Photos from Itasca

As you know, we just spent a few days at Itasca (see this for the meaning of the word "Itasca") where we saw some interesting wildlife. I thought I 'd share a few photos of the trip.

We were at Itasca because Amanda volunteered to help out with the orientation for new biology grad students, by giving a demonstration of what she does in the Dave Thomas lab. I did not see the demonstration but I think it had something to do with reanimating tissues. Here's a photograph of the entrance way to the research station, which is all most people can see because you are not allowed in there. (Reanimation experiments are highly sensitive):

Much of our trip involved observing plants and animals. For instance, here is a beaver dam and the path through the pond that the beavers maintain through regular use:

I'm not posting the photo of wolf dung here, but I will show you this bit of spoor:

... which prompted us to look up and see this ...

And that isn't the only woodpecker spoor one sees in this park. In fact, one of the most common categories of birds we saw was woodpecker or woodpecker like. Here is what happens when woodpeckers go wild:

Here's a shot from a marsh trail maintained by the park:

And a shot of dead stuff in the marsh (click to enbiggen):

A bit of wetland (click to embiggen):

Here's an old boat lift rotting along side the lake:

And here's the boat it lifted:

Here's a shot of what it looks like to drive around on the roads in Itasca State Park (click on image):

And a shot of the lake through the trees (click):

Here is the Douglas Lodge, which looks like a pretty good place to say (and is not where we stayed):

This is interesting (click to expand):

Upstream form Itasca is the REAL source of the Mississippi, this stream coming out of Elk Lake and into Itasca:

That is all for now. Coming soon: A wildlife quiz!