Some places carve deep within. For me, one is Gooseberry Falls State Park on the North Shore of Minnesota. The park is the first major scenic spot north of Duluth on the spectacular coastline of Lake Superior. It is about a hour and half south of the small town my mom grew up in near the Boundary Waters. Since they didn’t have a car, she likely never visited until she was grown and returned to visit.
Gooseberry Falls, 1950s
The picture above is of my mom visiting in the early 1950s with two of her nieces who lived nearby. I can’t find images of me as a kid there when my parents took me to visit, but we returned when our boys were young and Joe displayed his love of rock climbing.
Middle Falls 1993
Over a billion years ago, the continent started to split apart but never fully separated. Ice Age glaciers eventually carved Lake Superior out of part of the rift. Before then lava flowed over the area, and the basalt rocks of the falls were later exposed when the Canadian Shield rose above the shores of the great lake.
Lower Falls, 2005
My son Dan and I visited during Spring Break 2005 when we were hunting for photos of the incursion of Great Grey Owls into Minnesota that winter. We succeeded in seeing several owls, and of course visited Gooseberry Falls.
There had been three large lava flows and each flow resulted in the upper, middle and lower falls.
Double Deer, Gooseberry River, dawn 2010
I visited again a few autumns later, and my hike along the river to the lake resulted in spotting the rare three-eyed deer.
On that trip I discovered a great campsite right on the shore of Lake Superior at another state park a little further north. I was able to reserve that spot again last month, so it was time for a return visit. Chance enjoyed climbing the rocks as much as Joe had.
Lower Falls, 2024
The falls were as beautiful and peaceful as ever.
Middle Falls, 2024