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Grandma’s Marathon 2011

DRock — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:17:53 +0000

For the fifth year in a row, I covered Grandma's Marathon from behind a camera for the Duluth News Tribune. It was an awesome time and this year, the weather was unlike any since I've been up here. Instead of humidity and sunshine, runners were greeted with rain and near perfect running conditions once the races started. Temperatures in the upper 40s and 50s along with a persistent tailwind helped half marathoner and Ethiopian Derese Deniboba Rashaw shatter the course record by two minutes finishing in 1:02:19.

Also different from year's past was a photo finish in the full marathon. Kenyan Christopher Kipyego edged past Ethiopia's Tekly Deneke by 0.2 seconds to improve upon his 2010 runner-up finish in the same race. Both Kipyego and Deneke's finishing times are listed as 2:12:17. Typically the winner comes in 30-45 seconds or longer ahead of the runner-up.

Sorry folks you won't see any photo finish photos here or pictures of a course record being shattered. For the second year in a row, I was asked to cover the start and portions of the course up to 40th Avenue East and London Road. That meant lots of fan photos, people cheering, trying to stay dry, drinking beer, doing keg stands, that type of thing. Basically find action, capture action.

I absolutely love this race from a photographic standpoint and from running it. Back in 2003, I ran the race and left Duluth thinking how in the hell do these people get up those streets downtown in the winter. Little did I know, the race would become an annual part of my life and hopefully I'll run it again one day, but in the meantime, I'm having too much fun capturing it with a camera.

Here are a few of my images from Saturday's race...

Runners take off from the start of Grandma's Marathon Saturday morning in Two Harbors.

Denny Jordan of Roseville, Minn. bundled up to stay dry before running Grandma's Marathon Saturday morning in Two Harbors, Minn.

LEFT: Dan Falbo of Eagan, Minn. stays warm and dry before by using a variety of bags before the start of Grandma's Marathon. RIGHT: Jered Nyquist of St. Cloud, Minn. attempts to stay dry Saturday morning before the start of Grandma's Marathon.

Runners pass the intersection of Homestead Road and Scenic Highway 61 Saturday morning during Grandma's Marathon.

LEFT: Jen Houck, a former St. Scholastica runner, finished 5th overall in the women's race. CENTER: Yihunlish Bekele Delelecha won the women's race. LEFT: 2009 winner Christopher Raabe dropped out of this year's race sometime after 13.1 miles.

A race fan holds a sign near Homestead Road and Scenic Highway 61 Saturday morning during Grandma's Marathon.

LEFT: Jill Hylla of Buffalo, Minn. cheers the runners near the intersection of Homestead Road and Scenic Highway 61 Saturday afternoon during Grandma's Marathon. RIGHT: Sara Muniz of Elk River watches Grandma's Marathon in the rain Saturday morning.

Matt Gibbons (blue shirt, center) offers a beer bong to runners along Londron Road during Grandma's Marathon Saturday morning.

Numerous runners stopped for beer, keg stands and beer bongs near the intersection of 40th Avenue East and London Road Saturday morning during Grandma's Marathon.

Tanner Skillings (right) of Minneota, Minn. gets a beer bong from Matt Gibbons (left) while running along London Road during Grandma's Marathon in Duluth.

More beerbongs!!!

Derek Ingvalson of St. Louis Park, Minn. does a keg stand with the help of some college students along London Road during Grandma's Marathon in Duluth.

From left: Ray Skoglund, Jim Collette and Barb Collette stand along London Road with over 200 trolls they put out on the curb to wish the runners good luck Saturday morning during Grandma's Marathon in Duluth.

Three days of protests in Madison

DRock — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 18:56:41 +0000

It happened in an instant. Protests exploded at the Wisconsin State Capitol after Senate Republicans removed fiscal provisions from Governor Walker's bill that stripped most collective bargaining rights from most public employees. For weeks, the bill had been stalled by 14 Senate Democrats who had fled the state to avoid voting on the bill. However, with the fiscal provisions removed, the Senate Republicans were free to pass the bill and send it to the Governor and that's what they did. In seconds, Twitter and Facebook lit up and thousands of protesters stormed the Capitol. That's about the same time I got the call from News Tribune reporter Brandon Stahl asking if I wanted to come down to Madison to help cover the unfolding events with him. It was a no-brainer. Less than an hour later we started our six hour journey to Madison.

