Picture of the Moment - Cabin on Lake Superior

Pictures of the Moment - Cold Fog Over Lake Superior

Wisps of frozen mist rise along the northern shoreline of Wisconsin on Lake Superior during a frigid January morning, as relatively "warm," saturated air over the greatest lake is captured in a north wind and  drops its moisture when colliding with the colder, drier inland air. The temperature was -6°F (-21°C), and I took these images with the ubiquitous recorder of 21st century, a smartphone, across the narrow west end of the lake from above Duluth, Minnesota. The Wisconsin shore is already almost 15 miles (24 kilometers) distant at it's closest (right), and recedes farther to the east (left).

Such fogs are common on the coldest — typically sunny — mornings on Lake Superior, when the lake is not completely frozen.

PortLand Malt Shoppe, Duluth, Minnesota

Malted milkshakes invoke images of 50s drug stores, Norman Rockwell and long summer days in small-town America. Today, nowhere brings back those memories any better than the PortLand Malt Shoppe in Duluth, Minnesota. There are other ice cream desserts offered as well, but a chocolate malt topped with whip cream, a vanilla wafer and a maraschino cherry makes for a little bit of heaven in your hand for $6.95, and it's worth the price. That's why there are often very long lines. The secret ingredient is malted milk powder, a once popular staple of frozen treats that gives a satisfying crunchy texture to the shake while coming up easy through the straw.

Harborside at Grand Marais on Lake Superior - Photo Essay

Good things come in small packages. With a population of only 1,340 that’s nestled between the rugged Sawtooth Range and massive Lake Superior, Grand Marais was dubbed “America’s Coolest Small Town” by Budget Travel Magazine for 2015 and was named a Top 100 Adventure Town by National Geographic Adventure Magazine. The city has a fishing heritage that’s reminiscent of New England and the Canadian Maritimes, and local whitefish is a staple on most menus. Today, Grand Marais is a mainstay of summer tourism on Lake Superior's north shore, and one of the region's vibrant artist's colonies.

The deep, open waters of the greatest lake always stay cold, and their interaction with warm, humid summer air commonly makes for dramatic shoreline fogs in the area of the harbor. If that doesn’t cool you down, there is the excellent frozen custard at Sydney’s, popular with families on summer holiday.

Picture of the Moment: Split Rock Lighthouse, Silver Bay, Minnesota

Split Rock Lighthouse, located in a state park of the same name near Silver Bay, is one of the most photographed spots in the State of Minnesota and a National Historic Landmark. Beyond is the massive Lake Superior, which contains approximately 10% of the liquid fresh water on Earth. Situated on a dramatic vertical cliff of diabase (shallowly emplaced intrusive igneous rock) about 130 feet (40 m) above the north shore of the lake, the lighthouse was built in response to the great Mataafa storm of November, 1905 that claimed 29 ships on Superior. Split Rock is widely considered one of the most beautiful lights in the United States, and the park is very popular with tourists during the summer months.

Framed prints of the light are a staple amongst local professional photographers. This unprofessional photo was taken just southwest of the lighthouse from a scenic viewpoint turn-off.

The lighthouse was retired in 1969, but still puts out a light annually in commemoration of the famous 1975 wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Split Rock Lighthouse is an easy hour's drive northeast from Duluth, Minnesota on the scenic State Highway 61.

A Superior Sunrise

For once a red sky in the morning didn't portend troubled weather. Instead the last weekend in October, 2014 holds promise of warm weather and clear skies, capping a mild autumn in the Minnesota North Country. My wife Stacey Hewitt Orobona snapped this image while dropping our eldest son off at school. Seconds later the deep pinks transitioned to orange. Late sunrises during the months surrounding winter make it more likely to witness such spectacular sunrises in high-latitude parts of the world.

Lake Superior stretches in the distance, in the lower right corner of the image.

Picture of the Moment - Grand Portage National Monument, Minnesota

Lake Superior from a view point at the  Grand Portage National Monument, Minnesota. This is the scenic culmination of the Northshore Highway 61, just shy of the border with Ontario. Grand Portage is the US gateway to Isle Royale. The Grand Portage itself is an historic 8.5-mile (13.7 km) trail, still well maintained, along which the near-legendary French-Canadian voyageurs portaged their fur-laden canoes to circumvent waterfalls and rapids of the steep, final 20 miles (32 km) of the Pigeon River before it flows into Lake Superior

I experimented here with the panoramic capabilities of the iPhone on the way to Thunder Bay, Ontario, October 9th, 2014. You get a sense of the landscape, but the technique minimizes the vastness of Lake Superior, the world's largest body of fresh water by surface area.

Pictures of the Moment - Grand Afternoon at Grand Marais

State Highway 61 winding north-east from Duluth, Minnesota towards Grand Portage and Thunder Bay (Ontario) is a classic drive along the shoreline of the greatest of lakes, as long as you're not in a hurry. It would be the perfect place to start, and end, the 1400 mile circle drive around the lake. And Grand Marais is the perfect place to stop on Highway 61 and enjoy a late afternoon, wood-fired pizza and custard from Sydney's, after a day enjoying autumn's fiery colors and crisp, blue skies on the north shore of Lake Superior.