Raven Travels: MINNESOTA - THE LAND OF MANY LAKES AND BEARS

This trip was originally scheduled for 2020, but I opted out due to the Pandemic. I had never truly visited the state of Minnesota, but had always wanted to visit the Boundary Waters and camp and canoe in the area.

The trip consisted of a week visit to Crane Lake, located in the far Northeast part of the state. I flew from San Diego to Minneapolis and arrived there around noon on the 18th of June. I was met by the co-leaders, Connie and Scott Nagel. We were then off for about a four hour drive to the small village of Crane Lake https://www.visitcranelake.com. We were housed at the Norway Lodge, http://www.norwaylodge.com/lodge/, where we had the full use of their large cabin for the duration. The tour included all breakfasts, and lunches, as well as two dinners. Connie and Scott have been visiting this lake for a number of years and are well acquainted with the Norway Lodge which is where they have stayed in the past.

We will be visiting The Vince Shute Bear Sanctuary, https://www.americanbear.org, The International Wolf Center, https://wolf.org, and the town of Ely. There is also a photogenic water fall in the area, Vermillion Falls, which we will visit when the light works best. We will also spend a great deal of time cruising Crane Lake in search of loons, bald eagles, mergansers, and other wild life.

We arrive at the Norway Lodge about 1800 and after a quick unloading of gear headed out for dinner at the Voyagaire Lodge which was a short walk from our lodging. I enjoyed the first of several dinners of walleye, the mild and popular fish of the area. This was battered and fried, and served with french fries and a draft of Moosehead beer.

Back at the Lodge /House we made plans for Saturday. Mark would not be joining us until Sunday evening.

SATURDAY:

A relaxing morning in the village area. Cathy and I went for a nice walk out of town, before breakfast. It was good to get out and do a walkabout and enjoy a quiet morning in a small town. In the afternoon we went out on pontoon boat to explore the lake and see what we could see. The boat operator was the host of the Lodge and knows the lake quite well. He knew of several spots where we would see Loons. As we approached a nest he would cut the motor to a very slow speed and we would basically float into photography range.

We also stopped at one of the day-use sights for a rest stop and had the chance to photograph a few wildflowers. Thanks to the app SEEK, I was able to identify my sightings.

Bristly Sarsaparilla

Northern Blue Flag

Then there was a small island with Herring Gulls and chicks, as well as a loon on a nest.

Afterwards we came across a merganser with a family of 12 chicks!!

It was a great afternoon on the water.

This evening we dined at Trail's End, which is located on Echo Lake a short drive form our "home".

SUNDAY, JUNE 20TH:

The forecast for today was rain off and on, and it did. So we drove into Ely to play tourist. We visited the International Wolf Center. We enjoyed their presentations and were able to photograph a wolf in their natural display. Regrettably we were inside the Center and had to photograph through glass. A large white wolf came through and chewed on a carcass of a deer for a short time.

We then went into the town of Ely looking for some lunch and browsing a couple of shops. We enjoyed lunch at the Chocolate Moose, and then browsed a couple of shops. I do not think any of us were truly into the browsing/shopping mode.

Back in Crane Lake we relaxed, and viewed, edited, and shared some of our pictures. We also enjoyed getting to know each other a little more.

MONDAY, JUNE 21st:

Happy Summer Solstice!!

This morning we were up early for a quick breakfast before heading off to the Vince Shute Bear Sanctuary where we spent four hours photographing black bears.

The primary focus of The American Bear Association is the management and operation of the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary. The Sanctuary consists of 500+ acres of forested land in a remote area of northern Minnesota. A number of bears frequent the site and tolerate the presence of humans within a two-acre clearing at the heart of the property.

Just our party of eight photographers, and two photographers from National Geographic were there for the morning.

We saw and photographed cubs climbing and resting in trees, adults roaming around the open area, and climbing trees. These bears are free to roam wherever they want and come and go as they please.

We saw and photographed cubs climbing and resting in trees, adults roaming around the open area, and climbing trees. All of my photography was from the viewing platform which is about 20 feet above the ground and enclosed so that the bears can not get on it. A couple of the group went down and wandered on the ground with the bears. This is relatively safe as the bears are acclimated to having staff out distributing food (dried fruit, nuts, and seeds.), and poop scooping.