We spent the day on our favorite beach.

We spent the day on the beach. Watching the world go by. Reading, photographing wildlife, and playing with a new waterproof underwater camera.

The new underwater (WATERPROOF!) camera works great.
It's a Canon Powershot D20. IMO it's a great point and shoot style camera.

The D20 has lots of features including, an AUTO mode for simple no brainer pictures, P(rogram) mode, two underwater modes, HD video mode and lots of options for special photos modes (sun, snow, fireworks, night, low light, monochrome, etc.).

Did I mention it's WATERPROOF and has IS (image stabilization).

On a five star scale I would rate it 4.5. My minus 0.5 is because it is really easy to get your finger or thumb in front of the lens. Canon's suggested method of holding the camera is unpractical IMO.

Otherwise if you are an outdoor person around water or cold temperatures it is worth the price. $285-$349 is the range I have seen.

One warning IT DOES NOT FLOAT. 

Here is the view toward the beach. Cute right?

Here the view from the beach. Wet right?

Camera in hand.

Ready.....? Smile...!

Here is a view just at water level. Look close you can see the photographer in the bubble.

Camera held just under the surface.

This underwater photo was taken in 3-4 feet deep water. The camera was held just under the surface of the water and pointed straight down.

This photo was taken with the Canon Powershot D20.

Canon 7D w/ Canon 100-400mm 5.6 IS lens

Canon 7D w/ Canon 100-400mm 5.6 IS lens

Canon 7D w/ Canon 100-400mm 5.6 IS lens

Two great days on Lake Superior shore. Herbster Campground.

Campsite.
Hint: Click on the photos to see a larger version.

Brewing morning coffee. A great time of the day. Just after sunrise with the first cup of coffee.

Fall colors... not quite peak colors.

Beach flora.

Beach flora.

Beach flora.

Beach flora. Donna's photo.

Beach flora. Donna's photo.

Coho caught across from the campsite.

Coho caught across from the campsite.

Donna picking rocks on Herbster beach.

Sunrise beach.

Sunrise beach.

Driftwood on Herbster beach.

Setting sun. This alone makes the trip to Herbster well worth the trip.

Watch the sunset "into Lake Superior".

Duluth MN skyline photographed from Herbster WI. Thirty to thirty five mile across Lake Superior. Handheld photo with 400mm telephoto lens. A tripod would have made it a far better photo. You can see the tall (red) communication towers in this photo.

Herbster ("tornado alley") camping 2010.

We felt slightly out of place. The small guy on the block. The little brother.

This was the great part of the two days we spent in Herbster on the beach.
Sunny and quiet. 

 

Additional proof the summer is not over.

 

The next morning. The campground was emptying and the rain was falling.

The weather forecast called for occasional showers. We held out until 5:00 p.m.
  We waited for a break in the showers. Packed and headed home.

Leaving for this trip.  Hoping for one more trip before the snow flies. Donna and I decided we have been camping at Herbster for thirty years. On one of the first trips we gave the campground it's nickname 'tornado alley'. It probably should have been called water spout alley. But tornado alley sounded better.

TORNADO ALLEY... how it gots it's name.

On one trip in the mid 1980's. We had setup camp with two popup tent campers. We faced the campers door to door about 10 feet apart. In one camper were the two older boys and their grandmother.  In the other camper mom, dad and kids.

At some point in the late afternoon early evening the weather started to turn cloudy and windy. The skies darkened and the winds built. Across the lake we could see an approaching wall of rain with an occasional lighting flash. 

The storm was coming out of the northwest across Lake Superior. It is approximately 30 miles across Lake Superior to the Minnesota shore.

As the storm approached the winds had the canvas on the campers shaking and the roof swaying side to side.  Everyone had moved inside by now.  Inside our respective campers.  As we watch the approaching storm (not our first in the campers) we notice what appeared to be water spout building....... this was a definite first.

At that moment we realized we were committed there was no where to go. The winds continued to build and the rains intensified while we watched through the windows.

At a point grandma decided it was time for her to move to the other camper with us. As she crossed between the two campers I met her in the middle and asked where the boys were. She said they were sleeping and didn't want to get up. Sleeping! Who could sleep through this? Howling winds driving rains and what sure looked like a water spout...tornado coming across the lake toward us. I jumped in the camper grab the two boys and pushed them out the door toward the our camper. 

Once inside we all huddled together while the storm passed through. At the high point it tore off the canopy on one camper and blew tree branched and other debris through the campsite. 

It was gone as quickly as it had come. No one was hurt and the damage to equipment was minor and repairable. We all got out of the camper and surveyed the damage to the campground.

To this day we don't know if the "eye" of the storm passed through the campground. But on that day as we sat there recovering from the experience my mom said "well this is the last time I'm coming to this tornado alley to camp". 

So Hebster campground on that day became tornado alley to our family. 

My mom didn't stick to her promise to never return to tornado alley. We would often take her there on her summer visits. Sometime just a ride and a picnic. On a few occasions an overnight camp over.  

Now that she has passed she is still with us on our trips to "tornado alley". 

It always brings a smile to my face and a tear to my eye when I remember her saying "well this is the last time I'm coming to this tornado alley to camp".

This is not "our" water spout but it sure looks like what I remember crossing toward us that day.