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Darrel Murdock |
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Darrel Murdock Oct. 4: The much-anticipated journey to the Porcupine Mountains was finally underway. I left my work at 2pm, picked up a rental car and my pre-packed cargo, and headed towards Kathy's house. As I started to gather her things, she arrived home from work and lickety-split we went, towards the highway to begin the 5 hour trek to our favorite little motel on the Wisconsin/Michigan U.P. border. It was getting dark by the time we rounded the corner at Duluth's sister city Superior, so we weren't able to see what the color along Lake Superior's South Shore was up to in northern Wisconsin. We would have to wait until morning to find out if we had come on the right weekend. The innkeeper said there wasn't much fall color around here, but some maples had been turning red. We hoped he hadn't been out much lately as we piled into our favorite room, complete with two recliners, a microwave oven, a coffee pot and a refrigerator. This was luxury to us, one we could afford at $50 a night. At the crack of dawn we embarked on our first day's adventure, which would include the Michigan waterfalls deemed by us to be Fall-worthy shootees based on their tree populations; and a brand new target: The Porcupine Mountains. It wasn't so much the few tiny falls within the park that had drawn my interest, it was the Lake of the Clouds Overlook that I was so eager to see. But before we went there we wanted to stop and see the nearby Gabbro Falls, the triple-drop section of the same Black River that runs along the Black River Scenic Byway, the host of numerous waterfalls. Gabbro Falls is located by the Black Jack Ski Resort, a paradise without a crowd. As we passed over the little bridge that had been a covered one last time, we were glad we had photographed the red-painted wooden topper before its demise. We also noticed there was quite a lot of color on the ski slopes. If the river was running high-water, we could get some good photos here! Yup, it was running just fine. |
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Fall Color Weekend, Part 2 - On the Road Oct. 4: After seeing the wild and crazy Gabbro Falls getting colorful, we were getting more excited by the minute. Now we were heading to the Porcupine Mountains, yet even along the way we had to stop and take pictures of this rare time. When we had gone shooting pics last fall, it was drizzly and we had less digi-space, so we had passed through the very awesome Chequagamon Forest without snapping much. Here was our second chance, not to be wasted by being too conservative. To top it off, we even went through part of Ottowa National Forest before turning north and heading to Silver City at Lake Superior. Here are some of the roadside treasures we collected on the road to the Porcupine Mountains. This last photo was actually taken when we were at one of the upcoming waterfalls, but it is one of my favorites. That was the nice ride we traveled in. > Next Part: Lake of the Clouds Overlook |
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Fall Color Weekend, Part 3 - Lake of the Clouds Oct. 5: After seeing all the beautiful combinations of color on the road to the Porkies, it was nice to see a sign saying that we were entering Porcupine Mountain State Park. The rolling foothills that were wrapped in color were only a prelude to what we were about to see. I was so excited that when we got to the fee station at the Lake of the Clouds Overlook, I forgot I already had purchased the car pass at the main visitor center. I pulled over to the side of the road, then remembered I had a pass, went to go on the wrong side of the booth, then when I backed up to go on the other side I heard a long honk. I almost took out the car behind me! Back on track, we headed down the road to the overlook, observing several neat stops along the way. I was hell bent on getting to our primary target though, so we made mental notes and finally saw the parking lot to the overlook. The sun was directly overhead now, a condition not so favorable for waterfalls shots. It was however, quite okay for this location. From the observation deck we could point the camera any direction and capture the color without glare. We did not squander this rare opportunity. We took shot after shot, changing the settings to whatever we thought might work. If only half of them turned out, we would still have a great bounty! The view was truly magnificent. Now a few zooms. A shot by the edge. And of course, the lake. |
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Fall Color Weekend, Part 4 - More Porcupines Oct. 7: After we were satisfied that we had captured Lake of the Clouds, the furthest location from our base on the border of WI/MI, we decided to check out a few more features of the park. The first stop was to check out an old mine that had been taken over by bats. The sign told us they return every November, but we were not taking any chances of being surprised by the winged rats, so we took flash pictures before we went in. There weren't any bats, but there was a stream or something where the floor should be, and that was enough to say we were done there. We stopped at another peak and after another hundred stairs found views similar to the first overlook, but without the beautiful lake in them. If we climbed up a tower we might have seen another lake in the distance, but instead we made our way back down in search of another feature. The sand beach along Lake Superior's South Shore was a beautiful sight with the multi-colored foothills in the background; we stopped and took a few photos, and I set up the tripod and took a few clips too, to add the gentle lapping of the waves to that pretty picture. After that we decided to take one more trail to another small set of falls, but we turned onto the old trail first and found ourselves four-wheeling with that nice rental car, as I imagined losing part of the underside or something. We finally found a place to turn around and edged our way back, finding the new trail close by. It led through a colorful wooded prairie where some mines were too overgrown with brush to see anything, but there was an old rock building that was kind of interesting, as well as the aptly-named Nonesuch Falls. The Overlooked Falls was the last of the stops we had decided on before the Presque Isle River waterfalls marked the end of our first day. That was an easy one, just park and walk a short path to a nice gurgling brook with some charming teeny waterfalls draping over the black lava rock. I took a video of the serene brook to enjoy with the scenic cascade photos. Now it was time to revisit the river that had wowed us in the Spring with its boiling cauldrons and amazing rock formations. The Presque Isle River also was the host of several waterfalls, both named and unnamed. Our favorite had been Manido Falls, a candidate for fall color, we had decided. We wondered if they would be at low water as so many had been last fall, but that was not the case. They looked even more powerful than they had in the Spring, much to our delight. Oh, what a day it had been! We headed back to our base and microwaved some home-made enchiladas, enjoyed long, hot showers and laughed our butts off watching MadTV and Saturday Night Live. We wondered if the Wisconsin side would be as enjoyable as this had been. We would be seeing old favorites and new waterfalls on rivers nestled in the Chequagamon Forest, another one of the Midwest's most colorful mixed forests. |