A little background. Wisconsin Governor Walker is cutting local aid to cities and counties along with schools on levels never seen before in Wisconsin. He believes these cuts are necessary to finally balance a budget without fiscal and accounting tricks used by previous administrations. Part of this process is stripping the collective bargaining rights from public employees so that they can only negotiate on things such as salary. Asking the public employees to pay more for their pensions and health care will bring those employees more in line with what the private sector pays says the Governor and stripping collective bargaining rights will give the tools municipalities need to combat the impending cuts. Union workers and Democrats say this is a way to bust unions while delivering a powerful blow to Democrats' fundraising sources.

I had been following the protests for a couple weeks and really wanted to go down there. The first week of the protests I was in Las Vegas at WPPI International. The second week things appeared to be dying down and then this happened. We arrived in Madison early Thursday morning and got to work. The first day was the longest and most chaotic. With an estimated 600 protesters still in the building, they had to be cleared for security purposes before the Assembly met to approve the amended bill. Most of them were holed up in the antechamber blocking access to the Assembly chamber. After a couple hours of intense negotiating by Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs and with no end in sight to the protestors' plans to block the chamber, Wisconsin State Troopers began forcibly removing protesters one-by-one. This went on for over an hour until the antechamber was clear. There was a lot of yelling and angry shouting, but no violence.

The trick to walking through 80,000 tightly packed people is to walk where it's really muddy. I'm sorry shoes.

The second day was the calmest and the only big item on the agenda was Governor Walker performing a ceremonial signing of the bill in front of the media. After he used his 26 pens (no exaggeration) to sign the bill, he addressed the media for about 30 minutes before leaving. The entire time he was in the conference room addressing the media, hundreds of protestors gathered outside to scream and yell. At this point, it was time to send images back to the newspaper and then prepare for what was supposed to be the largest rally yet.

We got up early Sunday and made our way to the Capitol only to find the press room locked. At 8a.m. when the doors to the Capitol opened, protesters began taking up spots in the rotunda and making their presence known. At 10:30, tractors began a parade around the Capitol square driven by farmers supporting the union workers. From the early morning until early afternoon, people kept entering the Capitol square until it was shoulder-to-shoulder in the streets around the entire square. The 14 Democratic Senators were also supposed to make their return to the Capitol and march around. That happened at 2pm and started at the Inn on the Park.

This was probably the most chaotic part of the day for me by far. Thousands of people wanted to put their hands on these Senators and shake their hands and give them props. The police were only able to open a path about 15 feet wide for them to march and on each side were police and other security. It took them about 45 minutes to walk around the square and the entire time I was walking backwards running into police, protesters and tripping backwards over wheelchairs. At one point, I was walking backwards and turned around and immediately ran into the Rev. Jesse Jackson. With a giant smile on his face, he shoved me aside. Not everyday that happens. He walked along with the 14 Democratic Senators until they reached the State Street side of the Capitol and each gave a fiery speech. When all the speeches by the Senators were done, it was time to file and begin the trip back to Duluth. I was supposed to get a lot of images of Sen. Bob Jauch (D-Poplar) as he is in the News Tribune's coverage area and I was pretty happy with what I was able to come away with of Jauch and everything else during a very chaotic day.

It was a long three days, but definitely fun to be back in the photojournalist mode covering a historic news event. Enjoy.

Farmer Joe Mathers of Fitchburg, Wisc. waves a flag while driving around the square of the Wisconsin State Capitol Saturday morning in Madison, Wisc.

Assembly minority leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) holds a lighter to the a book containing the laws of the congressional procedure while accusing Assembly Republicans of running amok of those laws Thursday afternoon at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wisc.

Union protesters march around the inside of the Wisconsin State Capitol Friday morning before Gov. Scott Walker signed his budget repair bill in Madison, Wisc.

A protester refuses to get up after being hauled out of the room outside the Assembly chambers by the Wisconsin State Patrol Thursday morning at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wisc.

LEFT: Wisconsin State Patrol officers pull a protester from the room outside the Assembly chamber before the Assembly convened Thursday morning at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wisc. RIGHT: Protesters stand outside the Wisconsin State Capitol Saturday afternoon in Madison, Wisc.

Representative Andy Jorgensen (D-Fort Atkinson) yells at Representative Joel Kleefisch (R-Oconomowoc, not pictured) about his vote for Governor Walker's collective bargaining bill Thursday morning at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wisc.

Wisconsin State Patrol officers pull a protester from the room outside the Assembly chamber before the Assembly convened Thursday morning at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wisc.

