A Bloy and his Blog

I saw a lot of honeybees gathering nectar, while hiking the Arboretum yesterday.

read the rest of: Honeybees

If I had to pick a favorite scenic spot in Wisconsin, it would be this one. The Black Lagoon on the Star Lake Nature Trail.

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

I just returned from a vacation at my favorite place for camping, the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest. In addition to doing a lot of biking and hiking, I was treated to unique sunsets on five nights of my stay on Trout Lake. Here are the best photos from each of those sunsets.

read the rest of: Sunsets on Trout Lake

During the afternoon of our last day in the Smoky Mountains, some clouds moved in along with a little rain.

At first I was disappointed in the change of weather, but then I saw familiar scenes made beautiful in a different way.

read the rest of: The cloudy Smokies

Mountains aren’t the only things to look at in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. Dad and I didn’t see a big variety of flowers, but in the lower elevations there seemed to be rhododendrons everywhere.

read the rest of: Rhododendrons and rushing water

Shaconage, the Cherokee name for the area of the Smoky Mountains means “land of blue smoke.”

read the rest of: Land of blue smoke