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.

A Picture is Worth 1000...

You can't win if you don't play. That's the standard Lottery slogan. 

But for some sweepstakes, the only cost to play is the time it takes to enter and maybe of accepting a few extra promotional e-mails, usually for a product or service you enjoy anyway.

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 - Minnesota Misty Summer Morning

An iPhone 6 isn't the best camera, but you use what you have when the moment is magic.

Northern Minnesota Wildflowers - Colorful Summer Invaders

It's late spring or early summer in northern Minnesota, wildflower season. Roadside and forest meadows burst forth in early June, heralding the short growing season. It's a vibrant explosion of color, where some of the most prominent blooms are expatriates. We humans are not the only world travellers. Duluth, on Lake Superior, is the natural base from which to set out and appreciate the display. The great port on the greatest of lakes was also the entry point for these beautiful invaders.

Antheraea Polyphemus Moth - Minnesota

Antheraea polyphemus can have the wingspan of a small bird, ranging from 10-15 cm (4-6 inches). This specimen is only about 12 cm wide, still significantly wider than my palm. A common large moth of North America, this one was observed resting adjacent to the door of my office complex in Forbes, Minnesota.

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.

Mỹ Hương Kitchen - A Slice of Vietnam in Minnesota

I've eaten at hundreds of Vietnamese restaurants all over North America and the Asia-Pacific regions, ranging from holes-in-the wall to high-end, and hands down I've had no better Vietnamese food or dining experience than at Mỹ Hương Kitchen in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary -Two Millennia of Tradition in Minnesota

Magnificent cathedrals are not only confined to Europe or the great cities of Latin America. North Americans can find similar architectural treasures just around the corner, possibly places of worship they attend weekly or pass by without a deeper appreciation of the landmark's beauty. Lovingly crafted, places of peace and contemplation open to all comers, they share 2000 years of tradition with the more venerable churches of the old world. Such a place is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary in Duluth, Minnesota.

From its magnificent seat atop the hills overlooking western Lake Superior, the gleaming Italianate-style Roman Catholic cathedral was completed in 1957, and its ministers shepherd the Diocese of Duluth. 

Here is a brief photographic tour; my images can't do the church interior justice.

I Travel Where I Will; the Red Cross Goes Where It's Needed

Hi friends. I am a new Red Cross Social Advocate.

In the Minnesota Red Cross region (where I live), and throughout the American Red Cross in the United States, local social media power supports Red Cross and celebrates the winners of its Heroes Awards. Using our social media networks, we Social Advocates share how the Northern Minnesota Region’s Heroes help others in great times of need. This work promotes the Red Cross' mission to alleviate human suffering in times of crisis, wherever it occurs.

In this travel blog space or on my Facebook page I'll occasionally share this different journey I'm on with the Red Cross. On a global level, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement leads and organizes, in close cooperation with its federated National Societies, relief assistance missions responding to large-scale disasters and everyday humanitarian need. So many parts of the world I've lived or travelled in--or wish to see someday--have benefited from its services, and therefore I have too.

Learn about the ongoing mission of the Red Cross to protect and human life and health at http://www.redcross.org and find your local chapter. I travel where I will for fun and relaxation; the Red Cross goes where it's needed. Take a moment to share the stories of its heroes.

The Iron Man of Minnesota

The truth is... I am Iron Man.

And so are several thousand others today, and many more men in the past who worked the iron mines of northern Minnesota. And now there are also many iron women. We've moved from pick and shovel to a high-technology industry of 3D models, high-precision GPS and immense earth-movers, but the spirit is the same. Descendants of the 19th century-immigrant Finns, Italians, and eastern Europeans who fed the forges of American industry still wrest iron from the massive orebodies of the Mesabi Range. And, like the distant blast furnaces that blend the best parts of a combination of raw materials into steel, this unlikely mix of immigrants comprises the distinct culture of the "Rangers."

In the very small town of Chisholm, there is a very large tribute to this bedrock foundation of American steel.

Pictures of the Moment - North Country Lottery

It's cold for much of the year in northern Minnesota and other parts of the Upper Midwest. Even the 4th of July can be sweater weather any given year. If you're going to live here you have to embrace the climate and have a little fun with it.

An annual tradition all over the Northland is to bet on when some oversize hardware will break through the ice of a local lake with the onset of spring, an event that may seem overly optimistic in January. The proceeds usually benefit a local charity. Springtime visitors to the region should keep a look-out for large objects randomly sitting atop open ice just off the shoreline of lakeside civic parks. And in the land of 10,000 lakes, just about every town has a lakeside civic park.

