Lake Superior Goodness » environment

Gales of November Photo Workshop

Megan — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 18:39:27 +0000

Last weekend we held our 11th annual Gales of November Photography Workshop and the weather did not disappoint. Eleven hearty souls (plus one spouse and dog) made their way here for an extended weekend of ~~photo-taking~~ image creation and some peer sharing as well.

Pro photographer Rob Stimpson was here to share his knowledge and inspire creativity not to mention just encourage students to view things in a different light (pun more-or-less intended). Thanks to Ron Goodlin for sharing his photos with us. This two-time workshop participant claims he’ll be back next year too.

If you are interested in joining in for the workshop in 2012 it will take place the first weekend in November. More details found here…

Busy Harbour

Megan — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 18:41:44 +0000

After our crazy storm here a week ago Monday one of the power lines near Michipicoten First Nation went down. Since there is no road access to that area crews were called in to rebuild the tower on the Harbour docks and then they had it airlifted back into place. You can read the news article here…

Apparently the winds were recorded at 101.8km/hr- so at that speed it would take just over 2 hours to fly to the Soo from here.

Here are 2 pictures from Joel Cooper. The first one is the rebuilding of the tower on the harbour docks, the second is of the helicopter at the airport.

Don’t confuse blueberries with blue berries

Megan — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 17:09:35 +0000

The blueberry picking season in our area is more than fantastic. They grow in plethora just north of town in an area officially known as the Magpie Terrace Conservation Reserve, which is so much more appealing than the locally known name which is the “Fume Kill” or the “Badlands”. The area was susceptible to the emissions from the old iron ore mine and was the subject of a fire many years ago. As a result blueberries, which are a successional species, grow everywhere. As all good things come to an end the forest will be reclaimed by tall grasses, small shrubs and eventually bigger trees.

The blueberry picking season is coming to a close but there is still some good picking to be had. Just don’t confuse blueberries for the Blue Bead Lily. They are mildly toxic and wouldn’t taste very good in pancakes either.

Blueberries

Blue bead lily

Albino Caribou on Michipicoten Island!

Meg — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:21:40 +0000

Hi Friends!

We had a trip get back from Michipicoten Island a few days ago, and upon arrival we were told they’d seen an albino caribou! How amazing is that? Albino caribou are very rare, and we’re told this particular one has only been seen a couple times. Michipicoten Island is home to one of the southernmost populations of woodland caribou so it’s no surprise that there were others wandering around as well, but the albino was a lucky catch! Check out the photos below! Sign up for our Michipicoten Island trip next year and maybe you’ll see the albino caribou as well! I’d say that’s incentive enough…..

Trans CanEAUda

Meg — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 15:51:38 +0000

Last night, we were fortunate enough to host a group of 8 canoeists undertaking a project called Trans CanEAUda. Through the spring, summer and fall they are attempting a 7000km paddling expedition from Ottawa, ON to Inuvik, NWT, as a way to raise awareness about water issues in Canada, and to raise funds for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) and the Ottawa Riverkeeper. The group of friends all have a variety of reasons for undertaking the trip, but the common thread is their love of nature. It was awesome to talk to them over dinner – they definitely left a mark on all of us here! Follow their expedition at TranscanEAUda or find them on Facebook. They have a SPOT device with them so you can track their progress for the duration of their trip! Thanks for stopping in. Good luck!

Group shot just before heading out

Trip mascot/leader, Yebo

Heading out the river mouth

Lake Superior Day 2011

Meg — Thu, 19 May 2011 18:51:27 +0000

Friends of Naturally Superior, Rock Island Lodge and big ol’ Lake Superior! Did you know our favorite lake has it’s own day? That’s right – Lake Superior Day is held annually on the third Sunday of every July as a way to highlight the importance of Lake Superior to the basin’s environment and economy. This year it falls on July 17! We encourage you to think about your connection to Superior – what are you going to do to celebrate this fantastic lake? Check out Lake Superior Day Forum for some ideas!

Featured Trip: Slate Islands

Megan — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 16:43:38 +0000

“The Slates” are a little island archipelago not as well known as some of the other bigger islands on Lake Superior, only about 14km off the north shore near Terrace Bay. Most of the land is protected as a Provincial Park however there are no facilities or user fees.

There are 2 main islands and a handful of smaller islands to explore. One of the unique features is the geology of these islands. Although not made of slate at all, the islands are a result of a meteorite crater impact and has one of the best known examples of shatter cones (located in McGreevy Harbour). Some other neat aspects of this trip include an almost-guaranteed siting of caribou (there are no predators on the island so the population keeps growing until it crashes naturally). There is also a lighthouse on the south side of Patterson Island.

If the weather is agreeable you can circumnavigate the entire archipelago but you have options if the lake kicks up as well. In between Patterson and Mortimer islands is a great sheltered channel with plenty of coves to explore. A number of human history remains can be found including the Devil’s Roost and the Come and Rest. Because of the proximity to shore, you will most likely see more people; kayakers, sailboats and others out and about than you would on some other sections of the lake. We take a boat shuttle out and back from the islands to save on doing the open water crossing.

Take this as a guided sea kayak trip with Naturally Superior Adventures:

When this trip is offered: Sun July 24-Fri July 29 2011. Meet at 2pm on Sunday

Cost: $1650 (includes: Full guiding and outfitting, meals, boat shuttles, one night accommodation.
Note: registration is limited for this trip due to space on the boat shuttle.

For more details or to register check out the website listing…

You can view the whole gallery here.

Lake Superior Geology

Megan — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 16:34:33 +0000

Rocks and trees, trees and rocks. When you paddle Lake Superior- you see lots! I guess the advice is that if you don’t like either rocks or trees, maybe paddling Lake Superior is not for you. However, if you are a closet geology geek or just enjoy scouring the beaches for pebbles, you’ll soon love Lake Superior Beaches. We’ve put together a little slideshow of some of the fantastic geology you can encounter in our area.

Wave watchers- gales of november come early

Megan — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 20:59:02 +0000

The storm of the decade is here. Winds are recking havoc here on Rock Island. A few trees came down already. One on the road to our place. I had to park the car and walk the last 15 mins in. Guest staying in the lodge couldn’t leave in a rush this morning- luckily they were all about watching the waves too. We’ve lost 2 supports off the front deck. Hopefully the rest doesn’t get washed away.

A few folks from town have been down to check out the wave action. Winds recorded on our weather station reached a max of 113km/hr (or about 60 knots)- gusts though, not sustained. It took a while for the waves to build since the winds started in the southeast and we are pretty sheltered from that direction. Once they swung around to the southwest the waves built and as the day progressed they shifted even more to the west.

Here are some photos- not a great day for photography since the lens kept getting wet and it was hard to keep from blowing off the rocks.

Surfing Lake Superior- Sea Kayak Style

Megan — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 14:46:51 +0000

We hosted a Paddle Canada Level III Skills course here last week. Erik Oogard, from Harbourfront Canoe & Kayak Centre was our instructor du jour. As part of the course requirements, the group headed out on an overnight journey on to Lake Superior. On their way home, they got to contend with some 20knot winds and over 1 meter waves.

The group did a fantastic job contacting our NSA base to determine the best landing spot for the group. NSA staff stood out on the point directing them in and helped folks surf into Government Beach.
Here is a video of Ray surfing in doing some cartwheels and back surfing along the way.

Link to the video on YouTube here: Surfing Superior