Making a Splash

 

While I’ve lived in Minnesota for most of my life, I spent my first 10 years in Iowa. About once or twice a year, I head back to visit extended family. When those visits happen in the summer, I’m quickly reminded just how hot Iowa can be. Minnesota gets plenty of hot days of its own, but these days I don’t enjoy the heat nearly as much as I once did. Fortunately, if there’s one place to spend a hot summer day, it’s on the North Shore. With so many lakes and rivers nearby, cooling off is never difficult. That brings us to our water issue.

Let’s start Along the Shore, where Anne Graybeal introduces us to Siri Anderson, owner of Sail the North Shore, which offers private sailing excursions on Lake Superior out of Grand Marais. Victoria Lynn Smith writes about the Lake Superior Estuarium, a small but mighty natural history museum in Superior that works to educate the public about the St. Louis River Estuary. Michelle Johnson brings us to Red Rock, Ontario, for the Live from the Rock Folk Festival and Paju Mountain Run. Held on the shores of Lake Superior, the event offers more than music—people bring kayaks, canoes, and SUP boards, heading out onto Nipigon Bay between sets.

Moving into our first feature story, Kalli Hawkins covers the history and enduring legacy of the Gunflint Trail Canoe Races. This year’s races will take place Wednesday, July 15, at 4 p.m. at Gunflint Lodge and are open to both participants and spectators.

One benefit of a hot summer is wild blueberries. In the second feature story, Dana Johnson covers three blueberry-themed events this summer: the Ely Blueberry Art Festival, Nipigon’s Blueberry Blast Festival, and the Gunflint Trail’s Biggest Blueberry Contest. Did you know our local forests are home to two species of wild blueberry? I didn’t.

Speaking of food, North Shore Dish columnist Virginia George covers a couple of frozen yogurt locations while also discussing the differences among frozen dairy desserts, ice cream, and frozen yogurt.

Back on the water, Northern Trails columnist Gord Ellis helps us choose the right tackle for chasing brook trout in the Nipigon system: the Nipigon River, Lake Nipigon, and Nipigon Bay on Lake Superior. Strange Tales columnist Elle Andra-Warner helps us decode fish names. Did you know brook trout are also commonly known as speckled trout? And that walleye are often called pickerel in Canada, though the two are different species?

Summer is in full swing, but it won’t last long. Soon the kids will be back in school and my daughter will turn two. Time certainly flies, so let’s make the most of it.—Breana Johnson