North Shore beauty

  It happens every autumn. The first rush of dry, cool air stirs up thoughts of fall colors and a trip to the North Shore. My girlfriend Deb and I were there this past weekend, enjoying perfect weather and the full spectrum of fall colors.  

  On our hike up to White Sky Rock, north of Lutsen, we saw this bright display:

  A few miles southwest of White Sky Rock, the popular Oberg Mountain hiking trail provided many beautiful sights:

 

                     (You can left-click on any of these photos for a larger view)

  It's just a short drive up Highway 61 from Lutsen to the beautiful town of Grand Marais. The photo below shows the entrance to Grand Marais harbor. The Sawtooth Mountains, including Oberg Mountain, can be seen in the distance:

   It was a fun trip…we’ll be back!

   I’m on Twitter: @RonTrenda and LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rontrenda

  

Return to August

  It’s felt like September lately. Even though our Twin Cities temperature has been below average on 11 of the past 12 days, I’m not hearing many complaints. We’ve had lots of sunshine, and you don’t have to run your air-conditioner or your furnace when high temperatures are in the 70s.

  I’m expecting highs in the 80s the rest of this week. That’ll help our average monthly temperature rebound a bit. So far this August, we’re running 1.8 degrees below normal in the Twin Cities.

  Do you like fall colors? Some early signs of autumn have already been spotted. Here’s a photo taken Sunday near Park Rapids:

  I’m on Twitter: @RonTrenda and LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rontrenda