that out of around 700 pictures, at least 20 of them might be useable. It's a good thing that's not my batting average...

The food was phenomenal. A Terry Dox buffet comes highly recommended.

A vendor's apples tempted me...

Many talented people came to entertain young and old.

Concentration

A little frost on the pumpkin... if I had a pumpkin. (Bay Lake)

Every fall it seems like I put off what I enjoy most until it's too late. The shorter days and cooler temps bring color change, fog, and frost. Working at a resort, there are plenty of subjects and many opportunities to catch some interesting shots, but it seems that I never have my camera with me. Scraping my windshield this morning I had two realizations: I better get the car port cleaned so I don't have to scrape on too many more mornings, and I better take some pictures before all the leaves fall of the trees and the cold, dark, desolate winter is upon us. Though I didn't get too many leaf pictures (yet), I did manage to get some neat ones of the lake.

Bay Lake

I strongly encourage you to click the thumbnails. Bigger is better.

I a little too chilly for a dip

Tettegouche

On my mission to conquer as many state parks as possible, Tettegouche was the third on my list. First stop on the trip was at Russ Kendall's Smokehouse. I'm not really that fond of smoked fish, but Grandpa gets what Grandpa wants. I'd been by Kendall's many times in route to Barthell's cabins where I spent quite a bit of my youth. The scenic drive between Duluth and Two Harbors is awesome, and I highly recommend it-- especially if you're not in any hurry.

The fog never quite lifted the entire day, and admittedly I thought there was a fire in the Silver Bay/Beaver Bay area. The odd weather provided some interesting photo opportunities throughout the day, primarily along the water and up on top of Palisade Head.

The stairs and inclines were pretty intense in comparison to Gooseberry Falls. In hindsight, these obstacles were nothing compared to what I would later experience at Cascade River and Judge Magney State Parks. The difficulty overall in the hike was well worth shagging the unambitious hikers who stick close to Gooseberry where the main attractions are a quick paved walk.

The vastness of the landscape is not done any justice in these photographs.

Cascade River State Park

There were a few stops this summer that I failed to blog about. One of them was our trip to Cascade River State Park, Judge Magney State Park, Grand Portage, and Grand Marais. I'll try to post bits and pieces as Picasa makes this uploading a snap. Mostly I'm just longing for summer to come again as the leaves on the trees begin to turn color and fall to the ground. Here's hoping this winter isn't quite as long as the last.

Jay Cooke Redux

I decided I need to start doing a better job of blogging with my photos. So, here it goes:

This was my second time this summer at Jay Cooke State Park, and I do have to stay that it was one of my favorite state parks in MN. The landscape is absolutely amazing. Don't get me wrong, all the parks that I have visited this summer have something wonderful to offer, but in terms of hiking, views, and access, Jay Cooke is my favorite.

Besides taking hikes with my buddy Kyle, I have also been hiking quite a bit with my friend Amy. Both are pretty enthusiastic photographers which makes our jaunts more fun.

This particular trip up to Carlton might be the final trip of my summer. All in all I've been able to 8 state parks in the last 5 months-- a summer tradition I'd like to continue. And well, I've got the bag and shoes, I can't quit now. I need to get a return on my investment.