Meyer Ranch; Cascade Falls Family Session

I grew up in a tiny little town nestled on the bluffs of the St. Croix River. Too young and headstrong to appreciate its quaint beauty as a teenager, I fled the confines of the single traffic light town as fast as my feet could carry me.  Now that I am back, however, I am reveling in the beauty of this place; open spaces, fields of grain, deep, lush forests, heavy morning fog that hugs the river as dawn breaks.  When Theresa, an old classmate of mine and fellow blogger, contacted me about a family session at Cascade Falls, I jumped at the chance. I spent many a summer playing in the cold, clear water of the Falls. Chasing the stream down to the river, racing over rocks and fiddletop ferns, crawfish and mosquitoes. I had my senior portraits taken here, the falls frozen in ice, the ground under a blanket of untrodden snow.  I haven't been here in a decade, and this place hasn't lost its mystique. The feeling as you descend the gagillion stairs into the ravine that you've transcended into another time entirely. A simpler time.


Theresa and Brian, thank you, so much, for inviting me into the magic that is your family. I feel truly blessed to have had the chance to share a few precious moments with you and your boys.


Here are a few of my favorites from our morning:

To see more images from this session, click here.


Always love,
Athena