Sunday, August 21, 2011

City Escapes Nature Photography Newsletter - August 2011

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CITY ESCAPES

Nature Photography, LLC

 

 

Newsletter

August, 2011

 

 

 

 

The Wonder of Exploring New Places – The Great Lakes

 

Over the past few months, I had the good fortune to be able to do a little exploring in southern Canada and the northern United States.  Being a Texas girl by birth and a Western transplant by choice, much of the central and eastern parts of North America remain a mystery to me.  Thus it was with great interest that I found myself traversing heretofore unvisited states and provinces for a few weeks – and I must say, I was pretty enthralled most of the time.  Two regions in particular struck me as much more fabulous than I had ever imagined: the Great Lakes and South Dakota.  Up for examination this month: the Great Lakes.

 

The Great Lakes region is well known at the very least for nasty storms and bad winters.  If you don’t live around the area, that is quite possibly all you know about the region’s temperament.  Thus it was with delighted surprise that I found myself bowled over by the Lakes’ beauty and, I admit it, their immensity.  There is something remotely unsettling about being in a boat on a lake and not being able to see land in any direction, even in perfectly clear weather.  About being able to watch as a lake makes a significant impact on weather patterns.  About realizing that the Edmund Fitzgerald lies somewhere not too far south of you, a victim of the fiercest of these innocent-looking lakes.  Even in the relative calm of summer, the Lakes’ reputations for iconic storms hung in the air like a mist, warning that these are not lakes to be tamed by man.  Gazing at the immense bodies of water, I could not suppress the sense of awe I felt at their raw power, made all the more poignant by the calm that maintained control over the tempest.  As the rain clouds gathered, the sky grew ominous, and the winds whipped at my vehicle, I tried to imagine what a serious Great Lakes storm must feel like -- this was just a little rain storm, nothing like the storms of legend.  I had the overwhelming sense that I was at the mercy of Mother Nature, and I was grateful that she was generally in a good mood.

 

That brief introductory experience was all I needed to become hooked on these magnificent lakes.  A boat trip across Lake Huron followed by a week-long exploration of the North Shore of Lake Superior cemented my love of the area, and I have only just scratched the surface of what there is to see and do there.  I was taken in by a shoreline crowded with thick green forests, interrupted by outcroppings of smooth rock in brilliant oranges, reds, and yellows – rock that is among the oldest on Earth, no less.  (One memorable afternoon, the scene was made even more spectacular by the appearance of a healthy adult black bear on one of these outcroppings.)  The colors of the water were practically chameleonic: slate gray under the overcast sky, but full of ribbons of the most vibrant teals, royal blues, and deep violets when the sun broke through.  When the rocks were wet and the sun was out, it was not difficult to imagine that this is where Mother Nature got the idea for the rainbow.

 

My infatuation, however, was not limited to the Lakes themselves; the entire area is enthralling.  I had never been in a place where the best, and sometimes only, way to explore parks and reserves was in a canoe or a kayak.  I now understand why Minnesota is known as “the Land of 10,000 Lakes,” and this says nothing of its many waterfalls.  While I do not know if this is true or not, it certainly felt as though much more of the region was accessible by canoe than by car.  Everywhere I looked, there was a body of water, usually only a short portage away from yet another body of water.  Due to this summer’s heavy rainfall in the area (sorry, Texas), many of the lakes and rivers were over their banks, lending a slightly surreal air to my visit.  Park benches were underwater to the top slat of their backs, while fields of maple trees more closely resembled Louisiana swamplands than a northern deciduous forest.  Even disregarding the unusually high water levels, a canoe would seem a wise investment for any outdoor enthusiast living in the area.

 

Then, of course, there was the wildlife.  I saw more black bears in this region than I have ever seen before, including two adorable little puff balls with legs (cubs of the year), and a yearling that was a little too used to people for his own good.  Red fox abounded, and moose were not infrequent on the Canadian side. And the butterflies!  Tiger swallowtails flitted about almost en masse.  Unfortunately, other bugs were in top form, too: giant mosquitoes on the Canadian side, black flies on the U.S. side, all of them wanting their pound of flesh.  A bug jacket quickly became my new best friend.  

 

It was in the Great Lakes region that I saw my first, and so far only wild orchids growing in an area that did not include the word “tropics” in its description.  I could scarce believe my eyes when I came across dozens of them dotting the roadway in Canada.  Canada!  The land of snow, ice and polar bears, had native wild orchids growing along its highways, bursting with color like living fireworks.  This is one of the aspects of traveling that I love the most: discovering new and unexpected things about a region.  Breaking through the preconceptions that we all hold of what a particular area will be like, looking for the real character of a place beneath its hype and stereotype.  Learning a bit more than I knew yesterday.  On this particular journey, I discovered that this is an area that simply cries out to be explored -- only next time, I’ll take a canoe.

 

Next month: South Dakota’s beautiful surprises.

 

 

A Great Big Thanks to Atticus Books in Park City

 

The weekend of August 5-7 found us having an impromptu show during the Park City Arts Festival in Park City, Utah.  We want to extend a huge note of gratitude to Randy and Erica of Atticus Books and Tea House on Main Street for their support and assistance in allowing us to set up shop in front of their store.  If you’re ever in Park City, Atticus makes a mean cup of tea (one of Jodi’s favorites is a chocolate cream black tea – yum!), as well as superb coffees.  We met some wonderful people during the Festival, and we want to welcome our newest clients and newsletter subscribers to the City Escapes family.  We’re glad you’re here!

 

 

 

August’s Fun Facts

 

-      There is enough water in Lake Superior to flood all of North and South America to a depth of one foot.

-      Because Lake Superior is about 350 miles wide, in the summer, the sun sets more than 35 minutes later on the western shore than at the southeastern edge.

-      Fifty-eight orchid species are native to the Lake Superior basin.

-      Superior’s southern shores are home to the largest lake effect snows on earth. 

-      It is estimated that 350 ships have been lost on Lake Superior since 1816.

 

 

If you have any questions, or suggestions for future newsletters, please email us at: relationships@cityescapesphotography.com

 

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CITY ESCAPES Nature Photography, LLC

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