Split Rock Lighthouse Weblog

We have received several calls from folks who are travelling north and are wondering about accessibility to the North Shore. Interstate 35 is completely open. Heading north on Hwy 61 there is a detour around Knife River. Trails are pretty chewed up but are accessible at SRL. I would encourage you to check out your travel route as you head north and give yourself plenty of time. You can always call 511, MNDOT travel information. The flood warning remains in effect until 4:30 today, Friday, June 22nd.

http://www.weather.com/weather/alerts/localalerts/55616?phenomena=FA&significance=W&areaid=MNC075&office=KDLH&etn=0011

http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/

Safe travels to all and please remember that even though rivers, streams and creeks are receding that the water can still be dangerous after so much rainfall.

We are trained as Historic Site Interpreters, to know the vast history of Split Rock Lighthouse station; however at times we find ourselves a “Jack of all trades”, like the Keepers before us. We each bring with us unique talents spanning the geography, phenology, entomology, hydrology, meteorology, ethology and ornithology (to name a few) of the area.

Recently, our talents at ornithology were tested when a hummingbird found its way into the Fog Signal building and could not figure the way out. After several hours of frantic flying and no food the little one eventually succumbed to her exhaustion and was captured.

She was extremely lethargic, in almost a torpor state, and had cobwebs wound between her wing and foot, holding  them tightly together.  First, was getting some sugar water to try and re-hydrate the wee bird. Next, was slowly and gently getting the cobwebs off her wing and unwound from her foot.  She was finally free of cobwebs but still not very responsive. She was cupped in hands to keep warm; the temperature had dropped.  What next? Well, after a few minutes of having a wing and foot free and taking in a little bit of sugar water and warming up, the humming bird began to perk up.  She actually stuck her beak out between my fingers. Upon opening my hand the hummingbird took flight into the birch near the feeder.  They are nothing if not resilient creatures.

We are not sure if the little hummingbird is among the throngs coming to the feeder, but we would like to believe that with a little human intervention she is doing well.

Split Rock Lighthouse Museum Store and the Duluth Pack Store have teamed up and now an assortment of  locally made Duluth Pack bags are available with a Split Rock Lighthouse logo leather patch.  Available for purchase are Daypacks, Shell Bags, Haversack, Market Totes and Wanderer (the pack chosen by NBC to be featured in Love in the Wild, a TV reality show).  We also have the ability to special order any of the Duluth Pack items with the Split Rock patch on.

This may have been a poor winter on the North Shore for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing but it has been a good winter for watching the full moon.  Each year, between November and March, photographers line up on the shoreline of Lake Superior in the state park to catch the full moonrise lined up behind Split Rock Lighthouse.
 
With the lack of snow and the unseasonably warm temperatures this winter more people than ever have set up tripods at sunset to catch the moon rising out of the lake right off of the lighthouse cliff.  Last night I spent about an hour on the rocky shoreline with a half a dozen or so shutterbugs who came equiped with an amazing array of equipment.  I snapped a few shots then mainly got out of the way.  Some of these people are very serious and focused on the sole mission of capturing “the” shot.  It was like watching a choreographed dance as the group scampered with tripods across the icy rocks to try to rearrange their equipment to keep up with the rising moon and to keep it in line with the distant lighthouse and cliff. 
I seems that there is (or should be) an unspoken photographer’s etiquette, or maybe it’s just a gentleman’s agreement, that implies that a photographer not set up their tripod and camera directly between the subject and cameras already shooting the same scene. 
Anyway, it ended up being more fun capturing the activity in front of and behind me along the shore. 
The moon will be there once a month, but then again so will the shutterbugs.

Just added to the museum store! This great new poster depicting the lighthouse “icon brand”. (available at the online store too!)   Split Rock = the lighthouse, trees, waves, highway 61.  Romance and nature, captured in a poster.

22 X 28 poster that fits standard size frames!