Cherry Trees

The cherries were thick and ripe in Des Moines at the Rose house. They asked if we wanted to pick them to make a pie, but that would have also included pitting each cherry by hand. We didn't do it, so we learned that the lazy person gets no pie.

Wind Power

We went through two wind farms in northern Iowa. The farming was going around like normal at the base. There was plenty of wind and no lack of spinning turbines. Clean energy! I wonder if your close smell better coming out of the dryer when you use it?

Iowa Farms

You might think this is a beautiful Iowa Barn full of happy farm animals with cute names, but this is a rest stop full of smelly grumpy travellers. Notice the Casino sign in the background? Nothing natural about this place.

Burger King Birds

We were in the drive through of a Burger King and watched this mother bird teach her baby how to get food by picking french fries out of the trash. You would think that picking a french fry up off the ground couldn't be easier, but he baby just wanted to pick the french fry out of his mother's mouth. Maybe we just saw the first day of training, but I wondered how this baby bird could possibly survive out in the wild.

Doggie Driver

This nice dog may have fancied himself a good driver, but the car wasn't moving. So at best, he's a good parker.

Come Sail Away

On the way back from Northern Minnesota, we stopped in Wayzata on Lake Minnetonka. I wasn't sure if there was some kind of sailing competition, or if every day has a fleet of sailboats on Lake Minnetonka

Bear Encounter

Here Eric re-enacts his face to face encounter with a ferocious bear. While leaving the garage with a bucket of fish guts (I'm not making this up) he turned and faced a bear, from the same angle this picture was taken.

Of course, the bear's claws were probably more intimidating, and we're pretty sure Abby was not hanging out with him, but you get the picture.

After the Rain

I love the sense of quiet clean beauty that this picture shows. You can see the storm that washed off the docks still moving away.

Baby on Board

Just think, when he's 16, we can tell him about the first vacation he ever went on, in Minnesota. We'll have to make up the parts about what he was doing.

Ghost Lodge

We found the remnants of an old resort Lodge. There was a little harbor that still had the gas pump standing next to it. Back from the shore a short ways, there was a stone chimney, but no building anywhere in sight.

So many babies

I've never seen as many goslings and ducklings in my whole life as I saw in a few days on Leech Lake.

This parade consisted of multiple parents and a long string of little ones.

Pelican on the Wing

This picture is not as impressive-looking as it was difficult to take.

I had my digital camera cranked all the way to max zoom and managed to get this moving target in the center of the frame from a moving, rocking boat.

Baywatch: Gull Island

I wonder if the Gull equivalent of Pamela Anderson comes rushing out of this thing if someone starts choking on a fish?

Naptime with Vern

Getting up at 5 to go fishing and staying out until 10 every night makes for a strong need for napping.

Abby's little stuffed friend Vern appears to be a good nap companion to Eric.

Elect any American - Native or not

There were plenty of campaign signs up in the area we were in near Walker Minnesota. Many of them were obviously Native Americans, based on the names.

I couldn't decide who I would vote for, which is good because I don't get to vote there.

Paul Bunyan

The tiny town of Akeley Minnesota claims to be the birthplace of Paul Bunyan. So does Brainerd, Bemidji and a dozen other towns.

Andrea would not go sit in Paul's hand for a fun posed picture. She thinks he looks too much like a terrorist.

Beaversaurus

This beaver lodge in Itasca State Park in Minnesota was enormous. I was imagining 6' to 8' tall beavers living in it.

Blowdown Storms

Sometimes, the nerdy little signs that you find in parks have surprising and imaginative stories on them. This sign talked about a windstorm in July 1995 that was so intense that hundreds of acres of trees were blown down. This reminds me of the pictures from the 1908 Tunguska Event, where an exploding meteor flattened thousands of trees in northern Russia.

It's often surprising to see what nature can do when it gets cranked up.

Mississippi Headwaters

In North Central Minnesota, through a maze of streams and lakes, they have designated Itasca Lake as the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

I totally rained on Andrea's parade when I spoke at length in a very nerdy fashion about how the designation of this particular stream as "the" headwaters, is totally arbitrary.

My main example was to ask which of the little streams feeding Lake Itasca was the continuation of the Mississippi headwaters. I also remarked that many times, they say that the river or stream with more volume in it is the main branch, and the lesser is the tributary. However, that doesn't have anything to do with which river is longer. The Missouri is longer than the Mississippi from St. Louis to its source, so why wasn't the Missouri considered the true "Mississippi"?

She was not amused, and in any case, it was fun to visit and see the attraction.

Heartwaters Caretaker Woman

At the Itasca Headwaters Visitor's Center, there is a sculpture of an Indian Heartwaters Caretaker Woman. This is supposed to represent the life force of the headwaters spilling out of the bowl of Lake Itasca. The Anishinabe symbol of natural life, the turtle, is standing watch over these headwaters. The Indian Caretaker Woman is casting out turtles is a symbol of populating the world.

