December 1st, 2009 | by Andy | published in BWCAW, Environment, Voyageurs
Some day, our children will enjoy clear, haze-free views of the Boundary Waters.. Or at least their kids might?
Per the Clean Air Act, state and federal agencies are beginning the first steps in reducing air pollutants which, specifically in Minnesota, cause hazy skies over the Boundary Waters at least 20% of the time.
While cleanup [...]
September 24th, 2009 | by Andy | published in History, Nature, Outdoor Living, Voyageurs, Wildlife
SPOILER ALERT: You won’t see Voyageurs National Park in Ken Burns’ new documentary. Or the St. Croix Scenic Riverway. Or any of the other worthy NPS sites in Minnesota. You can, however, be one of the first to catch them all tonight, at a special screening of Minnesota’s National Park Legacy.
Fitting that it’s premiering [...]
September 10th, 2009 | by Andy | published in Voyageurs
From big views of Voyageurs, we go to really small ones: The scenery of Voyageurs National Park is to be featured on quarters from the U.S. Mint.
The “America the Beautiful Quarters Program” will feature 56 national parks and sites from every state, on the tails side of the coin. But don’t hold your breath; the [...]
August 20th, 2009 | by Andy | published in Flim, Outdoor Living, Voyageurs
2009 has been a notable year for our national parks: They’ve drawn big numbers with their ‘free’ weekends, gotten loads of PR from a vacationing President Obama, and now a documentary series produced by Ken Burns.
The National Parks: America’s Best Idea airs September 27th on PBS. Sounds like we can expect the same depth and [...]
July 22nd, 2009 | by Andy | published in BWCAW, Canoeing, History, Voyageurs
The past three months of Erik Simula’s story have been set in his homemade birch bark canoe, circumnavigating Minnesota’s Arrowhead Region. Now, as his journey towards Grand Portage brings him at last through the BWCA, it’s easy to see how interwoven Simula’s history is with that of his stomping grounds.
July 1st, 2009 | by Andy | published in Canoeing, Voyageurs
What chance does a birch bark canoe stand against the motorboats, float planes and big waves of Voyageurs National Park?
Well, solo canoeist extraordinaire Erik Simula has lived to blog about it. We’ve been following this canoe builder/ranger/musher/wilderness guide since April, when he set out to circumnavigate Minnesota’s Arrowhead Region. Sounds lovely, but don’t be fooled [...]
June 5th, 2009 | by Andy | published in Art, Camping, Environment, Hiking, Resources, Voyageurs, Wildlife
This week, President Obama proclaimed June “Great Outdoors Month,” and with good reason. There’s a slew of celebrations during the month, including National Trails Day, National Fishing and Boating Week, National Get Outdoors Day, and the Great American Backyard Campout.
But before you start Googling all those, check out our list of Five Free Things offered [...]
May 27th, 2009 | by Andy | published in Voyageurs, Wildlife
Count yourself lucky if you happen to spy eagles fighting for dominance. But if you chance upon an all-out air/sea battle like this — and have your camera handy — count yourself Voyageurs National Park staffer Ed Lombard.
We recently saw these photos in an Outdoor Expo presentation by Chris Holbeck, Conservation Planner at Voyageurs’. While [...]
February 19th, 2009 | by Andy | published in Voyageurs
International Falls always gets special mention from Al Rokers far and wide, for its record low temps. This November though, the Minnesota city known as “The Nation’s Icebox” will soon be on your idiot box.
A pair of Weather Channel producers recently spent time there interviewing residents and sampling the ice fishing culture (wow, that’s original.) [...]
September 26th, 2008 | by Andy | published in Voyageurs
Don’t feel badly you missed the fact that tomorrow is National Public Lands Day. Or even that you have no idea what that is — I sure didn’t. But apparently it’s momentous enough an occasion for the NPS to waive all National Parks entrance fees for the weekend. The lakes of Minnesota’s own Voyageurs National Park see [...]
June 18th, 2008 | by Andy | published in BWCAW, Environment, North Shore, Voyageurs, Wildlife
Recent heavy rains have caused flooded basements and washed out roadways, making things rather difficult (if not disastrous) for human-types in far Northern Minnesota. So, how are the wood-folk handling the high waters?
This article details which fish and wildlife species are struggling, and which may serve to actually benefit from the changes. Most of those [...]
March 4th, 2008 | by Andy | published in Camping, Canoeing, Voyageurs
Voyageurs has announced it will be developing 73 new campsites in addition to its 233 current sites. Increased camper traffic and the changing needs of both paddlers and houseboaters, spurred a committee to spend a couple of years to evaluate if, when and where to develop.
The prospect of fewer trees and more footprints feels unavoidably [...]