Wisconsin's North Coast

Two Harbors, MN -- 11/14/05
Just returned from a very pleasant weekend get-away with Tambrey. On Friday we drove out along Hwy 13 in Wisconsin to the Meyers Beach Rd. There we parked and hiked in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore along the Lakeshore Trail out to the sea caves. The picture is of me standing near the natural bridge that crosses the sandstone rock formation. The hike out was nice, the weather perfect for a hike in the woods on a crisp fall day.

After we returned to the parking lot we had a picknik with some cheese, sausage, crackers and a bit of Wrenwood zinfandel. Yum.

From there we were off to Pinehurst Inn where we spent Friday and Saturday nights. It was a great place to stay. Not only did a friend of mine grow up in the house, but they are big into the concept of sustainability, going as far as to develop and implement a "Plan for sustainable operations." Pretty cool stuff.

On Friday night we ate bouillabaisse at Good Thyme Bistro and Catering in Washburn. On Saturday we visited Eckels Pottery and a variety of other shops in a quiet downtown Bayfield. Saturday night we had a huge, gourmet dinner at the Rittenhouse Inn. Tambrey had squash soup and a seared scallops entre. I had a vegetable tomato soup and a filet mignon with a very flavorful bercy sauce. I'm not sure what a bercy sauce is, but I'm going to have to find out.

Returning home we had snow on US Hwy 2 before we got to Iron River. Looks like winter has arrived!

Great Lakes Basic Training

10/22/05 -- Two Harbors, MN
I just returned from Two Days in the Big City. The main purpose of the trip was to attend an all-day workshop/training session originally called "Great Lakes 101" but the presenters from the Delta Institute started calling it "Great Lakes Basic Training" because they felt like they were really throwing a lot of stuff at us in a very short time. The meeting was held at the Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge. Unfortunately, the schedule of the day didn't provide much opportunity to get out into the refuge but the picture above is from the overlook behind the building. There was a telescope set up to look down to the river where humdreds of ducks and geese were swimming.

The workshop was good but it left me thinking that there were probably other people, not there on Friday, that should hear some of the material covered. We talked about both the resource and govenance aspects of the Great Lakes Region and I couldn't help but think that a regular college course covering these topics would be pretty interesting. I wonder if anyone offers such a thing or if UMD would be interested in some sort of interdisciplinary course on the topic. I'll have to look into it.

Edge of the Wilderness Grouse Hunt

10/17/2005 -- Two Harbors, MN
Arrived back at home yesterday afternoon around 4 p.m. after camping for a couple of days on the edge of the BWCA in the Superior National Forest. We camped Friday and Saturday night at Baker Lake campground and spent our days hiking around looking for spruce grouse, ruffed grouse and woodcock. I got one ruffed grouse and a couple of timberdoodles. The weather was much nicer than last year when the wind was howling and blowing us off our feet. The wind was blowing a bit this year but the temperatures were warmer and we had some good hunting opportunities.

Last day in Ohio

10/3/2005 -- Two Harbors, MN
Our last full day in Ohio was on Wednesday September 28. We had meetings most of the day, focusing on State-by-State reports of highlights from the past year; facilitated breakout sessions on different topics (grant administration, permitting, federal consistency, and outreach/education); and a session on 'regional coordination'. Follwing all that we got a chance to get out and see some more of Ohio's coastal resources with a tour of Magee Marsh, Crane Creek State Park, and Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. The picture is from the refuge. We took a big bus way back into the refuge where people don't usually go. There were lots of herons and egrets, ducks and geese and a few raptors including immature bald eagles, and red-tailed hawks.

After the tour we had reservations for dinner at MonAmi Restraunt and Historic Winery. It was a buffet style dinner but the food was good and the local cabernet franc made a good, casual accompaniment.

On Thursday morning we left the hotel about 6 a.m. eastern time. The trip home was fortunately uneventful and we arrived back at the Duluth airport a bit after noon.

Battle of Lake Erie

9/27/2005 -- Huron Ohio
Yesterday afternoon we all took a boat over to South Bass Island, site of Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial National Monument. This Monument commemorates a decisive naval victory in Lake Erie during the War of 1812 in which Commodore Perry defeated the British Navy. (Its a good thing for the Americans that Horatio wasn't in command of the British vessels.) From the top of the very tall monument building visitors can look over the small arcipeligo and see where the battle took place.

The Monument also had a small theater where we were able to see a film about the Battle of Lake Erie. I found a couple of books describing the battle and the ships involved to bring home.

After the visit to the National Monument we got a guided tour of the Ohio SeaGrant's Stone Laboratory on Gibralter Island.

Sheldon Marsh

9/27/2005 -- Huron Ohio
Clint and I got up early enough to join a very small group of meeting participants on the 7:00 nature hike to Sheldon Marsh, an Ohio state Nature Preserve next to the conference center. We hiked out to the beach, just missing the sunrise over Lake Erie.

The temperature was nice but the humidity must have been in the 90% range. Still it was a nice walk. Lots of waterfowl and other birds moving around. I'm regretting my decision to leave my binoculars at home.

Old Woman Creek

9/26/2005 -- Huron Ohio

Finding Old Woman Creek NERR was pretty easy. It's not far from the hotel. The 1 mile loop trail and estuary overlook was a nice change from sitting. There are some neat old oaks, black walnut and hickory as well as prolific hawthorns.

We saw chickadees, blue jays, great blue herons, and great egrets too. The photo shows a large stand of water lotus in the middle left and the exotic phragmites or common reed in the background.

Clint tried to take a piture of an egret through the binoculars on the observation deck. They didn't work too well as a telephoto lens.

Traveling thru Minneapolis

9/26/2005 -- Huron Ohio
We ended up with a bit of a re-route this morning. Instead of flying to Detroit we got hit with a flight delay and a re-route through Minneapolis. The picture is of downtown Minneapolis through the airplane window. You can see the Humphry Dome and the Mississippi River.

We left Duluth at about 7:00 a.m rather than 6:20 a.m. Getting into Cleveland about 11:00 Duluth-time. We checked in to the hotel, then ran around finding just about every closed restraunt in Huron. We finnaly ended up a Burger King. :-(

Destination: Lake Erie

9/23/05 -- Two Harbors, MN
Next week takes me, Clint, and Karla off to Cleveland and then Old Woman Creek National Estuarine research Reserve for the Great Lakes regional meeting of coastal programs. We'll be staying at Sawmill Creek in Huron Ohio on the south shore of Lake Erie.

Dipping a toe

9/23/05 -- Two Harbors, MN
Here is my first exploratory toe-dipping into the world of blogs. It seems a bit narcacissitic, but hopefully, it will be more useful than not. We'll see.

My interest in doing this largly stems from my work as Program Manager for Minnesota's Lake Superior Coastal Program. Most of the posts here will likely relate to that. However, coastal issues seem to be more and more in the news so maybe I'll range farther afield as issues warrant.

The Coastal Program is currently seeking proposals for projects to receive grant funding. Check out the Coastal Program web site for application materials.