In Minnesota, May showers bring June flowers. Did the lake ever actually thaw after the 2014 polar vortex? I half-wondered as I photographed this sign in March, 2015. But soon small towns and large all across lake country will raffle a full slot of guesses on the day, hour and minute of breakthrough. Prizes may be modest, but there is such a thing as "bragging rights."There are no statistics on the prevalence of sabotage, but a grenade and "tomorrow at 3:30 am" crossed my mind..

As an aside, Valentini's Supper Club in Chisholm is the place for a good, family Italian meal in northern Minnesota.

This isn't an ice fisherman parked on a small lake (by Eveleth), and the ice isn't thin in March. Someday soon though, this pickup itself will need to be fished out. The time-honored approach is a rusty old junker that's been stripped of its engine. Even minus the oil and transmission fluid, such recycled entertainment isn't likely to be sanctioned by the Sierra Club. Most hand-wringers don't have much sense of fun anyway.

A giant bobber may be creative, but the sudden sinking of a truck is dramatic. How many tourists have happened across such scenes while it's being dragged out and stuck around in hopes to see a body? So I'll see the same truck in the same place next year, maybe a little rustier. But first comes fishing season.

Picture of the Moment - The Tin Man of Duluth

You can find this whimsical tin man on the eastern outskirts of Duluth, Minnesota. On a cold winter's day, it's no wonder he's frozen stiff.

A view of the tin man heading north on Jean Duluth Road.

There's a strong Wizard of Oz connection in Minnesota. Grand Rapids, near the headwaters of the Mississippi River (a couple hours drive to the west), was the girlhood home of Judy Garland. Such countryside knick-knacks are relics of a bygone era; you probably couldn't build such a thing today due to soulless zoning laws.

It's clear they know how to work with sheet metal. D G Solem & Sons Inc also provides HVAC, duct and plumbing services in the Duluth area. They must also be a country landmark for every resident in the area. "Continue 2 miles past the tin man, then turn right..." It's worth a short car trip from Duluth with a young family.

Minnesota School Bus Shelters

It's easy for a traveller to miss the little things that truly define a place. Sometimes it takes living somewhere to really discover what is culturally self-evident. I've spent nearly five years in northern Minnesota, and some things that I pass every day it's taken that long to actually see.

Such are the small huts scattered throughout rural Minnesota's north country laneways. Used to shelter children from the bitter cold while waiting for the school bus at the end of a long country drive, it's Minnesota parents' way of ensuring their genetic investment keeps all its extremities through to adulthood. Though natural selection takes care of those who can't make it between their front door and the shelter, the huts are an effective means of escaping bitter temperatures that can reach as low as -50F (-45.5C)...without a wind chill. 

The Silver Lining to a Cold Land

You may have read a dire-sounding warning in The Old Farmer's Almanac, "Beware the pogonip!" It shows up nearly every year in December. The expression "pogonip" is an anglification of the Shoshone word for cloud (payinappih). It names the atmospheric condition and effects of freezing winter fog, commonly formed in mountain valleys of the western United States, particularly Nevada. Apparently, the myth still persists that icy particles in the fog can be injurious to the lungs; this ironically in a state with a relatively high proportion of smokers.

Visiting a Minnesota Christmas Tree Farm

Charlie Brown and the passing of the 70s depressed the soulless market for artificial Christmas trees, so the annual tradition of picking a live--or rather, only recently dead--spruce, fir or pine tree is still the preferred way for the majority of American households to bring a little domestic nature home and cover it with Chinese-made plastic.

Most trees are purchased at impromptu lots adjacent to box stores and gas stations. It's not only food that comes from the supermarket. Where do they store them all year? My wife always feels there is nothing lonelier than an unpicked lot tree, destined for the wood chipper and garden mulch. So this time, we opted to get a little closer to the true source, and we visited a cut-your-own tree farm about a 30-minutes drive west of Duluth, Minnesota. It's a less wasteful American family tradition in places where the jungle isn't made of concrete.

Where is the Best Christmas Light Display?

America has an obsession with electrical stimulation. Even Snoopy gets in on the act.

Duluth, Minnesota is making its case as the world's capital of Christmas lights. It's a win-win for everyone, especially Minnesota Power. Does that reflect the crass commercialism bemoaned by Charlie Brown, or something more? It's a curious dichotomy for a community that was recently recognized as America's best outdoor town. Merv Griffin may have been on to something when he sang about this "Christmas City." There are only so many towns with their own holiday jingle.

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.