After lunch we drove to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and visited Miner’s Castle. The many formations in the rocky cliffs were formed when softer rock eroded faster than the 
land views of the rocks and beaches which were really impressive. After the storm the atmosphere was very clear and sunny giving great views.
coach and truck. The advantages are many: better use of time freeing up better weather for touring, no need to dry coach due to soft water rinse of the rain, no need to wet before washing, and no evaporation allowing washing of large areas at a time.
Last night our campground neighbor brought his three young girls and boy over to see Tina. George arranged a dog and pony show in which each girl was taught how to walk Tina in a circle around the picnic table. The show and petting session was enjoyed by all with the possible exception of Tina. The young boy was a total failure as a dog walker. In fact the father had to intervene. We enjoyed them as neighbors and coveted their open-fire cooking. One night they had venison and the morning coffee was brewed on the fire in a blue steel coffee pot.
This morning we heard the characteristic sound of rain on the coach roof, but fortunately it stopped when George needed to disconnect the coach for the road. Our 180 mile trek eastward to Munising was on good roads though rainy conditions. To our amazement we passed by the infamous Stump’s Tavern near Michigamme, MI, where our friends Myron and Dorcus recently broke down. We stopped for lunch at the Marquette, MI, Wal-Mart and made an obligatory visit to the store.
Munising is an interesting looking port town that looks like it would be a good biking venue. However, the weather forecast looks rainy, windy and cold. The good news is that we should then have good weather for the next week at least. The way to view the Pictured Rocks located in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is by boat and it looks like we may not be doing that either.
Wandering Wheels CG has good utilities, cable TV, and working wifi, but it is primarily a place where we will hunker down to weather the coming storm. Another saving grace feature is that there is no rule against coach washing, so that will happen here for sure. The happy bus has to look good at all times.
What a day we’ve had exploring Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park. We took in the three “must see” scenic areas of the park and enjoyed 
another day of lovely weather. Our first stop was Lake of the Clouds, the most-photographed area of the park. We walked up a steep trail to the spectacular viewing area atop a 300-foot precipice that overlooks Lake of the Clouds and the heart of the Porcupine Mountains. As an alternative to the steep walk, there’s an accessible boardwalk to the viewing area which is fairly new and opens the area to more people.
Our next stop was Summit Peak, the highest point in the park. It’s reached via a half- mile trail which rises 300 ft. under a dense canopy of hardwoods. Stairs and 
boardwalks protect ancient lava flows and lead out onto a large viewing deck overlooking the Little Carp River. At the top, a lookout tower provides a panorama of the park’s rugged wilderness with Lake Superior visible in the distance. It was a steep half-mile but well worth it – and there were well-designed benches with comfortably slanted backs along the way. We stopped and ate our lunch at one of the benches at the end of the trail.
Presque Isle River provided quite a view with its waterfalls and rapids as the river flowed toward Lake Superior. We first crossed the river on a small suspension bridge and then walked along it to the lake. The shore 
was covered with smooth oval stones. We followed the river upstream seeing the rapids and were surprised by the large circles smoothly carved in the stone by the force of rocks and grains of sand in the river. Then we reached the largest – and very dramatic – falls named Manabezho after a powerful spirit-god of the native Ojibwa people. The boardwalk – with many flights of steps – provides observation platforms to view the Presque Isle River, one of Michigan’s wildest rivers.
On the way back to the coach, we stopped again at the Wilderness Visitor Center to see the video which we missed the day before (because we were now in the Eastern time zone but didn’t realize it and the center was closing). It gave an excellent history of the area and told about the geological features and scenic areas of the park. We were not surprised to learn that there was consideration of the area as a national park before Michigan set aside funds to purchase the land which became a Michigan state park in 1945. Yes, the Michigan state park fees are high, but based on what we’ve seen in this park, it is well worth it.
The happy bus left Bayfield, WI about 10 am after a leisurely morning getting ready for the road. In Ashland, WI we stopped at WM to re-provision for our time in 
the wilderness of Porcupine SP. We needed to do laundry and decided that doing it along the way at a Laundromat would be more efficient than doing it in the SP campground as we weren't sure what conditions we would find in the CG laundry. Irene checked Google Earth for a Laundromat 15 miles ahead in Ironwood, MI. The one she picked was on our route, and we were extremely lucky that there was a big parking lot adjacent to the laundry. Irene says it was the nicest Laundromat she has ever seen. It was very clean and huge.
When we arrived at Porcupine Mt. SP we immediately hopped on the bikes for a rip to the visitor center arriving five minutes before closing time because, unknown to us, we are now in the Eastern time zone. We got information to map out our visit of the park tomorrow which will involve 5.4 
miles of hiking and about 70 miles of driving. Porcupine Mt. SP is the largest in the Michigan system at 60,000 acres. Michigan SP’s are very expensive. We bought an annual vehicle pass for $29 which is the cheapest thing to do since we will be visiting several more Michigan parks. In addition to that we also paid $6 for the tow just for this park.
