Outdoors
PDD Quiz: Happy Trails to You
Lace up your boots and take a hike with this edition of the Perfect Duluth Day quiz, which highlights some local trails.
The next PDD quiz will review this month’s newsworthy events; it will be published on Sept. 24. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at aklawite@d.umn.edu by Sept. 20. (more…)
Quarry Park: Let’s Have Sex
Though it is important to first point out that applying graffiti on rocks or any other thing in a city park is just plain wrong, we should also not let the medium distract from the message.
An Important Announcement from Kip
Duluth’s Kip Praslowicz has made a modest name for himself in recent years as a photographer and YouTube video producer. But now he stands on the cusp of mega-influencer status, having achieved an unprecedented feat in photography.
What AI thinks “Lake Superior fish” look like
I used stablediffusionweb.com to make these, using prompts like: “Lake Superior fish,” sometimes including “angler” and phrases like “catch of the day” or “look what I caught.” Then I switched to “a meal of Lake Superior fish,” “Lake Superior fish on a plate,” and so on. You will see some “breaded fried Lake Superior lampreys.” Bon appétit!
Big Manitou Falls at Pattison Park
The tallest waterfall in Wisconsin — and fourth-highest waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains — is just outside the city of Superior. Big Manitou Falls at Pattison State Park sends water plunging 165 feet into the Black River.
Video by Douglas Feltman.
PDD Quiz: Waterfalls
With summer in full swing, it’s the perfect time of year to explore the outdoors. This week’s PDD quiz spotlights some of the region’s many parks that feature cascading water. Both the Zenith City website and Tony Dierckins’ Duluth Historic Parks: Their First 100 Years were valuable resources for this quiz.
The next PDD quiz will be pubished on July 30; it will review the month’s headlines and happenings. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at aklawite@d.umn.edu by July 26. (more…)
The Slice: Sailboat Racing on Lake Superior
Captain Chris Friese has owned the sailboat Radio Flyer for five years, racing with his crew in the A-Class on Lake Superior.
In its series The Slice, PBS North presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.
Spring Vignettes in the Northwoods
This spring 2023 trail camera footage shows vignettes of wildlife in Voyageurs National Park, with several toddlers tromping through the frame.
The camera was set up by the Voyageurs Wolf Project, which is focused on understanding the summer ecology of wolves in the park.
PDD Quiz: Hartley Park
Test your knowledge of Hartley Park with this edition of the PDD quiz. Sources include Zenith City Online, the Minnesota Digital Library, and the Hartley Nature Center website.
The next PDD quiz, reviewing June 2023 headlines and happenings, comes your way on June 25. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at aklawite@d.umn.edu by June 20. (more…)
Hidehiro Otake, Photographer of the Northwoods
Hidehiro Otake first passed through Duluth in 1999, following a literal had-while-sleeping dream. He had been a college student and budding photographer living in Tokyo when he dreamt one night that he was in a cabin in an evergreen forest and outside was a wolf gazing back at him. (more…)
One Year on a Northwoods Portage
This trail camera footage shows the diversity of wildlife that passes through an old canoe portage at Voyageurs National Park over a 15-month period. Prepare for lots of otters. (more…)
Northern Nights, Starry Skies
This PBS North documentary follows photographer Travis Novitsky as he explores the heavens as seen from Voyageurs National Park, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Quetico Provincial Park, which together comprise the world’s largest designated Dark Sky sanctuary.
Ode to Spirit Mountain
Standing at the top I see the river in the distance far below
In between this mountainside is covered in a heavy coat of snow
My poles are in my hands and my favorite purple skis are on my feet
My mouth begins to water like it’s waiting for the taste of something sweet
Slipping from the edge I feel a smile slowly slide across my face
‘Cause skiing down this mountain is the closest that I’ll ever come to grace
I wrote this little ditty years ago after a day of skiing at Spirit Mountain. (more…)
The Great Lakes Aurora Hunters
This Twin Cities Public Television segment follows a group of photographers chasing the Northern Lights in Minnesota.
Giant Expectations: The Nimrod Giant Ski Story
Many people come to Hayward to ski, but only an elite few dare to giant ski. Last week Perfect Duluth Day shared the previews, the music video, the news coverage and the overall hype; this week we present the full-length feature documentary on the most storied team in the history of the American Birkebeiner Giant Ski Race. It chronicles the team’s past success, the rise to fame and stardom, struggles with selling out, and the uncertain comeback. (more…)
The Slice: Ski Jumping in Cloquet
The Cloquet Ski Club promotes ski jumping and cross-country skiing at Pine Valley Ski Area.
In its series The Slice, PBS North presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.
The Nimrods win American Birkebeiner Giant Ski Race 2023
This highlight video shows the drama from the qualifying run and finals of the American Birkebeiner Giant Ski Race, held last weekend on Main Street in Hayward. The Nimrod Giant Ski Team recaptured the championship this year. (more…)
Apostle Islands in National Geographic
The Apostle Islands, surrounded by the notoriously treacherous waters of Lake Superior, are home to thick forests, diverse wildlife, and the spiritual center of the Ojibwe people.
nationalgeographic.com
The March issue of National Geographic has a 16-page feature on Lake Superior’s Apostle Islands. The online version has the headline, “These Lake Superior islands are ‘no place for amateurs,’” while the print edition carries the title “Return to Wild Waters.” Writer Stephanie Pearson accompanied photographer David Guttenfelder on part of his August 2021 kayaking journey in which he paddled to 19 of the 22 islands.
The Slice: Hiking Kadunce River in Winter
In winter the Kadunce River, an 8.5-mile stream near Grand Marais that flows into Lake Superior about 100 miles northeast of Duluth, becomes a frozen hiking trail.
In its series The Slice, PBS North presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.
Video: Sledding at the Laskiainen Finnish Festival in Palo
Videographer Adam Jagunich took his drone for a winter flight in the small Iron Range town of Palo, about 40 miles north of Duluth, to capture sledding scenes from the 85th annual Laskiainen Finnish Festival last weekend. (more…)
Vignettes from the Edge of a Beaver Pond
Researchers at the Voyageurs Wolf Project placed cameras around the edge of a beaver pond this past summer hoping to get good footage of wolves. Instead, they captured a whole lot of otter activity along with a few other critters, including a black bear and three cubs that predictably knocked over a camera.
Holiday Aurora: Lights of Summer
The latest video from Seth Trobec is new to the internet, but was shot last summer over Independence Day and Labor Day weekends — July 2 and Sept. 4 to be precise. The timelapse was created from Trobec’s photos of the northern lights. (more…)