Outdoors
North Shore 2016
Video by Chad Kirsebom.
Spirit Mountain Winter Downhill Fatbiking
Last weekend Spirit Mountain became (as far as we know) the first ski resort in North America to offer lift access fat-tire biking. Break out the fatbikes this Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and come ride with us!
Video by Max Fierek.
PDD Quiz: Cold enough for ya?
Next week’s theme, as we near the 135th anniversary of J. Proctor Knott’s famous speech, will be “The Untold Delights of Duluth.” Send your suggested quiz questions (and answers) to lawrence @ perfectduluthday.com by noon on Wednesday, Jan. 20.
The Phenomenal Mr. Claus
This video by Max Fierek depicts how Mr. Claus delivers all those mountain bikes for Christmas.
Chester Bowl scheduled to open Saturday
The weather has finally been cooperating and the two snow guns have been running since last Thursday, so Chester Bowl is planning to open this Saturday, Dec. 26. That will also be the first day of Ski Camp. Chester will also be open New Year’s Eve from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., but closed New Year’s Day. The first race is Jan. 3.
A riot of chlorophyll on the darkest of days
For all the urban chicken ranchers out there, chlorophyll is the secret to getting through the long winter. Lots and lots of it.
For a heavier dose of chlorophyll, head over to Ed’s Big Adventure.
Cross City Trail Master Plan
Interested in connecting the Lakewalk with the Munger Trail? Now is the time to give your thoughts on which route or combination of routes you like for the West Duluth segment. The city has four routes for you to comment on. Visit the Cross City Trail website and take the survey.
The Trails/Parks Committee of the River Corridor Coalition has videos of the entire river route broken into seven segments, along with an interactive map to help identify where the segments are. Visit crosscitytrailduluth.com to check it out. This is the lesser known route that is harder to find and understand, so be sure to check it out.
The city wants your input, so go to the survey and participate. This is a regionally significant trail connection, connecting two great state trails, the Munger Trail and Gitchi-Gami Trail. When all is complete you can go from Hinckley to the Canadian border.
Bagley Nature Area Population Boom?
It looks like there is a population explosion in UMD’s Bagley Nature Area! A couple elaborate shelters with exquisite details are inhabited — yet nicely hidden from the prying eyes of neighbors. At the time of my visit, the residents must have been in class but they did leave a fresh deer hide behind to greet me. I give them an A+ in civil engineering!
Red Fox near Duluth Harbor
Rich Hoeg was out looking for snowy owls on the Duluth waterfront and came up empty … except for this red fox sighting. For more photos check out Hoeg’s 365 Days of Birds blog.
Bald eagle stuck in trap rescued by hunters
Two brothers grouse hunting in Canada rescued a bald eagle with its talon stuck in a trap and then took a selfie with it. They posted video of the rescue on Facebook, the freeing of the talon took about four minutes. (more…)
Selective Focus: Editor’s Choice
One year of Selective Focus would be impossible to capture in a single post, so I’ve gleaned just a few personal favorites. I think we’ve accomplished together many of my initial desires to foreground the real people who live work and play here, and to build community through art, no matter how homely or grand. (more…)
Sulfide Mining Debate + The Holidays = Watch This
Surely sulfide mining is close to the top of the things Minnesotans can disagree about with family and friends as we enter the holidaze. This two-minute video depicts one way the outcome of the PolyMet question could play out. Great for captive audiences who are too stuffed to resist. Enjoy!
Images of Spirit Mountain piping project on St. Louis River
More videos and images below and in the Google gallery linked here.
Spirit Mountain’s piping project will draw water from the St. Louis River and pipe it to the lower chalet area where another pumping station will send it into the snow gun system. There are two pumping stations: one at the lower chalet area, the other right next to Tallas Island Bay on the Western Waterfront Trail in the Riverside neighborhood. That is the area these photos were taken. (more…)
The Next Bite: Lake Superior Walleyes
Gary Parsons of The Next Bite, along with Josh Teigen and Chris Meyer, troll Lake Superior’s South Shore for walleyes.
The Mystery of Chuck’s TV
I have a mystery on my hands. About a year ago while driving over West Ninth Street, just before the intersection of North Eighth Avenue and East Orange Street, something caught my eye — what appeared to be an old car in the woods. After a couple passes, I could see that it was indeed an old car. Curious, once home I started some research. On the newly updated Google maps this past spring, I could see the car in question. Checking the DNR Historical Airphotos, I found that up to 1961 there are what appears to be two buildings, houses or perhaps a house and some other type of building on that very corner. Sometime between 1961 and 1972 they were torn down, as they no longer appear on the 1972 imagery.
Minnesota Deer Hunting Opener 2015
No luck yet for me, hunting in Kelsey, but a couple fresh rubs nearby. Anyone else having luck?
You know the feeling. You just sat down on your bucket in your stand, it’s at little after 6 a.m. It’s still dark but you can see a sliver of light starting to climb in the southeastern horizon. Your heart is beating from your walk in and you feel so warm your thinking there is no way it is 28 degrees.
(more…)
Where in Duluth?
Another easy one.
Positive Energy Outdoors seeks help
Can you imagine spending your honeymoon with 16 sled dogs? The founders of Positive Energy Outdoors did just that. It is emblematic of how Stephanie Love and Blake Cazier have devoted their lives to their mission of making outdoor education and exploration accessible to everyone, regardless of income level. Pictured above are two champions. On your left is Stephanie, and on your right stands SOTA, a champion lead sled dog who has won the Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon.
As many of you saw in the Duluth News Tribune recently, they face the potential closure of this popular outdoor education center if they cannot resolve a dispute with Fredenberg Township involving access to public lands. All of us in St. Louis County have a stake in this matter. After all, it was our own county board of commissioners who gifted this land to the township with the understanding that everyone currently using the land would continue to be allowed to do so. Please consider signing their petition.
To learn more about this incredible nonprofit organization, located a scant 15 miles from Duluth, check out my current post on Ed’s Big Adventure. Please help to keep this valuable center of outdoor activity alive.
Minnesota wild rice, Adam, and his red canoe
Meet Adam Maxwell. He grew up in the Chicago suburbs. It took one Boundary Waters trip to hook him. Harvesting wild rice started out as a hobby; now it’s part of his daily life.
Video by Old Saw Media
Music: “Fight the Sea” by Josh Woodward
Aldo Abelleira’s Lake Superior Autumn Trip
Aldo Abelleira of Aldo Design took the cruise up from Minntonka to Lake Superior’s North Shore this fall to document the waterfalls, autumn colors and occasional fox hanging out in the road.
Lake Superior’s North Shore Witch Tree
“Manido Gizhigans” to the Ojibwe people, the Spirit Little Cedar Tree (known as the “Witch Tree”) has been keeping a keen eye over the shores of Lake Superior in Grand Portage for an estimated 300-400 years. CBS Minnesota did a “Finding Minnesota” story on the Witch Tree. Travis Novitsky was interviewed for the story and said “You’ve got this tree that’s growing out of the rock for at least 400 or 500 years. And just to stand in the presence of something that’s living, that’s that old, to me is mind-boggling.” Sorry for the brief commercial before the video starts.
See the full story by clicking here.
Copyright for the above photo belongs to Travis Novitsky. www.travisnovitsky.com