Northern Lights on the Gunflint Trail!

Last night, I spent most of the night awake watching my dog Ellie.  She had an allergic reaction which caused hives to arise over much of her body.  Three antihistamines later, she was feeling (and looking) much better, but I kept checking on her regularly until nearly dawn.

In order to stay awake, I watched the movie Gettysburg, since it is the anniversary of that famous battle.  I shut out the lights so Ellie could sleep, and happened to glance out my front, north facing window and see the Aurora Borealis.

It was the most spectacular show I had seen in a long time.  Green, yellow, and red colors danced merrily across the sky.  When I took some pictures, I noticed that there was purple in the mix as well.

Plasma from a near miss Coronal Mass Ejection caused a snowplow effect sending plasma into Earth creating a G1 geomagnetic storm.  The loose electrons in the plasma excited the oxygen and nitrogen atoms in our atmosphere, and the atoms released the extra energy in the form of photons (light).  Thousands of those reactions per square centimeter per second cause the Auroras.  Green, yellow, and at least part of the red light was caused by a reaction with oxygen, and the purple (and possibly some red) lights were caused by a reaction with the nitrogen.

In order to photograph the Aurora Borealis, I used the night sky setting on my Panasonic DMC-FZ70.  The shutter was open 60 seconds.  I used a tripod and a 10 second timer to keep the picture from shaking for that time.

May 15, 2022 Full Lunar Eclipse

 I spent most of my day hosting radio shows on WTIP.  My Dad had told me about the eclipse the night before, so I was looking forward to seeing it at the end of my Classic Country show.

When I was reading the weather forecasts throughout the day, it was calling for cloudy weather in the evening, and I was seeing a lot of clouds coming in through the windows of Studio B. I was also sent a message from my home on the Gunflint Trail that it was cloudy there.

It was a nice surprise when one of my friends in Grand Marais texted me that the clouds were clearing and the Moon was coming up.  While I was loading my car, I could see the Moon rising behind the trees, and it was partially cloudy.  My boxer Ellie and I then went for a walk to the end of Artist Point in Grand Marais, and were able to see the eclipse through the clear spots in the sky.

We stopped again at the Pincushion Mountain Overlook parking lot above Grand Marais for another viewing.  It was quite beautiful at that point.

On the way up the Gunflint Trail, I could see clear skies, and a very eclipsed Moon.  I stopped at several points to get pictures, and eventually arrived back at Gunflint Lake.

At that point, I found another person who wanted to see the eclipse, and we headed out to find a good viewing spot.  Our last stop was at the Gunflint Lake Public Landing, where we noticed that there was an eclipse in one direction and a faint showing of the Northern Lights in another direction.  We couldn't have asked for more amazing sights, and the loons calling in the distance were an added bonus.

Eclipse over Artist Point

Eclipse over Lake Superior

Full Eclipse

Nearly Full Eclipse

End of the Eclipse with a Moon Bow - Gunflint Lake, MN

Skijoring with Ellie

 

Ellie

I am training Ellie how to skijor.  Skijoring is a fun sport where a person is pulled on skis by one or more dogs.

The last dog I taught to skijor was a very determined chocolate lab named Rudy.  He loved skijoring more than just about anything else in this world, with the possible exceptions of human companionship, swimming, fetching, and treats.  If you mentioned skijoring any time of the year, he would start jumping up and down and barking.

Ellie on the other hand, is still deciding if she enjoys the sport.  Boxers aren't as eager to please as labs, so she is having more fun being outside, biting at the ends of the skis and leapfrogging down the trail.  Anyone who is experienced with boxers knows that they like to leap more than run.

In the last couple of weeks, we have made some definite progress.  She is pulling from time to time, and she has almost stopped biting at my skis and trying to grab the line behind her.  Yesterday, we made it to the end of the Amperage Run Ski Trail for the first time.  The temperature was a little below zero Fahrenheit, but we were both warm and happy.

I hope in time she is able to love skijoring as much as Rudy.  The first completion of that trail is a great start.

Ellie and me at the end of the Amperage Run Ski Trail.  As you can see, it was cold!

Happy Holidays!

I took this picture next to the Grand Marais Harbor (Minnesota) on Sunday.  The wind was such that the large waves made it into the harbor, and were spraying down the shrugs and trees along the shore.  This shrub was entirely encased in ice.
 

The bright light on top of the picture is the Grand Marais lighthouse.  In order to get a picture while it is illuminated, you have to wait 5 seconds between bursts of light.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Journey of Life

 

Life is about the journey.  It is like a ship crossing the Great Lakes.  Sometimes it is calm, beautiful sailing.  Other times, it is like a storm in which you don't know your next stage of existence or when it will find you.  It is a journey in which you may or may not know your destination, but you look forward to getting there.

Boundary Waters Fires and the Gunflint Trail

*Please note that this article is not updated regularly.  For up to date information, go to https://inciweb.nwcg.gov, https://www.wtip.org, https://www.boreal.org, and https://www.fs.usda.gov/superior.

 The Gunflint Trail is currently on high alert due to the numerous wildfires in the area.  Today is calm and relatively humid, which makes for slow fire growth.  However, we have had a lot of wind in recent weeks coupled with our extreme drought contributing to massive fire growth of the somewhat nearby Ontario fires, the distant Greenwood Fire, and the nearby (10 - 15 miles) John Ek Fire.  Other smaller fires are also present.

