Grand Marais and Gunflint Trail

We were following northern Minnesota's Gunflint Trail into the wilderness when a sign promised us a kiosk. We had to stop because the notion was bizarre. It turns out to be a wooden sign which advertises all the members of the Gunflint Chamber of Commerce (or whatever the group calls itself.) It's in a pretty little roadside park. Took this picture there....

We were most of the way out Gunflint Trail when we found ourselves amongst what were obviously fire fighting teams. A bit of research when we got home shows that they were still fighting the remnants of July's Cavity Lake Fire in early August. While we weren't really close to the fire site, neither were we far from it.

Just off Gunflint Trail in far northern Minnesota. We weren't in Boundary Waters, but we were close....

A flower a day for January .... Grand Marais, Minnesota.

Another photo taken from the breakwater at Grand Marais, Minnesota. I like all those colors, and all that motion. While it's difficult to use the (viewfinder-less) FujiFilm F10 in bright light, the results are often quite fine.

At Grand Marais, Minnesota; that's Lake Superior, folks.

From the breakwater, more or less by Coast Guard Station North Superior (so named because Grand Marais, Michigan, also had a CGS; Minnesota's Grand Marais had to have a unique designation). The huge private boat in the picture is called Northland; they were about to leave. I suspect they expected more privacy than the location actually afforded.

Off the Gunflint Trail, up the hill from Grand Marais, Minnesota. I noticed last night that my photostream portrays northern Minnesota as though it were mainly industrial. That's very misleading; this picture's far more typical of the place, and more beautiful. Taken near the top of Blueberry Hill, on a pleasant little trail which climbs a few hundred feet in a half-mile.

Cascade River State Park, near Grand Marais, Minnesota. Best LARGE .