Savoring A Northern Summer

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Sure, if you live in some place like Florida or Arizona, you get snow-free ground and coat-free weather all year, but you may not appreciate summer like we do. For us Up North folk, the carefree days of summer spark something magical for a few shovel-free months. Fishing, swimming, paddling, picnicking on a chosen inland lake or by our Inland Sea … everyone has a favorite activity in which to indulge. We asked a few photographers to send a summer photo showing how they love to savor the season. We hope you’ll enjoy them, too … and save this issue for mid-February when you need a little open sky with sunshine, green hills and blue waters to cheer you, like this lazy day photographed by James Smedley of Wawa, Ontario, who says: “I’ve got lots of summer shots I love, but this is my favorite, taken at Whitefish Lake East of Wawa, because it reminds me of relaxing out at the camp.”

For many people, like Lisa Murphy, casting a line into Lake Superior is a seasonal highlight. Layne Kennedy took this photo of the veteran angler and a director of Minnesota Steelheader, during a Women on the Fly clinic at Lutsen, where she was casting at the mouth of the Poplar River.

Summertime is canoe time for Paul Sundberg, who says of this shot in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness: “That was a beautiful sunny day. We went into the old abandoned gold mine off of Kelly Lake.” The girl in the middle, Jessie, loved canoeing in and out of the old shaft, he adds.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan is astounding in every season, but, says photographer Shawn Malone, “Pictured Rocks take on such an intense state when you can get in a kayak and touch the cliffs – brilliant summer light sets the cliffs blazing with color.”

Mike Shaw got a surprise lesson about his wife’s Minnesota childhood on this summer day: “She and her sister would hold marathon handstand contests in the lake. On this day, she and I had been out for a jog in Duluth’s Lester Park, and we decided to cool off with a refreshing dip in Lake Superior at nearby Brighton Beach. Next thing I knew she was upside down in a handstand!”

Photographer Michael DeWitt calls this Wisconsin Apostle Islands National Lakeshore photo “Bliss.” He discovered a sand spit this summer while visiting Outer Island. “An amazing pool was carved into the spit by the October 2017 gale. In all the years I’ve been exploring the Apostles, I’ve only seen something like this on Outer one other time, and it came nowhere near matching this.”

For Todd Maertz, summer in Marquette means enjoying the water. “The reason I like this photo so much is that it has many layers. Besides the obvious one of kids enjoying themselves on a hot summer day, to me it goes much deeper. They are jumping off the Black Rocks at Presque Isle Park. This is one of the most beautiful places in the U.P. and jumping off these rocks is almost a right of passage for a young Yooper. The summer season in the North is a very short one, so people seem to embrace the hot days more than the southern Michiganders. All of that is what swirls in my head when I see this photo. It actually makes me smile every time I see it.”

Christmas brings photographer Laura Maynard her most loved summer shot – Christmas, Michigan, that is. “This place is rightfully nicknamed ‘Paradise,’ and it is my favorite shot because it was such a serene moment in such a beautiful place.”

“This is my south shore favorite,” says Mike Mikulich. “It is Siskiwit Falls just outside of Cornucopia, Wisconsin. Besides being visually appealing, the falls provide a soothing sound of the water flowing over the rocks on its way to Lake Superior.” There are multiple Wisconsin falls on Mike’s “favorites” list for all seasons, including Amnicon Falls in the state park by the same name and Big Manitou Falls in Pattison State Park. Both are not far from Superior.

Cynthia Fleury loves this shot taken on Minnesota’s North Shore on a beach-lovers summer day. “From an overlook bridge, I spotted several people enjoying the warm afternoon sun on the sandbar at Tettegouche State Park. I love the blue water and sky; it’s difficult to tell where the water ends and the sky starts.”