Democrat representatives Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse, middle), Donna Seidel (D-Wausau, to the left of Shilling) and Sondy Pope-Roberts (D-Middleton, furthest right) attempt to fist bump a protester after they were hauled out of the hallway leading to the Assembly speaker's room Thursday morning at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wisc.

Angry protesters shout outside the Governor's conference room shortly after Gov. Scott Walker signed his budget repair bill Friday afternoon at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wisc.

The gallery erupts into shouts of "Shame! Shame! Shame!" after Assembly Republicans quickly voted to approve Governor Walker's collective bargaining bill Thursday afternoon at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wisc.

Fred Clark (D-Baraboo) high fives supporters after assembly debate over Governor Walker's collective bargaining bill ended Thursday afternoon at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wisc.

Wayne Neis (left) and his wife Pat Neis (right) of Benton, Wisc. show their dismay after Gov. Scott Walker signed the budget repair bill into law Friday afternoon at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wisc.

A copy of the budget repair bill awaits signatures from Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Friday afternoon at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wisc.

Surrounded by supporters, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signs a copy of the budget repair bill Friday afternoon during a ceremonial bill signing at the state Capitol in Madison, Wisc. Immediately to Walker's left is state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald.

Surrounded by supporters, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signs a copy of the budget repair bill Friday afternoon during a ceremonial bill signing at the state Capitol in Madison, Wisc.

Wisconsin State Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs (2nd from right) convinces protesters Neporsha Hamlin (left), Yaman Amer (2nd from left) and David Vines (right) to leave the Capitol peacefully Thursday evening in Madison, Wisc.

LEFT: The Orpheum on State Street in Madison, Wisc. makes light of the protests at the Wisconsin State Capitol. RIGHT: Lissa McLaughlin of Madison, Wisc. attempts to put a shirt over the statue of Civil War hero Hans C. Heg during protests at the Wisconsin State Capitol Saturday morning in Madison, Wisc.

Protesters in cow costumes spell out "Solidarity" while walking around the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wisc. during protests over Republican Gov. Scott Walker's budget bill.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson made an appearance at the protests in Madison, Wisc.

From left: Wisconsin State Senators Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton), Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point), Bob Jauch (D-Poplar) and Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) wave to supporters minutes after exiting their vans and stepping onto the Capitol square for the first time 22 days Saturday afternoon in Madison, Wisc.

Senate minority leader Mark Miller (D-Monona) reacts to supporters after stepping onto the Capitol square for the first time in 22 days Saturday afternoon in Madison, Wisc. Miller and 13 other Senate Democrats fled the state to stall a budget bill by Republican Gov. Scott Walker that stripped most collective bargaining rights from public employees.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson (center) marches with Senator Fred Risser (D-Madison, right) after Risser and 13 other Senate Democrats stepped onto the Capitol square for the first time in 22 days Saturday afternoon in Madison, Wisc.

Wisconsin State Senator Bob Jauch (D-Poplar) walks through a crowd of supporters to cheers and applause after stepping onto the Capitol square for the first time in 22 days Saturday afternoon in Madison, Wisc.

Protesters flood the Capitol square on Saturday afternoon during the third week of protests against Republican Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill that would strip most collective bargaining rights from most public employees.

Protesters shout during speeches outside the Wisconsin State Capitol Saturday afternoon in Madison, Wisc.

A large crowd estimated at over 80,000 gathers on the square outside the Wisconsin State Capitol Saturday afternoon to listen to speeches by Senate Democrats and to protest the passage of Republican Gov. Scott Walker's budget bill in Madison, Wisc.

Pictures for Radio: The end of an era

DRock — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 19:03:23 +0000

This year I spent the election season working for Minnesota Public Radio and following the DFL candidates, particularly 18-term U.S. Representative Jim Oberstar. The representative for Minnesota's 8th congressional district was as close to a sure thing in politics when it comes to getting reelected. He was also one of the most powerful members of Congress while chairing the House Transportation Committee. That chairmanship brought millions and millions of dollars to Minnesota infrastructure projects. Until this year, Oberstar had never garnered less than 59% of the vote, but this might have been the worst political climate for Democrats since he was first elected to the house in 1974.

