Vagabond photographer in an Alto trailer
With my Great Lakes tour done and family time in Wisconsin completed, it was time to point the Ridgeline west to Colorado, via North Dakota, South Dakota, a night in Wyoming, and then on down to the Denver area. Here’s a summary post of my adventures, with links to blog posts that dive deeper into places.
[Read more…] about Five States in 20 Days: MN to CO
One of the least known of the National Parks, Wind Cave is worth the visit for two big reasons: (1) the boxwork formations and (2) it is way cooler inside the cave than outside in August.
[Read more…] about Wind Cave National Park
I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend much time here when I made my route from Minnesota to Colorado last Spring, but figured I would check it out since it was, after all, a National Park.
It’s rare that a place makes me speechless. Turns out Theodore Roosevelt National Park is one of those places. From Painted Canyon (below) to the grasslands and badlands, this turned out to be a magical place for me.
[Read more…] about Theodore Roosevelt National Park
When I was driving to Quebec to pick up my Alto trailer in 2016, I went across North Dakota from west to east on Highway 2. This time, I went north to south on Highway 85, taking pictures as I went and enjoying the scenery along the way.
[Read more…] about North Dakota: Highway 85
No, this isn’t one of those touchy-feeling posts about finding MY center. This is all about finding the geographic center of North America and of the USA. And that’s not as cut and dried as you might think. Well, the geographic center of North America actually is. No one is arguing that it’s in Rugby, North Dakota, a place I visited in 2016 on my way to pick up my Alto trailer in Quebec.
[Read more…] about Finding the Center
Coming into Valley City, North Dakota from the north, I passed under this amazing railroad bridge. On the way back out of town after a stop for gas and a little breakfast, I pulled over and investigated the bridge with my camera. And then I hit up the internet to learn more…
[Read more…] about High Line Bridge, North Dakota
Avoiding the interstate highways and taking the back roads is easy in North Dakota because most of the roads are back roads. Long straight stretches of two-lane highways go north/south and east/west, with occasional rolling hills to break up the monotony. Not much traffic out here, and not many towns either. But if you pay attention, over the hours, a portrait of the state emerges as the miles go by.
[Read more…] about North Dakota Back Roads
After touring the Great Lakes, I had a nice long 11-night stay in Minnesota, on the border with Wisconsin. The area is part of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway and that name is no exaggeration! It was a beautiful place to explore in between family dinners, days out with my three great-nieces, a paddle in my kayak, and late afternoon boat cruise with my brother and sister-in-law.
[Read more…] about St. Croix Scenic Riverway, MN and WI
As the last stop on my 2021 tour of the Great Lakes, Duluth was a good pick. Full of good food, interesting shops, and places to visit, it was a massive treat for all my senses. I hadn’t been in this big a city for months, which also meant I hadn’t seen much traffic in a long time so that was an ongoing adjustment. Luckily, I camped near the Waabizheshikana Trail along the St. Louis River so I had a nature escape handy. The views along the trail were indeed fantastic.
Between Michigan and Minnesota on the south shore of Lake Superior is a tiny sliver of Wisconsin. Mostly, it’s all at Saxon Harbor Park, so that seemed a perfect halfway spot between the Porcupine Mountains (my previous stop) and the trip-ending destination of Duluth. The view of the lake was pretty good from here, too.
[Read more…] about Review: Saxon Harbor Park, WI
