Boating on the St. Croix River

Here it is half of August gone and I've not posted.  It seems that if I have no pictures to post, I don't bother to blog at all. Probably because I don't have anything to say, but, oh well.

Last weekend we went boating on the St. Croix River--our first time ever. Unlike the Mississippi, the St. Croix is very clean and doesn't seem to have suffered from the same drought conditions that the Mississippi has.  Not sure why, it's just so.  The boats on the St. Croix are yacht like and house boat size.  They park on the along the little islands where their inhabitants play all day.  Here are some photos.  I wanted to try out the oil filter on the new upgrade, Photoshop CS6.  In addition, I used Topaz Simplify and Topaz Adjust.

Paddle Boats getting ready to tour the river.

Big boats!

Wish I lived there!

Bayfield, Wisconsin Fishing Boat

Time to get back to watercolors.  This is a fishing boat we saw in Bayfield, Wisconsin. A sweet little coastal town right on Lake Superior.  You can take the ferry over to Madeleine Island, which is where all the rich people go--similar to the Hamptons.  Anyway, here's the result.

Have a wonderful, peaceful evening.

More Photos Opportunities from Upper Peninsula

Before we actually made it to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan last week, we made our first stop in Duluth, MN.  For those not familiar with Duluth, it's a mining port town on Lake Superior.  Hugh ships frequent the port taking out taconite.  Although there were no large ships in port the day we were there, I did take a few picks of the lighthouses.

Lighthouses guarding the canal.

The ships coming through are very foreboding. But, the canal also serves all the smaller crafts, sail boats and even kayakers. 

This was, I believe, an old fish processing building that has seen better days.  It's now used by adventurous swimmers who like to dive off.

Traveling onto Bayfield, Wisconsin, we stopped at a State Park where kayaks, boaters reach the Apostle Islands.  This is an old fish processing house as well.  It's now set up as a museum.

Bayfield is a quaint town with small shops and restaurants.  There is a ferry that takes cars over to Madeleine Island, kind of like the Hamptons, only in Wisconsin.

A 55 foot sailboat in the marina.  Good grief.

Lot's of old boats sitting around.  Not sure what the plan is for them.  Maybe restoration?  Don't know.

Have a great day.