George is not pleased that we have no TV reception, but we are lucky to have 3 bars of Edge internet connection.
For breakfast today we ate a couple of slices of the raspberry
wine bread (sweet bread with cream cheese and raspberry filling) that we bought at a bakery yesterday. It is really delicious! Then we set out for Bayfield and went to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Visitors Center. It is in the restored brownstone courthouse. Interestingly, the sandstone (which is brown) was quarried on the islands here, and much was used in buildings in large cities including Chicago until steel structures became predominant.
There are 22 islands in the Apostle Islands, and we cruised among them on the Island Princess in the afternoon. Highlights of the excursion included rocky shores of some of the islands, remains of quarried sandstone, a
fishing camp, and Raspberry Island Lighthouse. We also saw the ferry to Madeline Island, the only one of the Apostle Islands not included in the national lakeshore. We enjoyed talking with a couple from St. Paul, MN, both of whom work for 3M. They are staying in the bed and breakfast included in photos from Day 19.
We continue to be impressed with the large stately homes on the hillside looking down on Lake Superior and enjoyed driving through residential areas. We found a bakery and bought fresh bread, and went to Bayfield Apple Co. Unfortunately, the earliest apples are about a week or so away from being picked, but the company makes jellies and preserves on site. George was thrilled to find “the real thing,” and we bought a few jars of jam. We ate dinner in Bayfield and then returned to our “home away from home” at the campground having enjoyed another day in this charming town.
Today was clean-up day at the house. Despite that, we had a very enjoyable day. First of all, our campground is very nice. We have no site on our right side and on the left plenty of room with a high view of a large grassy lawn. The weather is great with no need for A/C.
In the afternoon we explored Bayfield by bike after parking at the city marina. We signed up for a boat tour tomorrow and then we biked around the retail area of town. Irene had plenty of time to visit the shops while George bench sat with no buddy to shoot the bull with. We visited an ice cream parlor/candy store/bakery. They had mouth watering fresh berry pies, but Irene spotted the “raspberry wine bread” which is a very large and heavy strudel. We tried to buy half, but no deal. Looking forward to breakfast tomorrow. The large box was strapped to the bike rack and watched carefully until we got back to the truck.
At the end of our visit to town we bought fresh Lake Superior whitefish at the docks which is presently being prepared for supper. 
We left Minnesota today and drove to Superior, Wisconsin (just across the river from Duluth) where we met our North Carolina RV buddies Myron and Dorcas Whitley who are staying at the same RV park we did while in Duluth. It was good to see them, and especially good that they are on the road again after a breakdown of their 33’ Country Coach Allure, the same size and floor plan as ours. (For more about their breakdown, see The Adventures of Myron and Dorcas).
The four of us toured the S.S. Meteor, the last surviving whale back freighter which was an innovative
design for Great Lakes freighters at the turn of the 20th century. Its hull looks like a submarine, and it’s designed to ride low in the water, thus lowering resistance. It was built of steel, took less time to build, and was less expensive. Our tour guide was a retired chief engineer for a German maritime company, and later he worked on the Great Lakes. He was very knowledgeable in marine engineering and all aspects of shipboard life. We had lunch and compared travel notes. The Whitleys will leave Duluth tomorrow heading for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area north of Ely, MN, and we continued toward Bayfield, WI, (near Apostle Islands National Seashore) our day’s destination.
Our route to Bayfield took us on the Lake Superior loop tour route which was a really beautiful and enjoyable route to the Apostle Islands. Some of it was quite hilly, but the rural forested scenery, lush grass, and occasional views of lake Superior made for a very scenic afternoon drive. We stopped at a wayside and could see Duluth with the binoculars across the 45 mile expanse of lake Superior.
The Apostle Island Area campground is a welcome stop as it has 50 A full hookup with cable TV and working WIFI.
Hibbing’s history is tied to iron mining, and the Hull Rust Mahoning Iron Mine here is the largest open pit iron ore mine in the world. During peak production in the 1940’s, as much as one quarter of the ore mined in the U.S. came from the Hull Rust pit. The village of Hibbing was so close to the mine pit that all of the bui
ldings in the north part of town were moved south in 1918 in order to mine that area. At present, the workers are laid off and there is no work going on at the mine pit. We visited the observation area overlooking the idle mine and the displays there. There’s a monster truck with tires 10 1/2 feet in diameter, and it’s smaller than the currently used equipment. Part of the pit is filled with water (spring-fed) that looks very green.
We also visited the Greyhound Bus Museum. The story of the origin of the bus industry was especially interesting. A man bought a Hupmobile dealership but could 
After a few days of chilly rainy weather, we really enjoyed the sunny pleasant 
Our rainy weather continued today – but lighter than 
The guide on the Edna G. told us a a freighter was due into 
the dock in Two Harbors tonight, but after lunch, George was looking out the coach window at the lake and said, “There’s the freighter! Let’s go!” So we took off to the breakwater at the lighthouse to watch the 1004 ft. Indiana Harbor come into the dock to take on a load of iron ore. Coincidentally, we saw this same freighter leaving port in Duluth. While we were there, we toured Two Harbors Lighthouse which was built in 1892.