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Fall Color Weekend Part 5: The Montreal River Oct. 5: We didn't get quite as early of a start on our second day, planning to just take it easy and visit a few key falls in Wisconsin before heading back home. It was all so intensely colorful though, we probably would not have stopped if the sun hadn't set. We were traveling down roads that looked like a holographic Disney ride. The drought that robbed most of Central and Southern Minnesota of a brilliant fall had spared this area completely. The pines scattered throughout were as healthy and green as they come; the deciduous trees were bright and holding their leaves, even in a strong breeze. The two rivers that we targeted were the Potato and Montreal Rivers, both boasting numerous falls in several towns. They were each a paradise in themselves, but getting there was equally sensational as we made our way down winding hilly country roads, with each turn revealing a new scene to us. Our first stop was at Peterson Falls, a mostly wild location where the Montreal River's smooth rapids gave way to a gushing combination of cascades as it dropped into the pool below. We had been thrilled to discover this unique and powerful waterfall in early December last year, and wondered if it could live up to our memories of it. We were happy to see the river running hard as we hiked in towards Peterson Falls, hearing the thunder of the waters increasing as we neared. When we got there I climbed into the thin ravine by the falls and took another video and some pictures while I hung on to a tree root with my left hand. I was successful in propping the tripod on my knee, pressing the button with my chin and then panning from top to bottom before acrophobia and hydrophobia set in. Not rabies, just an everyday fear of being sucked into a churning river after sliding down a slick, steep slide. Before the Montreal drops at Peterson Falls, it runs through a park with a sign that says Kimball Falls. These are too short to be called falls, in our opinion; but the lovely rapids were wrapped in colorful trees, in a nice little park complete with fire pits and tables. We decided to skip another one of Montreal's waterfalls called Superior Falls, as we had recently been there, but later in the day returned to try and find the elusive Saxon Falls. We found a sign leading us to a power plant that was fenced off, thought it must be further down the trail and drove until we saw a dam. We found some more rapids and thought that was all of it. But a local who was fishing by the dam told us that the falls was indeed by that plant that was fenced in. He said, "We usually just go around it, then walk down the 100 stairs." So we did, and caught it just before it got dark. But the river we had started and ended with was by no means the most impressive part of the day. It was the Potato River we had visited last fall at the Potato River Falls Park and gotten some of the best pictures of the Upper and Lower Falls from. We finally got to see the two other sets of falls that had caused us to abort a mid-winter mission as our truck with four-wheel drive had become hopelessly stuck in the deep snow. Here is the video of Peterson Falls I took from the ravine, hanging from a tree root. (next: Potato River Falls Park) |
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Fall Color Weekend Part 6 Oct. 12: When we got to the main set of falls, we were almost surprised to see that the view from the observation deck was largely obscured by the leaves of new growth surrounding the deck. It didn't matter much to us though; we had ventured past the decks when we had visited here before. It did appear that the color and charm we had seen last year was back again, so we found some good spots from which to shoot and fired away. Since the Lower Falls looked so fine, we just had to scramble back up the ravine and take the short path to the long staircase that led to the Upper Falls. We had better cameras with us this year, so we hoped for some pretty views and found them not lacking. The other falls on the same river were located in other towns nearby. The problem we had in the winter was due to the fact that one of them was located down an unplowed fire road that had so much snow on it that we bottomed out when we tried to brave it, leaving nothing for the four tires to grip. Luckily some snowmobilers stopped by and tried to help, then took us into town to call a tow truck. This time the road to Foster Falls was clear and very inviting as we excitedly turned onto it and began the somewhat long journey that ended right at the Potato River. Actually it continued on the other side, but only true mudders would drive through the shallow crossing, and we had a rental car. It didn't matter, though, as we discovered a path right before the crossing that led us right to a tiny turn-around by the falls. It was a beautiful sight to see; the Potato River was lit up like a Christmas tree and the falls were running through giant boulders that were quite fun to climb around on. This was an opportunity of a lifetime; we took picture after picture of this abundantly cool new discovery. This was truly a paradise we would have stayed at for hours if we could have. Reluctantly, we finished up and went in search of the fourth waterfall on the Potato River, known as Upson Falls. We found it in a small park in the little town of Upson, a quaint setting that included an old mill, more fire pits, and a narrow, hilly path that led us to the falls, which were also a set of two steps. This was the weekend we had waited for so eagerly. It was totally even better than expected; we had made it to the Lake of the Clouds Overlook, seen more of Porcupine Mountains treasures and visited eleven falls, both familiar and new to us. We returned home with a plethora of amazing photos and a heck of a lot of memories. |
Photo by Kathy |
The Missing Shots of Potato River Oct. 16: When I put together the 6-part Fall Color Weekend series from the trip that took us to the Porcupine Mountains, I had done it without the benefit of Kathy's half of the pictures. I had enough good shots of almost everything to be able to do the photo-journal, but had run out of megabytes just before we wrapped up the weekend extraordinaire and was unable to use my camera at one of the beautiful Potato River waterfalls. Finally I was able to get my hands on her set via a CD, as we had each taken about 650 megabytes and backed them up on CD, and eventually we had remembered to exchange them. So here are the missing shots of the very lovely double set of waterfalls known as Upson Falls from the quaint town park of Upson, Wisconsin. Click here for a cool shot of the sky near the Potato River.
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