Lake Superior at Grand Marais, MN

Thanks to some friends who have family with a vacation home on the north shore of Lake Superior, we have had the very good fortune to travel up that-a-way. I mean, the trip is long. It's not necessarily arduous...but it's long, and there's no quick way to get there.And you know what? That's fine. Because at the end, you get to get to be at the north shore of Lake Superior, and it is gorgeous. The people are incredibly nice. There are some great restaurants to eat at, and there's a surprisingly good music scene. I've been there twice, and both times, as I've played the "could I live here?" game, the answer is yes, if only I wouldn't have to contend with the bone-numbing cold of winter.I dig on the Great Lakes. There's something about them...the size? The fact that they're fresh water? That they were dug out by glaciers? Whatever the reason(s), the Lakes speak to me, and I'm happy to spend time hanging out near them whenever I can. So. Enough chatter. Here's what was happening around Lake Superior this past summer.Technically, these first three shots are from Lutsen, the town we actually stayed in, rather than Grand Marais, which was a short drive down the road. But when you're looking at something on the shores of a lake that can claim 31,700 square miles of surface area, a few miles down the road is basically the same place.  Fun fact: the rocks along this particular part of the Lake Superior shoreline are approximately 1.1 billion years old. Yes, I said billion, and it's one of the few places on this planet that you can see exposed rock that's so old. Also, another fun fact: I kind of hate Adirondack chairs. I don't think they're either attractive or comfortable. But I dig them like crazy when the fog rolls in off the lake and starts to devour them. On the pebbley part of the beach there is a series of logs run through with a length of rebar. They most likely act as a breakwater, before the waves from the lake hit the seawall behind it. Clearly, the water had had its way with the logs, though this one was the worst of the lot.  There will be more to come from our great northern trek, but there's so much to look at from that trip it would be hard to fit it all in one blog. So. Enjoy the lake, and hang on until the next... :)