Lake Superior Magazine

10/30/2024

Let's get a little more active today with motion – on the trails at Munising Bay (with music appropriate for the season). Thanks for the post, MBTN.

10/28/2024

Moose - locking through (almost). Thanks for the post from Sault Ste. Marie.

10/23/2024

Let's start the day with a bit of history from Zenith City Press. Does anyone have a photo of how it looks today (without some of its "higher" parts)? Check out Zenith City's great book selection online. Thanks for the post, Tony.

During this week in Duluth in 1889, the city’s social elite gathered for the opening night festivities of the Temple Opera House at 8–12 Second Avenue West, where they were treated to a performance by operatic soprano Rose Coghlan who performed the female lead in the play Jocelyn. The next day (October 24) the Duluth Daily News described the building as: “Grand, imposing, beautiful! The Temple is indeed the ideal of the artist’s dream and the actor’s cherished hope. Beautiful in design, nothing of the practical has been sacrificed for effect, but rather has been made to lend to the beauty of the whole. From the avenue the massive pile, illuminated by nearly one thousand incandescent lights, presented a picture most beautiful. But inside the beautiful Temple! Its gorgeous colors and brilliant lights; its beautiful scenery, the sweet strains of orchestral music—indeed it was an event in the dramatic history of the Northwest that will not soon be forgotten.” The newspaper also gushed over noted theatre architect Oscar Cobb’s work on the auditorium: “The proscenium boxes are marvels of beauty and comfort…. There are eighteen boxes, nine on each side, in three tiers of three boxes each. Each box has a railing of brass highly polished, which adds to the rich effects. The parquet and dress circles are seated in solid blue, with Wilton carpet in terra cotta in the aisles. The foyer is richly dressed. The windows are curtained in gorgeous Vallours [sic] in old gold. Two of its fine doors are in Vallours [sic] in solid Spanish red portieres and valances, and the other three are in Spanish red portieres and old gold valances, all hung on brass poles.” Cobb’s work on the building’s entrance was also remarkable, made of wrought iron and glass and illuminated by one thousand incandescent lights. The Temple Opera House lasted just six years, destroyed by fire in 1895. In 1905 its ruins were turned into a roll skating rink which was demolished in 1910, replace by a brand new Orpheum Theater, a Vaudeville venue that was converted into the NorShor Theater movie house in 1941. Adapted from “Duluth’s Grand Old Architecture”: https://zenithcity.com/duluths-grand-old-architecture/

10/16/2024

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS taken near Grand Marais, Minn. It comes around our neck of the solar system every 80,000 years or so. It should be visible tonight; look high in the western sky just after sunset, we're told. Thanks for the post, Bryan.

Photographing the comet tonight over Lake Superior and the Grand Marais lighthouse was a top 10 night photography event for me. Here's a quick phone edit of a photo I got tonight. I'll do the real edits tomorrow. This comet is so cool, and the tail is huge. If you can, get into the countryside tomorrow and watch it. It was clearly visible to the eye tonight.

10/15/2024

On the trail at Ottawa National Forest earlier this month. There is still some color out there, though, especially around the Lake. Thanks for the post, Scott.

Sunset on a woods road during peak color on the U.S. Forest Service - Ottawa National Forest.

www.scottpearsonphotography.com

10/15/2024

OK - admit it - who knew "graupel" was a thing? The soft, small pellets form when supercooled water droplets (at a temperature below 32°F) freeze onto a snow crystal, a process called riming, so NOAA tells us. Ok - who knew about "riming"? Thanks for the post from the Upper Peninsula, National Weather Service.

Is it winter yet!?! We've had a couple graupel showers this morning here at our forecast office. Expect scattered showers of graupel/snow and rain downwind of Lake Superior this morning before becoming scattered rain showers this afternoon.

As for winter starting soon....it looks like we'll be warming up again instead. Hopefully its not a repeat of last winter!

10/14/2024

For those who read the story about Boatwinkle boarding the Barker last month in our enews - Around the Circle This Week - here's an update from DRE. Sign up for our enewsletter at LakeSuperior.com (see the link at the left?). Thanks for the update, Andrea!

In case anyone is wondering, Boatwinkle is doing just fine and is still with Captain Newland only not on the James R Barker! When Captain left the ship to go on vacation he actually brought Boatwinkle and his box of clothes with him!! Right now he is having some fun at a remote control ship model show!! In this photo he is helping Captain check off what's coming to the show... They are there now and I'm hoping I'll be getting some fun pics after the event is over :)

I swear Boatwinkle has been doing cooler things than me this season!!! I've never been on a salty and he's been on FOUR now, he's been on our Pilot boat, the Thunder Bay Pilot Boats, neither of which I have been on, he's been on the JRB and of course I have never been on it either and now he's at a remote control ship model show and I've never been to one of those!! Either I'm losing my touch or he is just better than me and gaining these sorts of opportunities!!

Anyway all is good in the life of our Great lakes Ship Loving Moose and he's having fun with Captain Newland! I'll be sure to keep you updated as the shenanigans continue!

10/11/2024

OK - it was spectacular. Tonight could be good, too. Thanks for the post, Astro Bob!

10/10/2024

Great day for a freighter glam shot, don't you think? Thanks for the post, DRE.

I just had to take the opportunity here in town to get a straight on bow shot of the Alpena while she was slowly making her way toward the MacArthur Lock... Down on St Joseph Island when I was getting shots as they approached and made the turn at Johnson's Point, I couldn't get anything.. the wind was strong enough that it was hard to stay with and get ahead of the ship in time to turn the drone around and set myself to get a nice close to straight on shot... here she was crawling through the Harbor so that made it a lot easier plus the wind was a lot less so while I topped out at 13mph down on the island I could go 25mph here to get ahead of her nicely

She's now well on her way to Superior, WI with a load of cement powder... Based on when she locked through it will likely be around dinnertime when she arrives tomorrow I think?? maybe a bit sooner... daylight anyway I imagine so get your cameras ready if you're in Duluth! She always goes through the Duluth piers to get to the dock in Superior so hopefully you guys get a nice steam whistle salute like we did here in Sault Ste Marie at Mission Point! I wish I had been recording!!

I do have a video for you actually from Pointe Louise so I'll share that next!

09/30/2024

The newest members of our Circle Tour Club, Jackie and Rosie were skunked in their search for a moose, but Jackie was delighted to spy a black bear and cub near Magpie Falls. They report the other highlights were the Pictured Rocks Cruises, Great Lakes Aquarium and dinner at Grand Marais' Angry Trout.

If you're interested in joining, too, give us a call, email or a note of any kind and we'll get you a signed, personalized certificate of completion, a static sticker for your vehicle and a sample issue if you aren't already a subscriber -- no gimmicks, no stamps to prove yourself, nothing like that -- but we're always happy to hear what brought you joy on your journey!