I spent the day on the south shore of Lake Superior on May 22. It wasn’t a pleasant day due to the strong, cold north wind. I returned last Wednesday, June 14th, hoping for better weather.

I made a good choice. The Air Quality Index on the shore was about 50. At the same time in the Twin Cities Metro Area where I live, the air quality was the worst in the United States, about 250. Still, the air on the south shore was hazy; the blue sky was barely visible.

As I drove home that evening and got farther away from Lake Superior, it got warmer by about 20° F and much hazier. Part of my route was straight down into the valley of the St. Croix River at Taylor’s Falls, Minnesota. As I crested the hill above the valley, I was stunned by what I saw. It looked like the valley was engulfed in heavy fog, but fog is white, whereas what I saw was brown. All of the haze was from Canadian wildfires.

I had a good day on the south shore. I shot about 750 photos, most when I was trying to shoot gulls in flight. Some of those shots are below.

On the top of the lakeside cliff in Big Sand Bay, I came across a small group of pink lady slippers, a wildflower I’d never seen. I had to shoot while prone to get shots of the flowers.