Lake Superior Vacation

We took a short vacation to see some big lake country. We already have seen Duluth and the North Shore. We like Ely, MN and the Boundary Waters. This time I chose Isle Royale National Park, which is an island on Lake Superior. I sketched some but not as much as I would have liked. The trip was almost two months ago so you can tell it took me a while to finish the sketchbook entries.

Before we could drive up there we stopped my Minneapolis and St. Paul. We like this area, too. I learned my bookbinding at Minnesota Book Arts with Roz a few years ago so I like to stop by the store when we are in the area. Then we (I) had to check out Wet Paint art supply store after hearing so much about it. The next day way drive through Duluth on our way to Copper Harbor.

Then a ferry ride to Isle Royale. It's postponed by one day due to bad weather. That cuts our two night stay on the island down to one night. I manage to get motion sickness on the ferry because the waves are still 10'-15'. I survive. On Isle Royale we get in some hiking and eat at the restaurant. We could spend a lot more time here! I get some nice quiet sketch time in the morning as we wait for our ferry ride back to Copper Harbor. Quiet little harbor. I sit on a quiet dock and can sketch the marina and ferry before we board. The ride home was smooth and sunny. I was all over the decks watching the view.

Next stop is Bayfield for a couple nights. We had time to check out Madeline Island and eat out a lot. Found some great coffee. Had a glass bottom boat tour of some ship wrecks around the Apostle Islands. Did some sketching on the docks. I like all the boats. Again, could have spent a lot more time here. The sailing and boating culture is very strong here. I had one acquaintance assume I boated, and simply asked "motor boat or sail boat?". We're not in Kansas.

Then it's a drive back home. Time flies. Glad I brought my sketch gear, even if I didn't have much time to use it. The time I did grab sure felt nice.

Oct. Lawrence Sketch Crawl

This month's sketch crawl gave me an excuse to explore a Lawrence park we've never been to. Wells Overlook Park. Gail organized it. Attendance was small, with just Gail, John and I, but it was a beautiful day for it.
It's a small park with just an observation tower and a covered picnic shelter, but such a view! I couldn't sketch the 360 degree panoramic, but I could handle smaller parts. A sketch crawl in a city park lends itself to drawing maps, too.

I did the map last night, before the crawl. Recently bought the book "How to Draw Fantasy Art & RPG Maps, Step by Step Cartography". I have a thing for cartography and it's on my "To Learn" list. When I saw the book I HAD to buy it, and it's a good one. I used a few of the concepts. To do it right would take HOURS of work, so I did a sketchbook short cut version.

While I was sketching, I struck a conversation with the father of a family out to walk around the park. The family dog was a Great Pyrenees, and she was beautiful! Once the ice was broken she was a push-over and ate up all the petting I could give her. The dad said the park has a trail system, too, so I need to get back to check it out.