Due to the firefighting resources being stretched thin over the region (and nation), the Forest Service has made the unprecedented decision to close the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to all visitors.  This was a very difficult decision for them to make, but one which was necessary for the safety of everyone.  They are re-evaluating the closure frequently, and hope to have at least part of the Boundary Waters open again as soon as it is safe to do.  

All public lands from the west-end of Poplar Lake to the end of the Gunflint Trail have also been closed to recreation.  Every road is still open, and you can still recreate on private lands and lakes outside of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.  Resorts and private campgrounds remain open.  The Iron Lake and Trail's End Campgrounds have been temporarily closed.

Earlier this week, a Type 3 team came in to take over command of the John Ek and nearby fires.  Their incident command post is at GTVFD Hall 3 on Seagull Lake near the end of the Gunflint Trail.  A Type 1 team (highest level) has taken over command of the Greenwood Fire.  Due to the size of the fire, and the immediate threat to structures, the Greenwood Lake Fire has higher priority for resources.  There is not immediate threat to structures on the Gunflint Trail, but that could change soon.

The Cook County Sheriff's Department and the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department knocked on doors Monday evening from Loon Lake to the end of the Gunflint Trail informing residents and visitors of a pre-evacuation.  We told people to be ready to evacuated, but that we were not yet issuing an evacuation order.  After returning home, I starting gathering my irreplaceable things together, and getting my pets ready in case of evacuation.

The Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department has implemented two evacuations in my time on the department.  In 2006, we evacuated for the East Zone Complex Fires, and in 2007, we evacuated for the Ham Lake Fire.  No structures were lost in 2006, and roughly 147 structures were lost in the Ham Lake Fire of 2007.

We have some advantages this time, especially the time to do a pre-evacuation notice.  The Ham Lake Fire came in very fast, and was ignited close to the Gunflint Trail, so instead of "ready set go" we just had "go" for a significant part of the Gunflint Trail.  We are currently at "ready" and hope to stay at that level and soon return to normal functioning of the Gunflint Trail.  As we have been telling people, this is the time to prepare, and not panic.  

Residents are being told to run their sprinklers, but to be sure to leave at least one 50 lb. propane cylinder full, in case of the burn over.  It is recommended that you have two smaller tanks to run the pumps before the fire arrives. This makes the property significantly more resistant to fire.  While no property is fire proof, it will be a lot more likely to avoid damage if the plants are still green and full of moisture.  It also shows that the pump is functioning well.  If you have questions, it is a good idea to contact the company that installed your system.  In the event of an evacuation, you should start your pump before departing since the priority of firefighters is to get everyone out alive, then worry about structures.

Here are some pictures from the last week:

Smoke plume seen from Gunflint Lake High Cliffs on Monday.

Smoke plume from Gunflint Lake Lookout Point on Monday.

Smoke plume from Lookout Point on Monday.

Ellie on High Cliffs with smoke plume from John Ek fire in background.

Ellie on Gunflint Lake High Cliffs with smoke from Ontario fires in background.

Gunflint Trail Fire Department Hall 2 with smoke last night.

Gunflint Lake with smokey air and falling ashes yesterday around 7:00 PM.

Live on the Air!

 

View from Studio B

This past Thursday, June 3, 2021, I got to do a live show for the first time in over a year!  My Thirsty Boots show was the second volunteer hosted show to be hosted live since March 2020.  In the intervening time, many of the hosts have been recording shows at home, and sending them in.  Sterling took the shows and put them on the air, while a few dedicated staff would come on every hour to do the weather and station identification.

Some advantages of recording at home are being able to edit, and being able to hear my shows over the radio.  Both those things have made me a better radio host, since I was able to critique my shows once while doing the recording, and once while listening to the show.  When broadcasting live, I can hear my show over the headphones, but it is not the same as hearing it coming out of the radio.

There are many advantages of broadcasting live.  Biggest on the list is the extra energy I feel going live over the air.  There is a little more pressure to get everything done in a smooth and timely manner when the biggest (and often times only) mistake that listeners will notice is dead air.

I missed the music library at the station.  While I had plenty of music for Classic County, Thirsty Boots, and the various mix shows, I do not have a huge polka collection at home.  It is quite difficult to find Polka Music in the form of CDs, so it felt like each show was very similar to the others.  When I do my first Polka Show on the third Sunday of the month, I look forward to playing some music I have not been able to play for over a year.

Another advantage of live broadcasts is the full board.  It gives me a lot more capability than recording a show on a computer.  I’m still able to most of the same things, but it is a lot easier on the board.

Sterling met me well before last week’s Thirsty Boots to go over the board and computers.  Since I had hosted shows for eleven years before the pandemic, it all came back quickly.  The only changes were the individual microphone cover (pictured above), the plexiglass shield between the microphones, some new cleaning procedures, and the change in position of the Enco computer, which puts out the programming when no one is at the station.

I had plenty of time to practice with the board, and reorient myself to everything in the station before my show began.  Sterling was nice enough to stay around until my show started to make sure everything went smoothly.

It was wonderful to be welcomed back into the WTIP studios.  Sterling did a great job making sure I was comfortable with the operations again.  Jana, who has done an amazing job sending me my underwriters throughout the pandemic, left a nice welcome back note on the underwriters list too.

Broadcasting live out the WTIP studio again was like returning home.  I hope I’m able to continue to broadcast from that station for many more years.