We drove up the Gunflint Trail early one morning this week to check out the tamarack. Tamaracks are the last trees to turn color in the fall. They turn gold before dropping their needles in late fall. They were just beautiful this year. Some of the best color was right along side the Gunflint Trail.

We encountered a female spruce grouse while driving one of the back roads. I searched for the male because the male has beautiful red feathers on its neck but he couldn’t be found.

A short time later we came across four gray wolves. One crossed the road right in front of us and when we approached a second one and a third came out of the brush. We watched them for a short time but they were in thick brush making photos impossible. Then a fourth one came out from behind a log smacking its lips. I thought that maybe that is what happened to the male spruce grouse.