A Family Affair

This particular day, we were itching to get out of the house and so were the girls. We forget sometimes that the furry little ones go stir crazy in the winter as well when they can’t go outside to chase “Chippy” or “Bun-Bun”. They will often sit on the bed and look out the window searching the woods for four-legged vermin.   As we were packing the car with the camera gear, the girls were bouncing off the walls. Take me, Take me, TAKE ME!

With their cute little faces, they win every time. We decided to travel around close to home and drove into the Hay Creek area; a small town just south of Red Wing on Hwy 58.   A campground, an old western saloon, the Goodhue Pioneer State Trail, Hay Creek Stables, 15 miles of equestrian trails, and a blue ribbon trout stream. The beautiful valley’s that make up the Hay Creek day-use area is beautiful in every season.

After photographing some enthralling horses in the Hay Creek area, we then moved on to Bay City Wisconsin; a small town east of Red Wing on the shores of Lake Pepin. If ever in the area, I highly recommend stopping in for a bite to eat at “The Chef Shack” a delightful restaurant with the best service ever and mouth-watering food! We decided to drive out onto Lake Pepin (that felt weird) to gain a different perspective of the landscape. Maneuvering around the ice heaves and listening to the ice crack was unnerving and we didn’t travel too far onto the frozen lake… Call me chicken 🙂

All in all, the Traun Family enjoyed our time together.  Please enjoy the images from this little, close-to-home adventure.

 

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Mighty Mississippi and Red Wing, MN

The surrounding area of beautiful Red Wing, MN entices you with its rolling hills, river valleys, quaint trout streams, green pastures, bountiful farmland, and plenty of wildlife.  Enough so, Dan and I could set out daily to photograph its wonder.

A plethora of activities await you year round in the Minnesota bluff country.  Skiing or snowshoeing in the Winter, and hiking, biking , or water sports that fill the rest of the year.  The trails are plentiful and will guarantee a peaceful outdoor experience.   One of my favorite hiking areas is Barns Bluff.  When the top is reached, you have a breathtaking view of Red Wing and the surrounding area.

It is always a site to see the riverboats come to town.  The particular images found in this post are images of the majestic American Queen.  Built in 1995, The American Queen is said to be the largest river steamboat ever built.  To watch her move upon the mighty Mississippi is awe-inspiring.

If ever in the area, take time to stroll through these small river towns that reside along the Mississippi banks of Southeastern Minnesota/Southwestern Wisconsin; you will be pleasantly surprised and quite taken aback by their beauty.

Red Wing, MN and the American Queen

American Queen sunrise

Red Wing boat houses

Red Wing boat houses

Mississippi backwaters

Memorial Bluff

Resting Swans in the Mississippi backwaters

A Hometown Affair

A group of photographers from the Red Wing Photography Club met up on this beautiful sunshiny day back in June of last year in Red Wing, MN with the sole intention of photographing the city and all of it’s beauty.   Venturing out with a group of photographers can be interesting and an outing that you can learn from.   How does your shooting buddy see the world behind that trusty camera– Different no doubt.  The goal of it all is to gain different perspectives on how other photographers not only view the world and how they wish to portray its beauty, but it is also wonderful to see how they work and how you can learn from them.  On this particular day, we met at the local Farmers Market where you can find vendors selling fresh canned fruit, fresh vegetables right from the garden, fresh baked bread (yummy), flower arrangements, plus much, much, more. We spent a couple of hours touring the city that we have all seen a thousand times.  You know- Those roads that we all travel on as we make our way to work or play, it is those streets that we take for granted at times.  I would have to say that I love living in the Mississippi Valley and Southeastern MN Bluff country.  Coming down into the quaint town of Red Wing from the North on Hwy 61 is always an amazing site for me and never gets old.

We had a fun and productive day walking the alleys and photographing the local businesses – trying to view the streets of Red Wing, MN  in a different way and taking off those “took for granted” sunglasses.

Sit back and enjoy the views you might have overlooked in Red Wing, MN.

Red Wing, MN Train Depot

Gernentz Auto Service

Gernentz Auto Service

A simple greeting

A great day for a dog to take its owner for a walk

The old and the new

A roadtrip and a fish… or what ever that was

We awoke to find the atmosphere was thick with fog again on that early March morning.  The fog or mist can emphasize depth, light, shapes, silhouettes and I love the way the water droplets scatter light.  The morning brought us to Frontenac, MN a small rural town located on the mighty Mississippi just southeast of Red Wing, MN.  Frontenac State Park was our first stop, the park is known as a birdwatchers’ paradise and is one of the best spots in the country to view birds migrating in the spring and fall.  If you travel this way, take a nature walk on one of the parks great hiking trails and enjoy the beautiful valley views.

Close by the state park is a small public boat launch located in the historic village of Old Frontenac.  A walk along that beach is usually calming but your heart rate can increase when you car chased by some kind of large, dead fish on a stick by someone who will remain nameless… Dan 🙂

After Dan had his fun with the what ever that was on a stick, we packed up our camera gear and headed back on the road.  Sometimes we don’t use our GPS and end up near a city that we weren’t intending to visit on that day.  I think that is the fun of it all- traveling on back-roads leading to… well, we find out.  Passing many photo opportunities along the way, you never know what a day spent traveling on unfamiliar roads will bring.