The Horton Covered Bridge over the Amnicon River lower falls in northern Wisconsin.
Lured by free entrance to Wisconsin State Parks during the pandemic and a sunny day, Russ, Buddy and I meandered down to Amnicon State Park to see the surging waters and feel the power of spring.
We weren’t the only ones. Many others had the same idea, and almost all of them brought their dogs, too! However, everyone was careful to keep the six-foot distance rule while hiking and enjoying the view.
The Amnicon River did not disappoint. Standing so close to such power is a reminder of forces we have no control over, and that nature does just fine without us.
Upper Falls, Amnicon River State Park.
The river is thirty miles long, flowing from headwaters somewhere near Amnicon Lake, through eight counties and into Lake Superior. Along its journey, the river’s elevation changes 640 feet, about a third of which happens in the park.
Huge ice chunks piled along shore of the Amnicon River. Each one is about half the size of a car.
The picturesque Horton Covered Bridge has graced many a calendar page and no doubt hosted many a wedding ceremony.
Happy spring, everyone, despite everything.
I am here to report we finally made it inside Biosphere 2, the world-renowned, self-enclosed science station run by the University of Arizona near Tucson. You may recall that last year, my son and I saw the station, but only from the outside because we didn’t have time to wait for a tour. (We had to catch a plane home.)
Although we weren’t able to get a tour of the ocean “beach,” we did see it from above. As the sign says, it’s one of the largest research oceans, although it’s in bad shape. Acidification has killed the coral in it, and last time we visited, algae were creating problems.
We ducked through some small openings and walked down long cement corridors to get to the center of the South Lung. A water reservoir stands in the middle of the lung, covered by a hugely heavy metal plate that’s attached to a rubber membrane from the ceiling, which our tour guide said is made from the same rubber as Zodiac boats. The plate falls or rises in response to pressure changes. Legs on the bottom of the plate keep it from crashing into the floor as pressure drops. The plate is reminiscent of a flying saucer. The lung looks like a great setting for a creepy fiction story. Hmmmmm.
Russ and I visited a northern Minnesota lake last weekend. Spent part of an afternoon snowshoeing on a frozen lake. The morning’s hoarfrost floated down from the trees, looking like snow magically falling from a clear blue sky.
I meandered just a bit south to Carlton, Minn., to attend an Ojibwe pow wow for work. More like I white-knuckled it on the drive due to a snowstorm.
I thought I’d share a few of the more interesting points with you. The first is that a pow wow dancer’s clothing is called “regalia,” not a costume. The info sheet says, “Costumes are worn to present yourself as something you are not.”
Marie's Meanderings 