Ideas for places to visit in the Midwest
Mallards are very common in Missouri and can be found in most local lakes and ponds. The St. Louis area is a major flyway as these birds migrate along the Missippi River moving from Canada in the summer to winter in the southern United States and Mexico.
The boahouses on the Minocqua lakes, including Kawaguesaga, make this scenic area worth a visit. The best way to see everything is by boat. Lakes include Minocqua, Kawaguesaga, Mid Lake, and Tomahawk.
Click here for more Lake Minocqua photos. Click here to see the interesting Lake Minocqua boathouses. Click on the photo for more inforation.
The trestle was once the way trains crossed Lake Minocqua into the Island City of Minocqua, Wisconsin. This trestle frames the entry way in to Lake Kawaguesaga from Lake Minocqua. Today it is part of the Bearskin State Hiking & Biking Trail.
Kawaguesaga Lake is a freshwater lake located in the northern region of Wisconsin. It is situated in Oneida County just west of the city of Minocqua.
The lake covers an area of approximately 700 acres (2.8 square km) and has a maximum depth of 44 feet (13.5 m). This moderately clear lake is a popular destination for boating, fishing, and swimming, as well as other water-based recreational activities. The lake is home to a variety of fish species, including musky, walleye, northern pike, largemouth and smallmouth bass, and panfish. Other wildlife include eagles and loons.
Click here for more Lake Minocqua photos. Click here to see the interesting Lake Minocqua boathouses. Click on the photo for more inforation.
A side trip from Wisconsin’s Northwoods, brings us to Bond Falls in Michigan’s UP (Upper Peninsula). Bond falls is a tiered flowage that starts out as a set of minor falls ending in this stunning drop.
This scenic waterfall is created by the middle branch of the Ontonagon river as it tumbles over a thick belt of fractured rock, dividing it into numerous small cascades. An accessible boardwalk with six viewing locations, roadside parking and picnic tables are available.
Bond Falls can be found just outside of Paulding, Michigan (home of the mysterious Paulding Lights). The best way to get there is to take Highway 45 out of Eagle River, WI. This is a remote area but worth the visit.
Photographers should take a Neutral Desnity filter and a tripod.
Click here to photos of Wisconsin’s Northwoods. Click on the photo for specs on the photo and a map (click the little “i”.
Here is a view of sunrise on Lake Minocqua. A very calm lake and clear sky outline the boathouse on the right. Lake Minocqua is ringed by these scenic boathouses making it intesting to cruise the lake just to see the architecture. To see some of the boathouses click here. To see more of my photos of the Northwoods area click here. Click on the photo for more information.
I was hoping to get some great Eagle photos in Wisconsin’s Northwoods but the Eagles and Loons had already migrated towards the south. I wonder if the early flight is the possibility ove a very cold winter up there.
Just before I left for the Northern Wisconsin, I was at the World Bird Sanctuary and was able to get this nice portrait of one of their residents. However, if you scroll down on this blog, you will find photos of Eagles in Oneida County, the home of hundreds of Eagle nests.
I do not have any of these around my house in St. Louis so when in Northern Wisconsin I find them fun to watch. Chipmunks seem to be the alternative to squirrels in the area. There was a place called Little Swiss Village with a miniature village where chipmunks untie peanuts strung on a cord, much to the amusement of diners and when I was staying in an old log cabin, you could hear them run back and forth in the ceiling. I am sure the owner was not too pleased about how they were getting in and out of the house…
I found this gull on a fence post overlooking Lake Minocqua. I think he was posing for the tourists or at least was witing for some food to be tossed he way. He did not mind me getting close or moving around.
This may be a Caspian Gull, which is rare in this area.
Click here of more photos of the area. Click on the photo for more information.
Ed Dickens is the manager of heritage operations and senior engineer for the Union Pacific Railroad’s Big Boy steam locomotive, also known as Locomotive 4014. Dickens is a key figure in the revival of the Big Boy and is considered a rockstar by train fans
Big Boy No. 4014 departed on the “Heartland of America Tour” on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024 from Cheyenne, Wyoming, and traveled across nine states: Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. Here it is pulling into the station in De Soto, Missouri.
The Union Pacific Big Boy is a type of simple articulated 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive manufactured by the American Locomotive Company between 1941 and 1944 and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad in revenue service until 1962. Big Boy No. 4014 was delivered to Union Pacific in December 1941. The locomotive was retired in December 1961, having traveled 1,031,205 miles in its 20 years in service. Union Pacific reacquired No. 4014 from the RailGiants Museum in Pomona, California, in 2013, and relocated it back to Cheyenne to begin a multi-year restoration process. It returned to service in May 2019 to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad’s Completion.
Click on the photo for more information. Click here of more photos.
Great Rivers Imaging 