We visited Gooseberry Falls State Park this morning and enjoyed walking
After a very pleasant morning at Goo
seberry Falls SP, we returned to the coach for lunch with plans to bike to the light house, 3M Museum, and other places in Two Harbors in the afternoon. However, it began raining almost immediately and continued throughout the afternoon, sometimes quite hard. Since we have another day here, we decided to stay dry. Irene read and napped, and George spent the afternoon on the computer placing campgrounds on the map for GPS upload.
Sunday was a very rainy day in Duluth, but it cleared off by the middle of the afternoon. We did housecleaning in the motor home and some laundry and made a quick trip for some groceries. We saw another 1000’ freighter pass under the lift bridge as it was leaving the port of Duluth.
Monday we drove up the North Shore Scenic Drive to Two Harbors where we are staying at Burlington Bay Campground. We explored Two Harbors and bicycled some. The Depot, now a history museum, has two very old locomotives. The harbor has 2 working ore loading docks.
Today was chilly – not cool, chilly. It was gray and overcast and windy unti
l late afternoon. But we took our jackets and headed to Split Rock State Park to visit the lighthouse there. We saw the video and exhibits in the visitors center and then went on the lighthouse 
We drove north past Silver Bay to Palisade Head which has incredible views of Lake Superior, Shovel Point, and 200-foot cliffs. Palisade Head was formed by molten lava billions of years ago and is part of Tettegouche State Park. There were rock climbers preparing to go down the cliff when we were there. It was a very pleasant day, and by the end of the afternoon, the sun was shining and it was almost warm.
We cleaned the bugs off the front of the coach this morning which had accumulat
We shouldn’t have been surprised to wake up to a heavy fog this morning since we are on the shore of Lake Superior. The fog cleared off by mid-morning, and it has been a pleasant sunny day with cooler air coming off the lake. We actually needed jackets this evening. Today’s “tour focus” has been the lake and boats on the lake. We bicycled to the Lake Superior Maritime Museum where we joined an Army Corp of Engineers talk about the history of the area, construction and maintenance of the canal and the lift bridge across it, and its lighthouses. Then we toured the maritime museum.
When we left the museum, the 1000 foot “Indiana Harbor” freighter was exiting the Duluth harbor after taking on a load of coal. It was exciting to see a boat this large go under the lift bridge out to Lake Superior. Then we continued on our bikes to the S.S. William A. Irving Ore Boat Museum which was the pride of the U.S. Steel fleet when it was launched in 1935 because of its adva in propulsion – steam turbines. We also went to the Omnimax Theatre to see “Mysteries of the Great Lakes.” We’ve never seen an IMax quite like it. It had a circular screen that came over the audience like a planetarium.
Our day got off to a great start with an exhilarating bicycle ride on the Willard Munger Trail from Carlton to West Duluth, a 15 mile ride with lots of downhill over rivers and through rock cuts and hemlock and aspen forests. Then we were ready for a good lunch in Duluth and went to Sir Benedicts as recommended by our RV buddy George Sanders, a former Duluth resident
.
The Railroad Museum at the Depot was our next stop. It includes local history as well as an excellent collection of rail cars and history. Irene especially enjoyed the china display from the area’s trains of a bygone era, and George said the Depot was the best railroad museum he’s seen.
Duluth has a lovely Rose Garden located in Leif Erickson Park, and we ended our day’s excursions there. Overlooking Lake Superior, the garden is well laid out and is immaculately kept. The amazing thing is that in the winter, they prune the roses to 18 - 24 inches and tie the limbs together, loosen the roots, dig a trough beside the bush, and lay the rose bush over. Then it's covered with about 3 inches of soil, and bags of leaves donated by the community are placed over them for the winter. The tree roses are kept in greenhouses thru the winter. And that’s how the rose garden survives winter in Duluth.
Yesterday morning we set out on our first bike trip in Duluth. We crossed the bridge and got on the Lake Trail which follows Lake Superior to the NE. We noticed all the landscaping was very well kept and everything was lush and green. We had lunch at Midi at the Fitgars Brewery complex. Our lunches were superb. George was very pleased to find that the RR runs parallel to the trail in this area and in fact we saw a passenger tour train returning to Duluth. We’ve scheduled to take that trip later in the week. 
After lunch we returned to town and biked East Superior Street down to the Radisson Hotel which is headquarters for the NRHS RR convention. We went in the depot which is across the street and got information about our trip later in the week. We then took a 20 minute trolley loop tour of down town. Afterwards we headed to the house.
Today we spent a lot of time in the morning trying to plan how to do the Willard Munger bike trail. We want to start at Carlton and do the 15 mile section one-way down hill to west Duluth. We tried renting a car but none were available. A bike shop told us no shuttle was available. So, we went to the grocery before lunch and in the afternoon we went out to the west Duluth trail head. We saw a camp ground there and learned that Willard Munger’s son was in charge of the campground and he would take us to Carlton much cheaper than a car rental