Out of nowhere came a Republican upstart named Chip Cravaack. A retired Naval officer and Northwest Airlines pilot, Cravaack seized on Oberstar's votes for the bailout and health care reform and voters' discontent about the economy and made this a race unlike anything this part of Minnesota had ever seen. In the weeks before the election, the gap in the polls closed and race became a dead heat. A contentious debate in Duluth on October 19th revealed just how heated this race had become when supporters for both Cravaack and Oberstar often drowned out the candidates themselves with heckling and boos.

Then election day came. I was tasked to cover Oberstar's election party. People there were pretty enthusiastic and hopeful. Oberstar led for a vast majority of the night until about 2 a.m. when the polls tightened and lead switched back and forth. At 4 a.m., the Minnesota Secretary of State's office declared the race for Cravaack. There wasn't much going on at Oberstar's party considering he had left at 11 p.m. and at 230 a.m. when I left there were only 20 people left in the room--18 of which were media, one campaign manager who said he was not going to give a speech and one supporter who was asleep.

The next day Oberstar gave a moving concession speech where he refused to apologize for any of his votes, listed his favorite accomplishments and then thanked friends, family members and supporters before quietly slipping away. It was the end of an era for northern Minnesota.

Congressman Jim Oberstar speaks to a crowd of supporters Thursday evening at the Miners Memorial Building in Virginia, Minn.

Representative Tom Rukavina gets in a few fiery words before United States Congressman Jim Oberstar takes the mic during a DFL rally Thursday evening at the Miners Memorial Building in Virginia, Minn. On the right is United States Senator Amy Klobuchar.

District eight congressional candidate Chip Cravaack (2nd from left) listens to Congressman Jim Oberstar (2nd from right) talk about proposed cap-and-trade regulations Tuesday morning during a debate at the DECC auditorium in Duluth, Minn.

Chip Cravaack debates Congressman Jim Oberstar at the DECC auditorium in Duluth, Minn.

Claude Washington checks out the scene at the Jim Oberstar election party Tuesday evening at the Holiday Inn in Duluth, Minn. Washington's facepaint was part of a celebration of Mexico's Day of the Dead.

United States representative Jim Oberstar (left) and friend Kris Ridgewell (right) watch the first results come in for Oberstar's race against Chip Cravaack Tuesday evening at the Holiday Inn in Duluth, Minn.

From left: Scott Yeazle, Carrie Edwards, Cathy Schuyler and Claire Kirch watch election results come in on a television setup at the Jim Oberstar election party Tuesday evening at the Holiday Inn in Duluth, Minn.

United States representative Jim Oberstar (right) and his wife Jean Oberstar (left) talk to a crowd of supporters Tuesday evening at the Holiday Inn in Duluth, Minn. as election results continue to come in.

At 12:41 in the morning, Kelvin Covington was one of the last Jim Oberstar supporters awaiting results Wednesday morning at the Holiday Inn in Duluth, Minn.

Surrounded by friends, family and supporters, United States representative Jim Oberstar speaks to the media Wednesday afternoon at the Gerald W. Heaney Federal Building in Duluth, Minn.

United States representative Jim Oberstar begins to tear up while speaking to the media after being defeated by Republican challenger Chip Cravaack Wednesday afternoon at the Gerald W. Heaney Federal Building in Duluth, Minn.

United States representative Jim Oberstar hugs his wife Jean after speaking to media Wednesday afternoon at the Gerald W. Heaney Federal Building in Duluth, Minn. Oberstar had just been defeated by Republican challenger Chip Cravaack.

United States representative Jim Oberstar leaves the Gerald W. Heaney Federal Building in Duluth, Minn. after speaking to the media Wednesday afternoon. Oberstar had just been defeated by Republican challenger Chip Cravaack.

Pictures for Radio: An afternoon on Lake Winnipeg and the MV Namao

DRock — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 18:27:48 +0000

A couple weeks ago, I had the chance to travel to Canada for the first time to document environmental issues on Canada's Lake Winnipeg. You may have seen my review of a Canadian hot dog last week. I can tell you my experience in Gimli and aboard the MV Namao was much better than that hot dog tasted or looked.

What is happening to Lake Winnipeg is a familiar story to anyone who is paying attention to the plight of lakes in this country. Increased phosphorus runoff from wastewater, animal manure, laundry detergents and fertilizer are creating massive algal blooms in lakes, which can impact wildlife and fisherman and make swimming a dangerous venture if the algae that you are swimming in happens to be of the blue-green variety.

