Day on the North Shore
Yesterday, Ruth and I went north to escape the heat. Duluth and Lake Superior are only two hours away, and at least once a summer we go up for a day, or a few days, when the temperatures get unbearable at home. Lake Superior comes to a point at its western extremity at Duluth. From there you can cross over to Superior, Wisconsin to explore the south shore, or head further East-Northeast along the north shore.
We got to Duluth in time for a nice lunch, then shopped a bit for antiques and pottery. This curious dance studio was next to the pottery store.
I’m not sure I can reconcile the policies announced on their two doors. The air conditioning was becoming habit forming, so we split for the shore.
To make a day trip from the Twin Cities, you’d best not go too far up the North Shore from Duluth. We stopped at Stoney Point, before going as far as Split Rock State Park. It was impossible to benefit from the lake effect yesterday unless you were right on the beach, so we didn’t linger at the high overlooks this time.
Here are a couple shots from Stoney Point. The heat and humidity were making for a very hazy day.
This image is a romantic interpretation of the day itself, not at all representative of the straight-out-of-camera image. I thought the difficult-to-discern horizon lent itself to a minimalist treatment. Here’s another.
This is closer to what it felt like yesterday. I just started tweaking and didn’t stop until it looked done. (Ask me sometime about Ansel Adams and “Moonlight, Hernandez”–that neg looks nothing like the finished print.)
One last image from up at Split Rock. The beach looks out on a rock called Ellingson Island. There’s a shallowly submerged isthmus that connects the island to the mainland. A family was making their way out to the island across the isthmus. I think there’s a great view Split Rock Lighthouse from there. You can’t even see the lighthouse from the beach.
These are digital images, of course. I shot some film as well, but I haven’t developed any of it yet. It had been a while since we had a trip like this, and, as is my tendency in such cases, I over-packed.
I even brought a second digital camera, and, of course, my phone. Don’t do this kind of thing, if you can help it. I could have well done with just one digital and one film camera. All my fidgeting on Stoney Point, and I almost knocked the Rollei in the drink.