Tag Archives: Northern Lights

Mother’s Day Aurora Borealis / Northern Lights Display!

Year 3,

The sky danced in honor of Mother’s Day early this morning. Just shows you Moms are truly special!

Shortly after midnight I hiked down into the Knife River Ravine. This trail is about 15 miles north of Duluth, and then inland from Lake Superior. I was standing in the river around 12:30 am when I took this photo, and thankfully had thought ahead and brought tall waterproof muck boots. This was just “after” the sky had really started to explode! The lights were shimmering and dancing all the way up to the Zenith. The second image was taken a few moments earlier than the first photograph when the color was “greener”.

Camera settings: 1,600 ISO, 4.0 second exposure, 2.0 aperture using a Rokinon wide angle lens on a Sony NEX-5T mirrorless camera.

Mother’s Day 2016 Aurora Borealis Display … Knife River, Northern Minnesota
Mothers-Day-Knife-River-Northern-Lights-3b Mothers-Day-Knife-River-Northern-Lights-2b

Chasing the Aurora!

Year 3,

NorthStar Lake Green Glow!

Two nights ago I decided to chase the Aurora! Given the Duluth area was socked in with clouds, and the weather forecast seemed to indicate it would remain in that state all night long, at 8:15 pm I drove northwest. After a few stops at vistas which were also socked in with clouds, I arrived at my small northwoods cabin around 11:00 pm. Shortly before midnight, I took this “selfie”.

The cabin was 32F when I arrived, and by starting up a roaring fire I managed to bump the temperature up to the mid 40’s. I spent the night stretched out on the couch in front of the fireplace with an alarm set to insure I checked the Aurora conditions every 45 minutes. I feel lucky to live in northern Minnesota!

My Selfie! (standing on the ice … moon shadows)
Northstar-Lake-Green-Glow

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The Cabin in Warmer Weather!
Cabin-Spot

The Beauty of Snowmelt!

Year 3

By tomorrow drizzle and snow will return in northern Minnesota, but for the past 48 hours the weather has been gorgeous. The unseasonable warm weather (60F this afternoon) has done some major damage to our snow cover. With the quick warmup, the Northland has been transformed. Water is screaming down to Lake Superior and setting the waterfalls to roaring. Area lakes have snowmelt ponds and refreeze, which made for neat photographic conditions.

This afternoon Molly and I took a quick 25 mile bike ride to explore some area rivers and waterfalls. Even though we were within 100 yards of Lake Superior and her 36F water, the mild winds meant we biked in shorts and light tops!

Here is some of what we saw over the past 48 hours, starting with a mild Aurora Borealis display two nights ago. I love the reflections and ice. These kinds of conditions are only present for a few weeks per year.
Boulder-Lake-11-Mar-2016-Ice-Meltdown-2

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Some of our waterfalls, including my favorite … the Splitrock shower waterfall. This spigot only turns on for about one week each spring during runoff!

(Splitrock Shower Waterfall … Beaver River … Gooseberry River)
March-Bike-Ride-Splitrock-Shower-Waterfall March-Bike-Ride-Beaver-River-Waterfall March-Bike-Ride-Gooseberry-Falls-Molly-Rich