A Special Day in a lot of Ways

Wednesday July 16, 2014
Bear Paw Campground
Itasca State Park, Minnesota

 

 

Today is a special day in our family.

 

 

 

July 16 is Matthew’s birthday.  He is Carrie’s fiancé and is 33 years old today!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTHEW!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 16 is also the day David had his stem cell transplant in 2012.  This is his second anniversary of that difficult procedure and we celebrate that his Multiple Myeloma is still under control.

We are all hoping for many many more of both of these anniversaries to celebrate.

 

 

 

 

 

And this year on this day we really get a celebration.  Take a look at this.

 

 

 

Today is also our last day here at Itasca State Park.  It has been a wonderful visit and we are going to round it out with a paddle on Elk Lake which we both personally think is actually the real headwaters of the Mississippi.

You can imagine the smile on my face when this was the first sign I saw as we parked the car.

 

Off come the boats and into the water we go.  Very nice simple boat launch.  Just the kind we like.  And oh what a glorious day.   The temperature is perfect, the clouds are exquisite, the water is wonderful. 

 

 

 

The lake edges close to the boat ramp are lined with tall reeds and the dragon flies are all over them. They zoom back and forth and all around me as I paddle along the reeds.   I can actually hear them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just look at this day!

 

 

 

 

 

It’s Chamber’s Creek flowing into Lake Itasca.  Could this really be the beginning of the Mississippi River???  Controversy, controversy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh Boy!

 

We are paddling along around the lake when David spots the first loon.   Whoohoo!

He’s way out on the lake.  But that’s OK I take off paddling in his direction.    He’s dipping and diving.  Look at the water droplets in the second picture.

I paddle when he’s down and coast when he comes back up.  He can really swim under water.  When he goes down I never know where he will come back up and sometimes it is a long time and a long way from where I saw him go down.  

Time is suspended as I just paddle and drift and watch them.  I count 3.  What a great day.  Loon nesting area is right.   LOVE IT.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then guess who?

 

After a while I leave them and head over to the nearest shore.  And then, something BIG flies in right in front of me and I grab my binoculars to see who it is and where he’s going.

 

 

Two very different looks.

He twists his head around looking in all directions. Wow can you imagine being able to do that? Twist your head around and look behind you. I am doing tons of shots of him as I drift closer and closer to the tree he is in. Of course when I get too close I will be looking straight up and won’t be able to see him but he takes to the air before that happens and I catch him in flight.

 

 

 

 

I am so excited. I follow him until he is only a shape in the sky.

 

 

 

 

 

The colors are fantastic!

 

David is still coming around the lake and gets to where I am after the eagle has gone although he says he saw him fly.   When he arrives I am watching a group of Aphrodite Fritillaries on a swamp milkweed flower.  They are sharing pretty well although every once in a while one flies off and he has a hard time getting a spot back on when he returns.  The color combination of the flower and the butterflies is striking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The reflections in the water make me feel like I’m paddling in a painting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is just too much, twice???

 

Are there two eagles or did he just fly back in and land in another tree on the other side of the lake where we too have come?  He really is so majestic looking even if he is a thief.  <grin>.  He’s not very popular in the osprey circles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are about 3/4 of the way around the lake when David points along the shoreline.  At first I don’t see what he sees and then I do.   She raises up her head from eating grass.  We don’t make a move.  She puts her head down.  David moves in closer.  I’ve got a better zoom so I stay out.  She’s cautious   We watch.    Elk Lake on this day has just been a fabulous place.

 

 

 

 

 

It just can’t get any better than this, can it?  

 

Well yes it can.  They have been calling and hooting on and off all afternoon.  Now they are playing together and I’m close enough to see it. How lucky am I!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wish I could just stay here until the sun sets.

We’ve been out here now over 3 hours I could stay forever.   But  we have a long drive tomorrow and some pre packing up to do so reluctantly I have to paddle back to shore and call it a day. 

There is just no way to express what a glorious time we had on this day on this lake all by ourselves with only the loons and the eagles, the deer and the dragonflies, the flowers and the butterflies.

 

 

 

Itasca State Park has been a wonderful place to spend 9 days and I wish I had planned even more but I had to make reservations at Rocky Mountain National Park in order to be able to have a spot there and that’s many miles away from here.    But you can betcha that I’ll be back in Itasca and stay longer.

 

 

I say my good byes at sunset.  We’ll be leaving first thing in the morning. 

A mallard family is just off shore having a sunset dinner.   I don’t suppose they are the same ones who were over on the mini Mississippi yesterday but it could be since it’s all one big lake with two arms,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are in Minnesota, don’t miss Itasca.