In Minnesota and North Dakota, more intense farming and floods have greatly increased the amount of phosphorous the flows north out of the Red River and into Lake Winnipeg. Where algal blooms were once a thing that happened to other lakes and not Lake Winnipeg, it is now getting so bad that fishermen and the Canadian government are working hard to understand and stop the problem. Enter the Motor Vessel (MV) Namao. This retired Coast Guard vessel makes three cruises a year in the spring, summer and winter testing the same 65 locations during each season. This gives the scientists good baseline information about what is happening to the lake.

If you do a little research, the same thing was happening to Lake Erie in the 1970s. Massive algal blooms were appearing every year polluting beaches and devastating industries dependent on the lake. People called the lake dead. Scientists studied the problem, discovered inordinate amounts of phosphorus in the lake, put a stop to the primary sources and within a few years the lake came back to life. It's a success story that scientists aboard the MV Namao hope can be repeated here without ever getting as dire as the Lake Erie story.

This is where the scientists come in. In the pictures below, they are studying everything from water quality characteristics to details about Lake Winnipeg's food chain. All of this information will go into developing a better understanding of a lake that was rarely studied before these issues surfaced. In the end, they are hopeful this information will lead to some sort of change that will preserve the lake for generations to come.

Click here for a link to Minnesota Public Radio's story on the subject...

To listen to MPR's audio piece on the story, check it out below...

And now for the pictures!

Andrew Olynyk (right) takes a whiff of an Emerald Shiner after Heather Clark (center) commented that it smelled like cucumbers Thursday, June 3, 2010 near Gimli, Manitoba in Canada. To the left is Katie Sheppard. The three were separating fish brought up by a trawling net that skimmed the surface of Lake Winnipeg.

Increased phosphate and nitrate runoff from the Red River is one of the primary causes of more frequent and intense algae blooms in Canada's Lake Winnipeg.

University of Manitoba research student Heather Clark holds a small Emerald Shiner that was pulled out of the water after trawling Lake Winnipeg Thursday, June 3, 2010 near Gimli, Manitoba in Canada.

The contents of a trawling net that skimmed the surface of Lake Winnipeg for about 30 minutes Thursday, June 3, 2010 near Gimli, Manitoba in Canada. The fish were separated by species and then weighed, packaged and sent off as part of different studies involving Lake Winnipeg.

Every single fish brought to the surface by trawling nets aboard the MV Namao would have to be counted and weighed as part of a study to see what walleyes were feeding on in Lake Winnipeg Thursday, June 3, 2010 near Gimli, Manitoba in Canada.

Sunrise over Lake Winnipeg near Gimli Harbor in Gimli, Manitoba in Canada. Increased phosphate and nitrate runoff from the Red River is one of the primary causes of more frequent and intense algae blooms in Canada's Lake Winnipeg.

LEFT: Heather Clark uses a small fishing net to sift through the smallest remaining fish caught in a fishing trawl while aboard the MV Namao Thursday, June 3, 2010 near Gimli, Manitoba in Canada. Some of the fish are barely the size of a fingernail and each must be captured, counted and weighed. RIGHT: A bag of Cisco fish taken from a trawling net sit in a plastic bag awaiting shipment to various research institutions in Canada as part of ongoing studies to learn more about Lake Winnipeg.

Gordon Chamberlain (right) and Elise Watchorn (2nd from right), both of Environment Canada, empty their trawling nets Thursday, June 3, 2010 near Gimli, Manitoba in Canada. Next to Watchorn is University of Manitoba student Andrew Olynyk (far left) and above Watchorn is University of Manitoba student Katie Sheppard. The four were aboard the MV Namao.

A fishing trawl aboard the MV Namao is lowered into Lake Winnipeg while the ship's captain Walter Lee (center, bottom) watches Thursday, June 3, 2010 near Gimli, Manitoba in Canada. The net would skim the surface of the lake looking to see what fish such as walleyes might be feeding on.

The MV Namao captain Walter Lea looks through binoculars looking for buoys put out by fisherman while on Lake Winnipeg Thursday, June 3, 2010 near Gimli, Manitoba in Canada. The nets can span the length of a football field and can be dense in areas so Lea has to have a keen eye so they do not run over and destroy any nets.

The MV Namao's fore during research operations on Lake Winnipeg Thursday, June 3, 2010 near Gimli, Manitoba in Canada.

Sunrise over docked sailboats in Gimli Harbor in Gimli, Manitoba in Canada. Increased phosphate and nitrate runoff from the Red River is one of the primary causes of more frequent and intense algae blooms in Canada's Lake Winnipeg.

