ON FAWN ISLAND, as with many rocky outcrops in the North Country, the bedrock is creased with veins called ‘igneous intrusions.’ This particular white streak is composed of milky quartz. I once wrote of these intrusions in a book called ‘Paddle Whispers’:
A GORGEOUS DAY on Shovel Point, Lake Superior. We felt so lucky to be hiking, absorbing the beauty of blue waters, jagged cliffs, lichens and mosses and little, wind-shaped bonsai spruces. And yet to know that just a few dozen miles away, firefighters are struggling desperately to protect people’s homes and cabins, their dreams, and keep more of the forest
AFTER A WEEK OF TEACHING AND GUIDING, sharing Gooseberry Falls, Split Rick, Shovel Point and the North Shore; Kawishiwi Falls, the Dorothy Molter Myseum, the International Wolf Center and North American Bear Center; Burntside Lake and Listening Point; Ash River and Namakan, a Voyageurs Park boat ride to Kettle Falls, a Lake Kabetogama canoe outing and visiting Ernest Oberholtzer’s Mallard
ON RAINY LAKE, A DAY OF BLUEBERRY PANCAKES AND FISHING, swimming, diving off the dock with front flips, a little tubing, more swimming, (the best way to stay cool on a hot day) then a boat ride to dinner (French onion soup, fresh bread, corn dogs and burgers and chocolate sundaes). Then back across the lake, past sailboats and pelicans
YESTERDAY KATHY AND I TOOK A VOYAGEUR PARK DAY TRIP to the fabulous Ellsworth Rock Gardens, the Stonehenge of Kabetogama.
ABOUT 1.1 BILLION YEARS AGO NORTH AMERICA TRIED TO SPLIT IN TWO. The split failed but left behind a great rift or chasm of boiling igneous rock, which extruded to the surface.
AT THE DRAGON PAVILION IN KAIFENG, site of an astonishing temple from the Qing Empire, I had the chance to make the acquaintance of this beautiful young lady, holding tight to her cotton candy. My brother Bruce, who accompanied me for the entire trip, is seen with me at the the base of the temple, similar in scope to ancient
FRIENDS: I have taken a couple days since my return from China to process and absorb the extraordinary things I saw and experienced and the wonderful people I met. That’s going to take awhile. I will be returning for more trips in the future,
ENTRANCE TO THE GOLD MINE ON RAINY LAKE’S BUSHYHEAD ISLAND. Active 125 years ago in the days of the Rainy Lake Gold Rush, and boomtown Rainy Lake City, now completely vanished. Yes, gold was found here, but never in sufficient quantities to make anybody rich.
FOUND THIS OLD TURTLE ON MN HIGHWAY 23 near Oak Park. A Snapper about 15” long, she was flipped on her back on the asphalt, spinning around with the wind blasts of every car and truck that passed over her—none of whom stopped or slowed down. Managed—with her enthusiastic opposition—to move her to safety in the marshy ditch. Aside from