Hygge: a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being (regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture … definition from the Oxford Google Languages Dictionary). Given I am a Danish-American with cousins still living in the “old country”, I would expand upon this definition and state Hygge is enhanced by the outdoors.

Anyhow, Molly and I spent much of the weekend up in Cook County which is the region in Minnesota’s North Shore bordering Canada. We were working upon an article about Cook County’s Hygge Festival for a leading regional magazine. Molly writes while I take photographs. I hope you enjoy a few of my photographs and how I ended my day … long after sundown during the dark of night with a “Hoot Hike”. By the time I came home I truly had a sense of peacefulness. My local owl even hooted for over 80 minutes while I hiked in the darkness “following the hygge hoot”!

Hygge

Sunrise

Frozen Cascading Waterfall (Cross River)

Gunflint Trail Red Fox Hunting

Grand Marais Lighthouse and Frozen Shoreline

Hoot Night Hike Stats and Map (i.e. following the hoot)