June 20, 2012 The Flood

On June 19-20, 2012, the Duluth area received 10-12 inches of rain. This was a once in my lifetime opportunity that I could not pass up, so I loaded up the truck and headed for the north shore. I was hearing reports interstate 35 and highway 61 were closed. Going through Duluth, or even around it, would prove impossible. So I decided to head towards Grand Rapids and work my way over to Virginia and Hibbing then down to Silver Bay. Many of the roads were flooded and I was detoured countless times. After five hours of driving I finally arrived at Gooseberry State Park. I could hear the roar from the river from inside my truck. I grabbed my camera gear, an umbrella, and headed for the river. I arrived at Middle Falls and river water seemed to be going in every direction. It was impressive to see Gooseberry filled above capacity.

The cedars along the Gooseberry River were hanging on for dear life.

These are the stairs at Gooseberry River between middle and lower falls. I have never seen water coming down these stairs until this day.

Upper falls, Gooseberry River.

This is the Gooseberry River. This is the island located just below lower falls. This image was taken near the footbridge downstream.

Next I drove up to Beaver River and shot a few images of the river overflowing its banks.

This was the Temperance River on the day of the flood. The river level was all the way up to the top of the gorge.

Temperance River.

My last stop was Last Falls Creek. Usually this little creek is dry. This was the first time I had ever seen water flowing in this creek. After a day of driving the taking photographs, it was time to head back home.