Many people around the world celebrated New Year’s Eve and Day. It felt more of a celebration for surviving 2020 instead of ushering a new year. The past year got pretty dark at times with a pandemic, unlike anything people can remember, closing down most of our activities and events. While I’ve heard more times than I care to think about how people dismissed the year as though it never existed, I have a slightly different view. Wishing away a year of my life is not something I want to do. There are only a limited number of years for any of us and I want to enjoy as many of them as I can. Yes, there has been a lot of stress and anxiety but there were some pretty great moments too. Adventures were fewer and farther in between and occurred closer to home but they still were available creating lifelong memories.

Looking over my post at the beginning of January highlighting the things I wanted to do this year, surprisingly most of those were accomplished. A snowmobile adventure was planned soon after writing that post taking me with my cousin to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to ride some incredible trails. It was iffy for a few weeks leading up to this as the snow was melting with no fresh snow covering these trails but they held out allowing us to enjoy a weekend meeting some new friends while flying across the snow covered ground under a sun filled sky. A great reminder of why I love to do this whenever I can. By the end of the weekend we had covered 300 miles in 24 hours. Yeah, sleep was sacrificed a little. You can read more about it here: http://monopolytraveler.com/hitting-the-trails-in-the-u-p/ Unfortunately this also marked the beginning of the pandemic reaching the United States. Things changed quickly after.

Many of the snowfalls that created these great trails for snowmobiling also gave me opportunities to capture these incredible little ice crystals which I continue to try to capture with the camera. Sometimes I get so lost looking through the view finder that I forget how cold it is and before I know it, I can’t move my fingers to press the shutter button. It’s often difficult to get motivated to prepare for taking these pictures but once all of my winter gear is on and the camera is finally set up, the hours go by quickly as the batteries in my camera die in the winter cold. For more photos of snowflakes head over here.

With spring in full swing, my wife and I headed for a mini retreat for a night. After a nice campfire to end the day, we retired for some much wanted sleep. The next morning I got up for the sunrise and headed to the nearby lake enjoying some peace and quiet listening to the sounds of morning. Just before the sun rose above the horizon I heard an unfamiliar sound behind me. There was something swimming but each time I looked to see what it was it would dive under the surface. Finally I saw it surface. A River Otter! One of the creatures I’d wanted to photograph without success and here was one moving closer. It never really gave me the chance to capture a photo while it was in the water. While looking one direction I heard something near my feet. A quick glance and it was gone but there was no mistaking it. The otter had surfaced right next to me and quickly disappeared. I figured that was the end of the interaction. Fortunately a few minutes later the wild otter had climbed up onto the walkway cutting through this little shallow bay and slowly worked its way towards me. After several steps it returned to the water and was gone through the cattails. I couldn’t believe after searching for years for otters that I finally was able to photograph a wild one. Late in the year I had another chance to watch a family of otters searching for food with a few pictures making positive 2020 memories.

As spring turned to summer I headed to Northern Minnesota in search of wild orchids. Along the way I encountered some beautiful carnivorous plants which I’d not seen in Minnesota before. There were pitcher plants in bloom and sundews dotting bogs creating an environment new to me. You can read more by clicking this link: http://monopolytraveler.com/on-the-hunt-for-more-orchids/. During that same adventure I encounter several of Minnesota’s native orchids which was so amazing. I read about them blooming but somehow it still doesn’t seem possible that they’re there and then I see them just growing out of the ground. You can read more about the search for these orchids here: http://monopolytraveler.com/the-hunt-continues/. On that same trip I watched some beautiful sunsets as the sky turned to night bringing out the fireflies and star filled skies. That article is here. It became incredibly easy to forget there was a worldwide pandemic going on. What a refreshing temporary reprieve from all that was happening allowing me to refocus once I returned home.

