Breakfast in Little Rock

We ate a great breakfast at Dogtown Coffee and Cookery. Weather is very nice and we will be entering the second largest state in a few hours. Texas, that is. Will update more along the way.

Pictures With No Moose

Here are some shots from our travels not too far from home.

Final Day

On our final day in the UP we traveled over to Seney National Wildlife Refuge and to Tahquamenon Falls State Park. Both were very nice places to visit. Wildlife was quite abundant.  For birds, the high wind kept photos to a minimum but we did get a few.

 Eastern Kingbird

 Common Loon

 Lower Falls at Tahquamenon Falls

 Another view

American Redstart

We all enjoyed our time wandering around the UP. Sorry we didn't see a moose but that seems to be par for the course. Nan and I think that we're going to have to go to Alaska to see that moose we want. 

Thanks for riding along. We enjoy sharing our trips with you and hope you enjoy the photos. Until the next Moose Quest begins...

Wild Moose Chase

"Are there moose to be found in this area?", I asked. "Oh yes. I just saw one yesterday. If you go down here to..." Or, another might say, "Moose? I don't think we have any of those around here."

That is the typical conversation with locals. It appears that some are alert and other don't know what is around them. Or could it be that some are honest and others are keeping up the moose myth just so the tourist will keep returning and looking.

Whatever the case, we have seen no moose so far. Yesterday was the first day we really tried very hard. We got up quite early and found fog over the lake. Jeff took a great picture if the sun coming up and shining through the fog. See his FaceBook page. Here is the scene from the cabin.

The next two photos are places where we looked for moose. You know, in those areas where the locals always see them. Even though we have not seen moose, we have certainly seen some really beautiful country. 

Along the way we do see some wildlife. This roughed grouse was a nice sight as was the chipmunk.

We topped the day off with worship back in Green Bay. The brethren there are quite friendly and received us warmly. 


You can click on any image to see a larger copy. Download them if you like but please do not publish them on the web.


We'll try again on Friday and see if our luck continues to hold. This time we'll be going to the eastern part of the peninsula. Today (Thursday) we'll probably spend around the cabin, either on the water, biking a nice trail nearby, or just resting and breathing fresh air.

Pictured Perfect Day

Near Munising, Michigan is the Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore. It is located on Lake Superior's southern shore. Because Superior is such a large lake, it looks and feels more like the ocean. The shore is very high here and Superior's continual beating against the rock walls along with the iron ore in the rock makes the pictured rocks seen below.

From the point at which I took the picture above, you can walk a mile down to the lake shore. Everything is very green, coming alive from the winter. Nan and Jeff were ahead of me.

The trail follows a winding creek which empties into Superior. The picture below is near the point at which the creek empties into Superior. It is a beautiful place.

The lake shore here is sandy, unlike much of Superior's shoreline. Trees that fall into the creek are sometimes carried down to the shore.

The tree lined hill below is the starting point of the mile-long trail we hiked. You can see that Superior looks like the ocean here.

 On our way out of the Pictured Rocks LS we stopped by Munising Falls. These falls drop about 30 feet. Since the snowfall was light this year, the falls do not have as much water as usual for this time of year.

We arrived back at the cabin just in time for the sunset. Venus was shining brightly and seemed right for a picture.

 On this day the temperatures really dropped. It was very windy and about 40 degrees when we got back to the cabin. The sky was perfectly clear so we built a bonfire, roasted marsh mellows, and watched the stars. I saw 3 meteors as we watched. We also heard the howling of gray wolves which are in the area as well as a whip-or-will and a great horned owl.

We had a great day. Hope you enjoyed travelling along as well.

Hardwood Hideaway

We're in Hardwood, Michigan at our cabin. Below is a panorama of our backyard. We are loving it here. A bald eagle and an osprey nest on the lake and are continually flying by. Loons sing in the morning and in the evenings. Last night we saw about 6 deer on the road and there is evidence that they come through the yard. The lake is very inactive and we went out on the canoe and paddle boat today. Jeff and I canoed around the island. I'm hoping that the videos I've taken of the eagle will be worth posting. More to come.


You'll want to click on this image and view it full-sized.

Chicago, Chicago

Jeff suggested that we visit the Field Museum in Chicago. He has never been but had heard it was a good stop. Below is the entrance with the banner for the Genghis Kahn exhibit (which we saw) and below that is a shot of the main hall. It is quite a large place.

We then took a cab up to Millennium Park, another place Jeff had heard about. He is quite the tour guide even though he has never visited Chicago before this trip. We found this reflecting pool with two towers on either end. The towers display videos which reflect into the pool. Jeff took a great shot of this reflection and I got him taking the shot.

Also at the park was the Cloud Gate, a round set of highly polished stainless steel plates that reflect the city as well as those around it. Look closely at the center and you can see Nan and me. The Cloud Gate is huge and quite interesting. Seems that Chicago has you do a lot of reflecting when you visit.

Here is a shot of Nan and the some of the buildings along the Magnificent Mile. The Mag Mile is very nice and cleaned up. Other parts of Chicago are run down and dirty. I guess that is like a lot of cities but the size of each area is just larger in Chicago. Still, a very nice visit. Our two cab drivers were extremely nice, drove crazy like all other cab drives, and made the trip enjoyable.

Hope you enjoy these shots. We are in a very different world now that we have arrived at our cabin on the lake. Pictures from here tomorrow.

