Seeing the haze in the air while standing on the bluff, the scenery reminded me of the Smokey Mountains.

It was a beautiful day, with a wonderfully cool breeze coming off the lake. I felt as if the lake were welcoming me back. I hadn’t seen Lake Superior in at least six years. It was so good to be walking along its shore again.

It’s amazing how the terrain of the coast can look so different as you walk along. Some areas have an almost-white sandy beach.

Others are full of rough jagged rocks.

Other areas have smooth rocks, worn down by years and years of Superior’s waves.

There’s also a lot of driftwood.

Since the shore along the park faces north west, it’s a perfect spot to watch the sun go down.

When I was camping last week, I wasn’t on the right side of the lake for watching the sun set. But the sky still offered some beautiful scenes during that time of day.

It makes me think a person should pay closer attention to the sky at dusk, even if you can’t see the sun brilliantly setting.

It was a hot day at camp, but the wind was off the lake at Newport, bringing some welcome cool air (and fog) along the shore.

I was amazed by the plants growing through the small cracks in the rocky shoreline (above).

Last week I went to Wisconsin’s Door County, where I camped at Peninsula State Park. The park’s bluffs offer spectacular views of Lake Michigan.

Above is a shot from Eagle Tower.

There’s a lot of rich history behind the park, like Eagle Bluff Lighthouse, built in 1868.

The western shore of the park is one of the best spots in Wisconsin to watch the sun go down.

It was a beautiful day to be hiking, but I’m pretty sure my glutes will be sore tomorrow.

A frozen Lake Monona.

While camping last week, I took a couple of day trips to see nearby sights. One was to Lake of the Falls County Park in Iron County.

Even though the water drops just 10 feet at Lake of the Falls, it is real nice spot. I even had a good bald eagle sighting there (more on that later).

It was the first time I’ve been camping since last August. Because of my home situation over the past 6 months (moving, fixing up the house I bought) most of my vacation time has been spent doing those things.

Finally camping after a year’s hiatus only reinforced how important is is for me to get to the outdoors on a regular basis.

There is nothing like laying in your sleeping bag and hearing loons call at night, or biking/hiking through beautiful woods and lake shores. The experience of those kind of things are definitely food for my soul.

I’ve mentioned that trail before — it’s my favorite hiking trail in the state. While hiking there, you’ll walk through a thick boreal forest, a bog, a plantation of century-old pine trees, and along the lake shore. You’ll see (and hear) loons and other birds, and if you’re lucky you might get a glimpse of a bald eagle. Beautiful views can be seen all along the trail, but there is none better than the Black Lagoon.

The Star Lake Nature trail is located off of Hwy K, about a mile west of the intersection with Hwy N in Vilas County. Map