The summer was in full swing bringing some great storms. Lightning would light up the sky in ways I hadn’t seen in a long time. These were the type of storms I had been searching for over numerous summers lighting up the sky both over head and off in the distance. One of these produced a light show that forced my whole family to stop what they were doing and head out to our driveway just staring up for a long time. The odd piece was there was so much constant lighting but very little thunder to go with it letting us know how high up these storms were. I wrote about one of these nights here

One of my goals for 2020 was to go camping a few times and this was accomplished. My family and I took a couple of camping trips to just get away from all of the news and attempt to refresh during a weekend here or there. We weren’t able to take a family expedition to any National Parks as I had hoped but we were able to enjoy a few weekends together just a couple of hours from home. These are times that I will remember as good pieces of the past year. One final camping trip came as summer became fall with just my wife on the North Shore of Minnesota. As an unexpected treat, fall colors arrived across the landscape leaving behind a vibrant painting not seen in several years. And we got to watch the leaves change on a daily basis right in front of our eyes. There were some beautiful photographs taken of these by many other people. I captured  a little of the fall color also which you can view on this page.

There was a lot horrific news and unbelievable events that unfolded during 2020, but there was beauty and peace to be found also if it was sought out. I’m thankful for those moments providing me with positive experiences to hold on to in this historic year. Now on to 2021 and whatever it may hold…..

There’s a lot of year in reviews coming out at this time of year. I really was planning on skipping such a post and just continuing on with some of the stories of recent adventures but there’s one thing that continues to drive a post like this. Gratitude! I’m so grateful for all of the opportunities and new experiences over this past year. Some of them in different places while others in locations I’ve been to previously, but all of them were new adventures to me. Looking back over my list of things I wanted to do in 2019, they were all accomplished which led to so many great adventures. The year started with a trip to Northern Minnesota to see the frozen North Shore. It was an extremely cold day but the sights were so amazing it was worth braving the elements for. The next day ventured inland of Northern Minnesota to see birds heading south for the winter where I did get to see a snowy owl. That was such a beautiful bird to watch perched in a tree and soar overhead.

Once spring began there was a trip to Utah to explore a few of the many off road trails in such an incredible landscape. Moab is home to a big playground of outdoor adventures. From hiking, biking, and photography to dirt bikes, Razors, and off road vehicles, it has it all. And it’s against a backdrop made for television and movies.

Once spring was beginning to morph into summer, there was a week long journey to Northern Minnesota to go camping. The first time I’ve camped near the BWCA. Such a beautiful experience, especially when the mosquitoes and black flies took a break from their constant attacks.

A month later a trip to Isle Royale began. A few years ago I planned on returning to this National Park but those fell through late in the summer. That was a bit crushing and extinguished my motivations for hiking for awhile and made it so I wasn’t convinced it would happen again this year. As it got closer the plans continued on course and the day came to drive to Grand Portage, MN to board the boat. It was at this point I felt confident this adventure was going to happen. Something I will remember and am so thankful I got to share the experience with my youngest daughter and a cousin of mine that has joined me on a number of adventures.

That completed my plans for 2019 but were not the only adventures for the year. In addition to these I really enjoyed the winter weather with all of our snow and cold well into March. As winter began to lose it’s grip I took an opportunity to visit Wabasha, MN for the spring eagle migration. It was so much fun to see so many eagles along the Mississippi River. Shortly after that I visited a Heron Rookery in Minneapolis. Who would think a large number of Great Blue Herons would nest near downtown Minneapolis? Thanks to a few other photographers for letting me know about this spot. Late summer brought a weekend adventure to Blue Mounds State Park with a great mix of photography subjects from storms to Bison. Once fall arrived I finally decided to see what Carlos Avery Wildlife Area is all about. I hope to return to this place a little more frequently and see what it’s like during the seasons, especially during the spring bird migration. Late fall brought a trip to Florida for a school trip mixed with some days working. It was nice to feel summer weather once again before returning to Minnesota’s cold and snow.

It was an unusual year for adventures which I’m very thankful that I got to share with others. An adventure is a lot of fun but it’s even better if I get to share it with others. I’m humbled by these opportunities! Currently I don’t have anything planned like this for next year which makes it even more of a memorable year.