Lots in the Moose

We stopped in Chicago and went to the Field Museum, Millennium Park and ate Chicago style pizza at Giordano's. This is a picture of a little bit. The rest made its way into our mooses. More later. Really fun day.

MQ 2012 Has Begun

We're headed up to Bowling Green To pickup Jeff. We'll spend the night near Chicago. Tomorrow we end up in Green Bay and will worship with the brethren there on Sunday. We then end up at our cabin in Michigan's Upper Pennisula. The cabin is just a few miles from the largest concentration of moose in Michigan. I found out that there Re also wolves in the UP so perhaps we'll get to see them as well. Thanks for travelling along. Will start posting pictures soon...maybe tomorrow.

Next Moose Quest

In less than a month Nan, Jeff and I will begin another Moose Quest. We'll provide more information closer to the time we depart.

Last Post From Minnesota Trip

It is hard to put a finger on what was the best part of our trip to Minnesota. The time together that Nan and I had was such a blessing. Seeing old friends and catching up on the years in between was fun too. Being able to spend time in God's grand creation is certainly faith building. Having family and friends to come home to is obviously a blessing that we count high on the list.

So without identifying a specific, we'll share some final scenes that we enjoyed together. Okay, at least I enjoyed them. I was reminded when seeing some of these shots that Nan was asleep in the van while I took some of them. Don't tell her I said that.

Early one morning we caught the fog rising over one of the small rivers.

On another afternoon we stopped at an overlook to view the little village of Grand Marais (Ma-ray) which sits on Lake Superior.

We saw all these gulls circling and it turns out they were helping a fisherman clean his catch.

One night we were treated to a great sunset over a lake/swampy area where we looked for moose. It started out this way with several clouds.

As it progressed it got better as you can see from these.

But during the middle we saw this special treat. This picture doesn't do justice to what we witnessed but perhaps comes close. The tree looked as if it were on fire from the sun.

On our last day we traveled north into Canada. At the border is Grand Portage State Park on the US side. Separating the US from Canada is the Pigeon River. On the Pigeon River are several falls. These shots are of High Falls, the highest waterfall in Minnesota. The right bank is in Canada.

That the last shot was taken at a slow shutter speed to blur the falls. You photographers will appreciate knowing that this was hand-held using my 70-200 VR II lens. Not easy and I took several shots before I got it right.

Over in Canada the topography changed into more farmland surrounded by mountains rising up steeply out of the ground. The only shot I got that depicts a little of that is this nice farm. The crop all around is wheat.

On Friday morning as we started our drive back to Tennessee, it was a bit rainy. I stopped on the highway and took one final shot. We saw aspen trees everywhere and I thought this one looked pretty good.

We sure enjoyed having you ride along and hope you enjoyed being with us. Who knows where the next moose quest will take us. This we do know. The Lord has created such a wonder place for us to live in and enjoy. And heaven is supposed to be even better. I'm looking forward to that. I don't believe we'll need a camera to remember those images!

Moose! Finally

To see a moose, you generally have to get up early or stay out late. We've done both. We were out until 10 last night and up at 5 this morning. You also have to look in the right places. Small ponds, bogs or rivers with their favorite grasses are the best locations, though a moose might just meet you on the road. Here are some picture perfect places to find a moose.

On the Gunflint Trail there is a moose observation platform. You walk about 1/3 of a mile, take a right, and about 20 yards down the path is the platform. We found no moose at the platform but on the way back to the car, we finally spotted our moose. I even photographed it for all to see.

Admittedly this is a much smaller moose than I hoped to see. So the moose quest goal is being modified to include a "large moose with a full rack." The quest is still on!

No Moose Yet...

Our moose has evaded us so far and this trip may well be like many trips. Probably the best time to see moose is the dead of winter from a snowmobile. During winter the moose will often be in the roadways because it is easier for them to get around using trails packed by humans than to walk in the deep, unpacked snow. If we really want to see a moose on this trip, we should hire a guide and go out by canoe for a couple of days. That would be exciting but I'm not likely to put my camera gear into a canoe and neither of us would enjoy being a constant meal for the mosquitoes. Bug spray helps some but that smell...

So let me bring you up-to-date. Here is the view we have as we eat here in the condo. We are right on Lake Superior.

We had a great sunrise on Sunday morning but I was too busy getting ready for church services to get a picture. Here are a couple of shots of the one we saw this morning. I didn't wait on it to get much better because we were off to Ely, Mn exploring.

The GunFlint Trail is supposed to be "the" place to see moose. You can tell from the trail logo that they want you to believe that. Here is the logo in big print.

We didn't see a moose on the trail Saturday when we went up the trail. In fact, it was cloudy and even rained a bit. The trail is cut right through the forest and there is little open space, and open space is what I've come to believe is what animals like. They have had some forest fires in recent years and everything looks like new growth. That may explain why it is so thick.

We stopped and ate lunch at the Gunflint Lodge. This is a rather remote place so they get whatever food prices they want to charge..$10.95 for a hamburger. But, we were very hungry and the food was great. We sat next to Gunflint Lake watching a couple of folks canoe and a couple of momma ducks keeping watch over their ducklings. Here is the lodge.

I wish I had more to show but this isn't the most scenic place we've been to. For example, they have no "scenic view" pull-overs and with so few open areas, pictures would pretty much show a road with trees on either side. Don't get me wrong, we are having a great time and really enjoying just being away for a little while. Here are a couple of shots I've taken along the way.



So that is about all I have to "show and tell." Remember that you can click on the photos to see a larger version. Hope you are enjoying the ride with us.