Let's have some shrill fun

This is a picture of an anal retentive mommy loudly chastizing her children. The children are excited about there imminent trip on Lake Itasca on a boat. While jumping up and down with impatience and exuberence, the mommy realizes that she would be remiss if she did not explain to her children that the boat has no bathroom and they MUST GO POTTY NOW!

Lake Ithaca's singing dock

This dock's support poles are different heights, have curled lips, and have holes drilled into the side.

As the wind comes over the lake, they sing. If you cover the holes drilled in the side, you can change the pitch. It was a unique and interesting idea, completely unadvertised by any signs. The first thing you know about it is when you hear the poles start to sing.

Bug Dune

The title is not Dune Buggy, but bug dune because that's what these bugs formed on the deck. The night before, Eric and I were the last ones up and you could hear a distinct buzzing noise coming from the windows. The screens in the windows were so covered with bugs beating against the screen that you couldn't have seen out the window if it was light outside. When the inside light was turned off, the buzz quickly wound down. When the light was turned back on, the loud buzz came right back up to volume and tempo immediately.

The next morning, opening up the door out to the deck brought the disturbing visage of a pile of bugs at the door jam. I grabbed a broom and swept the bugs over to the edge of the deck. When I swept the mess off the deck, under the rail, most of them took to their wings and flew away. I thought they were dead, and I'm not sure why they sat still so quietly while I swept them across the deck. Regardless of how it works, it was fun and I wouldn't mind doing it again.

Mirrored Sunset

When a big lake gets glassy, it can be magical. Add in some clouds and the purples and pinks of the sunset, and you get a real treat.

Another Trophy

She catches 'em, he displays 'em. The sister/brother fishin' tag team.

Fearless Guide

I can't remember whether this fish was going back in the lake or home for filleting. I think Eric was either scolding the fish, pointing out something about his anatomy, or illustrating his overwhelming prowess as a fisherman and guide.

In any case, Walleye beware!

Bandaged and Beaming

Here Dick is proudly displaying his latest catch and his latest wound. I think he was smiling because Andrea was also reeling one in at the same time.

Double Netter

I almost couldn't take this picture from laughing so hard.

After hearing tales of what to expect with the fishing, not to hope for too many fish, we were doing much better than expected.

Listening to everyone fretting about what to do with the two fish was almost as fun as the giddy feeling of reeling in fish left and right.

Barking Moon

Walker Minnesota has a little store call the Barking Moon. The owner (I assume, or at least one of the guys that worked there) was really nice, conversational and friendly.

I have to admit that I found the combination of offerings rather strange. It was for the combination pet lover and artist/hobbyist. So if you like hanging out with your 11 cats on little afghans while you make homemade beaded necklaces, this is definitely your place.

The did not, however, have any new green atomic balls. Sorry, Cuppy.

Osprey Nest

This Osprey nest was right next to the highway on the way to our cabin. Every time we drove by, we stopped and got out our binoculars. It appeared that they had 2 or 3 babies and the father was helping in the care and feeding. The nest was huge. We thought it was an eagle's nest at first. We never got tired of visiting the Ospreys.

Daredevil Dog

You see dogs sticking their heads out of car windows all the time. Sometimes, you see them in the back of pickups, and they sure do like to ride the edge and hang way out. So you know dogs love the wind in their face and are somewhat fearless of moving vehicles. They do seem to like to put themselves on a rocky shaking part of any ride and just stay put without any effort. I've seen them riding on motorcycles, in one case behind the guy, in another standing up on the handlebars (that dog had a little set of goggles on).

This is the marine version of the daredevil dog rider. That point up on the bow was surely the most violent in the boat, but the best view, too. Guaranteed.

Buzzard Beach

Gull Island and Little Pelican Island are like spring break sites for birds. They were covered with gulls and cormorants. Not only were the rocks covered with birds, but other evidence that the birds had been there. Care to guess what all the white streaks on the rocks are?

Special Treat

I know that the Bald Eagle is less endangered today and becoming more and more common, but it's still a thrill to spot them. They seem to like dead trees, which makes them more visible from the distance. These guys were lounging on the eastern tip of a finger of Pelican Island, probably thinking about their full bellies, or maybe making a nest.

Looking back at the wake

When boating this year, we had some precious cargo and had to avoid rough bumps and pounding rides on the waves. With that condition, you spend a lot of time looking at other boats wakes, trying to gage how big they are and when they are going to hit.