University of Saskatchewan student Amy Ofukany pulls Lake Winnipeg water from the Seabird Rosette Thursday, June 3, 2010 near Gimli, Manitoba in Canada. The Seabird Rosette is an auto-sampler that measures water characteristics such as conductivity, oxygen levels, light penetration and turbidity. These are some key characteristics in determining whether algae blooms will form.

The University of Regina's Vince Ignatiuk (left) and the University of Manitoba's Kaite Sheppard (right) help hoist a tube containing a probe that penetrated the floor of Lake Winnipeg Thursday, June 3, 2010 near Gimli, Manitoba in Canada. The two were aboard the MV Namao.

Manitoba Water Stewardship's Shannon McDougal (right) smiles after someone stepped on a hose aboard the MV Namao and water gushed out of it hitting McDougal and making her wet Thursday, June 3, 2010 near Gimli, Manitoba in Canada. Next to McDougal is Enivornment Canada's Todd Breeden. McDougal and Breeded were in the boat because when a probe that penetrated the floor of Lake Winnipeg is brought to the surface, someone needs to plug the bottom of the probe so the sediment does not fall out when it is lifted into the ship.

The MV Namao sits in the Gimli Harbor after a day on the water Thursday, June 3, 2010 near Gimli, Manitoba in Canada.

Pictures for Radio: Wolves from the air

DRock — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 06:06:52 +0000

One of the cool things about being a photographer is that one day you could be sitting in your office editing wrestling photos and the next up in the air shooting packs of wolves from a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources aircraft. That's just what happened this last week.

Minnesota Public Radio contacted me to shoot pictures of a Wisconsin DNR pilot who tracks radio-collared wolves for a story about continuing efforts to get wolves delisted from federal protection. Farmers and hunters have been complaining for a few years now that the wolf population in this part of the country is starting to get out of hand and this year saw a record number of wolves (16) killed and those were only the ones that were found so that number is just a fraction of how many were probably killed. This sounded like a cool assignment, but I was worried we would only see one wolf at a time or that the woods would be so dense that it would be impossible to see them from up in the sky. I was so wrong on both accounts.

Now I'd be lying if I said I didn't have the wolfpack scene from "The Hangover" playing over and over again in my head. I just love that movie. Anyway, back to my story. The wolves have a radio collar attached to them and the pilot, Phil Miller, used a GPS tracking system that beeps when the airplane gets closer to the animals. When the beeping really picks up, it's time to start looking on the ground for the animal, which can be tough when the woods are thick. The first animal, a lone wolf, took about five minutes to find. We located him sitting just off to the side of a deer stand. It was too thick to photograph so we moved onto the next group.

This was the first of two packs we would see on the day and it would be the biggest. We flew a few minutes before the GPS started beeping again. We saw one wolf then another and another and another and this kept going until it stopped at 11. This was the pack I was hoping would be out in the middle of a lake or out in the open, but they still remained in fairly dense forest. The third and fourth pictures are from this pack and the fourth one demonstrates just how hard it was at times to find these animals if you weren't already locked onto their location.

So after circling them for 10 minutes shooting pictures and freezing the face of Minnesota Public Radio reporter Bob Kelleher from my need to open the window of the plane to shoot pictures, we decided to move on. This third radio-collared animal was supposed to be part of a group of nine wolves. And with this, my hopes and dreams for the assignment came true as we came upon a beaver pond and five of the wolves were walking and lounging around in the middle. No trees to obstruct, no bushes to get in the way. It was a perfect setting and with fresh snow, the tracks the wolves made were quite visible as well, which just added to the photos. We spent about 15 minutes circling these guys before we left to track two more radio-collared animals. After that, I took some pictures of Bob at the controls before watching the last radio-collared wolf trot along a snowmobile path.

I had never seen a wolf in the wild and after reading what one did to a woman's dog in Ely, I don't think I'd want to either. You can find out what happened to that woman's dog by clicking here and reading Minnesota Public Radio's story about the flight and efforts to delist the wolves. I hope you have as good a time looking at these pictures as I did taking them. One thing for all you people out there that I learned from this trip... Dramamine will knock you out. I thought I might need some because of all the banking, spinning and twisting the pilot needed to do to get a good look at the wolves, but I didn't get sick and all it did was make me nod off in the middle of conversations with Mr. Kelleher on the way back. Sorry Bob! Anyway, on to the photos!