BEARS AND BIRDS

 TUESDAY, JUNE 22nd:

This morning we were off to view and photograph Vermillion Falls. The water cascades through a 10 foot wide gorge as the river heads for Crane Lake.

I enjoyed the view of the Falls as well photographing it with various shutter speeds, and framing.

Afterwards we headed back to the house for breakfast. Then we were off cruising Crane Lake for more opportunities of photographing the birds that use the lake:

Loons with chicks -

Herring Gull chicks - 

A Bald Eagle -

In the afternoon we went to the bears and shared the experience with the general crowd from the viewing platform.

Wednesday, June 23rd:

Once again we were off to see the bears in the morning. We started an hour earlier as it was quite hot yesterday and the forecast for today was more of the same. Every day you experience different activities by the bears. This is due in part because we do not see the same bears every day.

Bears cubs in the trees are always fun to see though they are a long way away, and sometimes the angles are not conducive to good photography, but then it again it might work out.

We again shared the area with National Geographic photographers. In the morning when we are the only ones there, you can go down onto the ground and get eye level photographs. You can get quite close as you can see. As long as you move slowly, and do not look the bear in the eye you are relatively safe. They are used to having people there with them. There is no direct interaction between the bears and the people.

Sometimes you can be distracted from the bears to photograph other wildlife ---

Milbert's Tortoise Shell Butterfly 

    Red Spotted Admiral Butterfly

Doing What Comes Naturally

Bear exercises -

Stretching The Hamstrings?

    A Little Yoga? Dancing?

Some big bears --

As you can see they come in all different sizes and colors, but they are all black bears, Ursus americanus.

In the afternoon we again went out onto the lake in search of birds mostly. Our reward was common mergansers with chicks. As it was quite windy and the lake water choppy we saw few loons.

The mergansers had large families --

This loon was bobbing around in the lake.

This evening we enjoyed dinner at our lake home prepared by Connie, Cathy, and Scott. It was very relaxing and enjoyable. The hosts of the Norway Lodge, Sarah and Paul joined us. Paul shared with us his collection of artifacts he has collected over the years - arrow heads, stone tools, etc. It was quite interesting. Paul has been our boating guide and has done an outstanding job.

Thursday, June 24th:

This was our last day for photography. We spent the morning with the bears at the Vince Shute Bear sanctuary. Again there were cubs in the trees, sometimes highlighted by bits of sunlight.

A dozing bear - 

A couple of bears sparing - 

A big bear - 

and one more up in a tree - 

Tonight we went to Nelson Lodge for dinner. It sits at the lake edge, 

and we enjoyed the sunset view. Once again I enjoyed a walleye dinner, this time accompanied with a Negra Modelo cerveza.

Friday, June 25:

 Today was a travel day for all. Most of the group had driven to Minnesota from the Illinois/Iowa area.

Susan and Julie had come from the Chicago area. I was the only one to fly. The return trip, for me, was about four hours of driving, followed by six hours at the Minneapolis Airport before boarding a plane for my flight to San Diego.

While at the airport I found a relatively quiet corner to sit in. There I started the process of editing my photographs.

The flight home went smoothly, but there was a very slow delivery of the checked luggage. Once home I enjoyed a crab sandwich before a shower and bed.

It was great to get out with photography as the main purpose. We had very good weather and great Photo ops. Returning to the various locales made for great opportunities. As a result I think I did well by

the trip.

Hope that this finds you all well, and that the Covid Virus is getting more and more under control in all areas.

BACK TO PHOTOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL

 Hi All,

It has been a long time since my trip to Yellowstone in January 2019. You know that travel was cut short for a year and a half due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. We stayed quiet with little activity here in San Diego.

A lady who I had coached in Youth Soccer way back insisted on doing our grocery shopping weekly for almost a year. It was a blessing but certainly added to our lack of getting out and about. We amused ourselves with lots of reading, taking two daily walks in the neighborhood, and for the last 6 months have taken on a corgi puppy. 

We are still learning her ways and she, ours. Much as there is frustration at times, she always brings a smile to our faces. We start formal training lessons next week. In the mean time I am trying to practice with some guidance from an online course.

As I write this we are also having a housekeeper start work with us. I have never liked doing housework, and as I get on it is a bit of toil to get the job done thoroughly. I am looking forward to this new hire.

Hope that you all are doing well and coping with the ongoing surges of the Pandemic.

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.

We again went out on the lake in the afternoon. 

 I am really enjoying my new camera and its features.