Not often do you look back on your own wake, but when you do, sometimes it's a beautiful thing. I really like the colors and shapes of this picture of our wake with Pelican Island in the background. There is one of the streams of birds in the sky over the island, which will be completely invisible if you are viewing this as a thumbnail. Click on the picture to blow it up and see if it's still visible.

Surprise Catch

We boated over to Pelican Island to check out the sights, and saw flocks of Pelicans mixed in with cormorants and gulls. On a rocking boat, I cranked up the zoom on my camera to the max and snapped this blurry picture.

While on the boat, I couldn't see what I had done. The little camera screen was too small, the image blurry, and the boat was rocking around. Only when I got back and downloaded the picture later could I see that the Pelican had caught a fish. What are the chances?

Lone Loons

There were so many different kinds of waterfowl in Leech Lake and the surrounding area, but the favorite was the Loon.

Here they are in the morning, looking for the Loon equivalent of Starbucks.

Northern Twilight

We were almost 10° further north when we were in Minnesota and you could really tell. This picture was shot around midnight. This is toward the northeast.

There are 3 types of twilights. Civil twilight is the time when the sun is below the horizon, but you can see fine without artificial lights and some of the brightest stars may be visible. Nautical twilight is the time when the sun is lower below the horizon and you can make out the outlines of things, but may not be able to see the horizon too clearly. Astronomical twilight is the time between nautical twilight and when the sky is not brightened at all by the sun.

The picture is probably still barely in Civil twilight, because you couldn't do much without a flashlight. Some people, like me, have better night vision than others. I find that I can see much better at lower light levels than a lot of the people around me. However, I have to squint more in the bright sunlight.

Beach Fire

I've seen these metal rings for containing fires before. This one has the Northern Exposure theme going with the moose outlines.

Walleye

The walleye is a member of the perch family, the biggest one in the family.

It also is most likely to need braces.

Hammered Pewter

Leech Lake is the third biggest lake in Minnesota. It's big enough that you can't see the shore on the other side in a couple of places.

It's interesting to see a lake this large get so glassy. It looks like hammered pewter.

Dragonfly Protectors

When we got to Minnesota, I immediately noticed the swarms of dragonflies. Everyone tells you about and warns you against the mosquitos. Since the dragonflies eat the mosquitos, it's logical to see swarms of them as a good thing.

One morning, I went for a run and a cloud of dragonflies were following me. I couldn't see any mosquitos, but I imagined that they were zeroing in on me for a meal, and the dragonflies were finding an easy meal of the distracted mosquitos.

While I ran, I imagined that I was the lumbering WWII bomber with a dragonfly fighter escort, dogfighting around me with the enemy mosquito fighters.

I think the dragonflies won.

Babies love beaches

Was there any doubt that Abby would enjoy her first christening on the beach at Leech Lake Minnesota? I think not.

You know you're in Minnesota when

Really, in a state where the motto is "land of a thousand lakes" is there much doubt that people would be obsessed with fishing?

Pequot Lakes' cool bobber water tower is an icon of the region. I just wonder at what point some guys were looking at it and realized it was shaped just like a bobber. Not all water towers would work with this color scheme. It is possible that they ordered the water tower with the bobber top option, or welded it on after the fact.

We didn't stop to ask.

Random Street Clown

This rare sighting of a lone street clown away from her flock was a unique opportunity in Little Falls, Minnesota.

We figured from the disruption of traffic that there had been a parade (the natural habitat of the street clown), but we did not see any other clowns.

I hope she's not the last of her species.

Thielen Meats

For some reason, when I look at this picture, I feel it needs a country music theme song. Something about loving America and eating delicious animals you have shot.

The Thielen Meats store in Little Falls is a necessary stop on the drive north in Minnesota. You can't camp out for a week without a generous supply of bacon.

Super Mag Dawg

I've got a fishing tackle box with some plastic worms and other rubbery plastic based lures. Most are smaller than my pinky finger. The size of this one shocks me. There were times when I've caught whole fish this size and considered keeping them.

I like the subtitle name "The pounder". At first, I understood this to be what you were doing, pounding away at catching fish. Then I wondered if the lure weighs a pound. Now I wonder if the lure itself puts up some kind of fight when you reel it in so you can tell yourself that you caught one, even when the fish aren't biting.

The only problem there becomes how to prepare it, but some people will tell you that if you smother it in batter and deep fry it, anything tastes good. Don't look for it at your local state or county fair.

Questionable Elk

These are bronze statues of Elk outside of the Owatonna Minnesota Cabelas store.

At the time, we made fun of the elk as obviously being prison elk for what it appeared one was getting ready to do to the other.

Now that I look at it, I wonder if the one on top is supposed to have some kind of genetic variation. His antlers look like barbed wire.

Between the Storms

On a recent drive on I-35 through Iowa, we saw this view between two storms. We drove into the one on the right, which had raindrops so big that they sounded like hail.