splitrock lighthouse

When most people think of Minnesota, they probably imagine fields, lakes, farms, and snow but when you get up north of Duluth and the Lake Superior coast you get small mountains, amazing streams and waterfalls and a rocky coastline.  Back when I lived in MN, the state government shutdown for a while so I took that opportunity to head up to Lake Superior and see some of the state parks without people in them (parks were shutdown too).  I got to Splitrock Lighthouse late in the afternoon and spend the night perched out on the rocks to get this other photo of it too at night silhouetting the stars :)

find it here:  47°11’59” N;  91°22’12” W

stars glow at the dark lighthouse

I spent some time this holiday weekend exploring my new state of Minnesota and took a drive up to Duluth and Lake Superior.  I planned on spending the day in Duluth, but just kept driving north along the western shore of Lake Superior stopping along the way to take some photos.  State Highway 61 hugs the shore all along the way, passing through a few small towns.  My plan was to make it to Split Rock state park (and lighthouse) by sunset so I spent some time in Two Harbors checking out the steel agate loading docks, and Gooseberry Falls a little further North.

I got to Split Rock Lighthouse State Park just before sunset, then realized that today the Minnesota government shut down (couldn’t reach a budget agreement) so the state parks were closed too.  The entry road was under construction, and since there wasn’t really a gate (just some cones and a wooden barrier), I pulled over on the side of the road and hiked in.  It was probably a little more than a mile walk through the park and down to the bottom of the cliff to get to the vantage point here.  I got here just as the last of the sunlight was striking the lighthouse and cliff.  With the park closed down and no one else there, it was amazingly serene and peaceful.  The only sound was the water gently washing up against the rocks.  I took some photos but even with the great light, there were no clouds which would have made it even better.  Being so clear and not windy, I decided to stay until it go dark enough to photograph the stars with the silhouette of the lighthouse in the background.  It was roughly 7:30pm and using the VelaClock iPhone app, I figured I had to wait until at least 10:45 to get past nautical twilight and it would be dark enough so I just sat on the rocks and watched the light fade listening to the splashing water.

Next trip, I’m looking forward to getting all the way up to the Canadian border and later hopefully to travel the south/eastern portion of the lake in Wisconsin to the Apostle Islands (but may need a kayak for that).

Find it here:  47°12’0” N;  91°22’6” W

Pigeon Point Lighthouse

It’s a beautiful drive up the Pacific Coast Highway along the California coast from Monterey to San Francisco.  This particular weekend, it was rainy with nice dark moody clouds, deep green hillsides, and misty fog sitting in the low areas in between.  It seems like there almost isn’t a bad spot to stop and take a picture along the way.

Find it here:  37°10’60” N;  122°23’23” W