Ideas for places to visit in the Midwest
The Minocqua – Kawaguesaga Lakes are dotted with these scenic boathouses. You can take a short walk to see this one. From downtown Minocqua follow the bearskin Trail across the the first two trestles. After the second trestle, continue another one hundred feet and look to your right. Continue walking to enjoy the scenic marshes and their resident beavers, chipmunks and eagles.
https://greatrivers.smugmug.com/Galleries/Northwoods/i-jFMSV9C/A
Highway 51 intermittently runs though the central United States from New Orleans to Lake Superior. An old highway that has been mostly replaced by the interstate highway system. That is, until it becomes the main thoroughfare after it passes through Wausau, Wisconsin. Then it passes through the cranberry bogs and then through northern Wisconsin forests. The forests become intermittent lakes and rivers creating the scenery of the great Northwoods. In fall you are treated to scenes like this between Minocqua and Manitowish Waters.
Across Lake Minocqua from the Thirsty Whale lies the Beacons, a resort and timeshare property that was once the summer home of Fred. B. Snite, Jr. The Beacons’ distinctive lighthouse-style boathouse was built in 1908.
This is one of many classic boathouses in the area. Many can be seen from the Highway 51 bridge or a walk along the bearskin trail will give a nice view. However, a boat is by far the best way to experience this scenic lake.
You can click on the photo above to get into my gallery with photos of many of the boathouses in the area or click here: https://greatrivers.smugmug.com/Galleries/Boathouses/ to go directly into gallery.
Driving on the back roads of Northern Wisconsin I found a place to pull over. Following a trail to the water there was this small beach with these canoes.
This is an interesting area to explore with hidden areas like this, scenic structures and wonderful small towns.
Fall is setting in on the Northwoods, the road to Star Lake in the the Sayner-Star Lake area shows bright colors. This road stretched from Sayner to Boulder Junction and winds through scenic lakes and woods. Boulder Junction is full of art galleries and is famous for its white deer.
This is a great area to see fall colors, scenic roads secluded lakes.
Full moon rising on Lake Michigan in Door County.
Click on the photo to see full size.
In Wisconsin’s Northwoods you will find a large number of Eagles along the rivers and lakes. They like to take over dead trees along bodies of water so they can watch for fish. Once they find their prey they will screech, dive into the water and come up with a fish. These are what I call eagle trees, dead trees with good view of the water and this photo is a great example of one!
This particular tree is on Fishtrap Lake near Boulder Junction, Wisconsin. I can always count on getting an eagle photo here. Another place I can count on finding eagles is behind the Point Hotel & Suites on Lake Minocqua.
There is always something interesting to find in Door County. This is the Hardy Gallery an art gallery on Eagle Bay located in an old boathouse displaying various types of art. To make things more interesting, the building is covered with graffiti (mostly peoples names). After viewing art, you can walk around the building and enjoy the scenery and the names on the building.
https://greatrivers.smugmug.com/Galleries/Northwoods/i-BKNPS2x/A
Here is one more view of Bond Falls in Michigan’s UP. This is the final spectacular drop of the river after a number of minor falls. You can see these upper falls here. I like this scene because of the nice clouds and the contrast between the wispy water and the trees. You can also see on the left that there are heavier clouds moving in on the area.
This is an area about an hour away from a place where I have been vacationing for over 65 years. I never heard of the falls and found them for looking at other photographers photos.
I used a tripod and a darkened filter to get this photo. The f stop was set to about 18 and the dark filter kept the lens open longer than normal giving water that white mist. I also took three photos at different exposures to capture light and dark areas.
St. Louis’ Gateway Arch is a 630-foot monument in St. Louis, Missouri. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary arch, it is the world’s tallest arch, the tallest man-made monument in the Western Hemisphere, and Missouri’s tallest accessible building.
The Arch gives St. Louis a stunning cityscape and is something to see up close. If you have not been to the St. Louis riverfront to see it be sure to visit sometime. You can ride to the top too!
Great Rivers Imaging 