Pond Reflections

Recent Trail Camera Photos

A few shots from my trail camera. Lots of White-tailed Deer this time of year. More bucks are showing up. A few turkeys wandered by. The racoons have been very active. They made up the bulk of my photos. For some reason one racoon seems to like to eat in front of the camera. A few Coyotes walked through.

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Bonanza Falls

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Bond Falls

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  The Z Bond Falls – U.P. of Michigan

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Ice Age Trail Hemlock Creek Segment

My wife and I drove up to the Ice Age Trail for a short hike. The Hemlock Creek Segment is one of the few loop hikes on the trail. It is about three mile along some ponds and Hemlock Creek. The fall colors were beautiful.

Wisconsin Rustic Road 83

When fall leaf peeping season starts my wife usually brings up her memories of her trips along the Narrow Gauge Road. In those days it was a narrow road with overhanging foliage. We had looked for a few time but she couldn’t remember where exactly it was.

This year I happened to be looking at the Wisconsin Rustic Roads map and discovered that it is now called Rustic Road 83 Ironically it is not too far from where she grew up and nowhere near where we were looking for it.

I was a little disappointed because it is no longer a narrow road. In most places it no longer has overhanging foliage. In addition, a high voltage transmission line has been put in next to the road. I probably wouldn’t classify it as a rustic road anymore. However, it was a relaxing drive.

Fall drive in Lucas Township

Since we were locked down at home this fall we spent more time looking at fall colors near our home. These were taken on a fall drive in Lucas Township.

 

 

Early Fall at Chippewa County Forest

A few shots taken on an early fall drive through the Chippewa County Forest north of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

 

Some of my favorite fall photography locations

Gile Flowage– is located just south of Ironwood, Michigan. What I like about Gile Flowage is that you can photograph at sunrise and sunset and get some great photos. In fact, at both times you can photograph the color of the trees and just turn around and then photograph the rising or setting sun.

Copper Peak International Ski Flying Hill – Copper Peak is the largest artificial ski jump in the world and the largest ski jump in North America. The top of the jump is nearly 1200 feet above lake Superior. On a clear day you can see for over 40 miles from the top of the jump. Lake Superior and the Porcupine Mountains are visible from the top. The ski jump is open on weekends during fall color season. You can ride the ski lift to the top of the hill and take the elevator part way up the ski jump and then walk to the top.

 

 Black River  –  It is down the road from Copper Peak and offers some great fall views of waterfalls along the Black River. I particularly like to photograph the reflections found under the bridge that crosses the Black River.

Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park – Offers a wide variety of photography locations from the Lake of the Clouds, Union Bay on Lake Superior to mountain streams and waterfalls.

Bonanza Falls – Locate just south of Silver City, Michigan on the Big Iron River. It offers great color and some intimate waterfall shots particularly when the water levels are low.

 

Bond Falls – Located just outside of Paulding, Michigan. This is a great place to photograph waterfalls any time of year but it is particularly beautiful in the fall. The last week in September is usually a good time to visit.

 

 

Hiawatha National Forest – is located just south of Munising and offers some great photography opportunities along the many lakes in the area. The peak colors in the national forest are usually a week or so before the colors in Pictured Rocks. Most of the lakes are best photographed early in the morning. More information can be found in an earlier Blog.

Petes Lake

Moccasin Lake

Red Jack Lake

Council Lake

Thornton Lake

Doe Lake

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore – offers some spectacular photo opportunities. The fall sunset boat cruise is not to be missed. The many miles of hiking trails through the park offer a wide range of subjects for fall photography.

Oberg Mountain – My favorite place for fall photographs on the Minnesota North Shore. The top of Oberg Mountain offers stunning 360 degrees of the surrounding forests and Lake Superior.

Crex Meadows – stands alone as a destination for photographing the fall Sandhill Crane migration. It is also a great place to photograph fall colors, sunrises and sunsets. You will want to plan on spending the night in Grantsburg, Wisconsin so you can take in the evening and morning flights of the cranes. About an hour before sunset the cranes start returning to the meadows. Folks bring their lawn chairs and just sit and watch them fly into their rousting grounds. You can return to the same location at sunrise and watch the cranes leaving to feed for the day in the surrounding fields. During the day you can drive the back roads south of town to watch the cranes feeding. I have more details on photographing at Crex in an earlier Blog.

 

 

 Pewits Nest – Located in the southern part of Wisconsin just outside Baraboo. It’s a small gorge with a stream flowing through it. The top of the gorge is covered with large maple trees. If you hit it right the maple trees are spectacular. The gorge itself is worth the trip even after most of the leaves have fallen.

 

Blue Hills – The Blue Hills rise about 600 feet above the surrounding area. The Native Americans called this area  Paja Toyela or the Blue Hills. This makes for a great fall drive. We usually take county road O west from Rice Lake, Wisconsin. Less than a mile past the Christie Mountain ski area we make a left on Fire Lane Road. This goes past the Blue Hills Cross Country Ski Area. We take a left on Perch Lake Road. We make a small detour to Audie Lake then return to Perch Lake Road. We then take North or South Buck’s Lake Road.

Lost Creek Falls – a beautiful series of waterfalls along the Lost Creek River. They are located just south of Cornucopia, Wisconsin just off of county road C. The falls are well marked and offer an easy 3 mile hike out and back.

 

The Leaf

During a walk around the Ice Age Trail, Chippewa Moraine Segment loop trail I found this nice leaf and photographed it on various backgrounds.