“Essentially what photography is life lit up.” — Sam Abell

Various photos from this week. This week we visited all the Great Lakes and the headwaters of the Mississippi River on our way to the WCA North American Rubik’s Cube compitition.

Sunday, 07/14/2024: Posted photo — Lake Ontario.

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border spans the center of the lake.

Average depth: 283 ft (86 m)
Fish: Chinook salmon, Walleye, Lake trout, Atlantic salmon, Coho salmon, Brown trout, Rainbow trout, Largemouth bass
Area: 7,320 mi²
Outflow location: Saint Lawrence River
Cities: Toronto, Rochester, Hamilton, Mississauga
Length: 193 mi
Inflow source: Niagara River.

Monday, 07/15/2024: Posted photo — Lake Erie.

Lake Erie is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest average water residence time.

Average depth: 62 ft (19 m)
Fish: Walleye, Smallmouth bass, Yellow perch, Bigmouth buffalo
Islands: Pelee Island, South Bass Island, Johnson’s Island
Area: 9,940 mi²
Cities: Erie, Cleveland, Buffalo, Toledo, Monroe, Port Colborne
Deepest spot: 210 ft.

Tuesday, 07/16/2024: Posted photo — Lake Huron.

Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan.

Fish: Walleye, Lake trout, Smallmouth bass, Lake sturgeon
Islands: Manitoulin Island
Area: 23,012 mi²
Volume: 850 cubic miles
Cities: Port Huron, Goderich, Sarnia, Alpena, Bay City, Cheboygan, Saginaw, Owen Sound, St. Ignace
Length: 206.3 mi

Wednesday, 07/17/2024: Posted photo — Lake Michigan.

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron.

Average depth: 279 ft (85 m)
Fish: Lake trout, Yellow perch, Smallmouth bass, Largemouth bass, Bowfin
Area: 22,406 mi²
Islands: Beaver Island, South Manitou Island
Cities: Chicago, Milwaukee, Michigan City, Muskegon, Holland

The Mackinac bridge is the third longest suspension bridge in the world. It is the longest suspend bridge in the western hemisphere. It was the longest when it was built. It goes over the Mackinac straight between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.

Thursday, 07/18/2024: Posted photo — Lake Superior.

Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area and the third-largest freshwater lake by volume, holding 10% of the world’s surface fresh water.

Fish: Lake trout, Walleye, Lake whitefish, Muskellunge
Area: 31,700 mi²
Islands: Isle Royale
Volume: 2,903 cubic miles
Cities: Duluth, Thunder Bay, Marquette, Superior, Sault Ste. Marie
Water capacity: 2,900 cubic miles

Friday, 07/19/2024: Post photo — Lake Itasca.

Lake Itasca is a small glacial lake, approximately 1.8 square miles in area. It is located in Itasca State Park, in south-eastern Clearwater County, in the Headwaters area of north-central Minnesota, and is notable for being the headwater of the Mississippi River.

Outflow location: Mississippi River
Fish: Bluegill, Largemouth bass, Muskellunge, Black crappie, Brown bullhead
Average depth: 20–35 ft (6–11 m)
Area: 1.815 mi²
Acres: 1065-acre
Islands: Schoolcraft Island
Location: Itasca State Park, Clearwater County, Minnesota, US

Some people call Nicollet Creek the headwaters since it flows into Lake Itasca.

Saturday, 07/20/2024: Post photo — North American Championship.

Traveled out to Minneapolis to be at the North American Rubix’s Cube Championship. My son competed and was on staff. My wife was also on staff. I put in my staff application in too late to be on staff.

Max Park set the world record in the 7x7x7 (single) and 6x6x6 (average) cube at the time I wrote this post. The featured event is Sunday, the 3x3x3 where he has the word record of 3.13 seconds.

That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.