Day 6&7 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

– the perfect solution. So, we’ll meet him tomorrow morning at 9 am. On the way back we did a section of the Skyline drive above Duluth which gives excellent views of the city and port. 

Day 5: Duluth, MN

 

Before leaving Chippewa Falls this morning, we beautified the Allure by washing below the floor line, and of course, the wheels. It had road spray on it from a light shower  yesterday.  Then we headed for Duluth, MN.  One hour out the temp went from 81 degrees to 74 degrees. We were quite impressed as Lake Superior came into view.   From our RV park, which is a marina, we have marvelous views of the hillside, the vertical lift bridge, and the boats in the marina. 

After we got settled in, we went over to Canal Park and also the area adjacent to the park and walked around and then got dinner.  George ordered walleye pike

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which had been recommended by a Minnesotan.  Later we took a short bicycle ride down to the bridge and watched it raise for a boat.  Near the bridge is a home with a truly beautiful garden in full bloom.  The flowers must flourish in this very pleasant weather which we were told is warmer than usual.

Day 4: Chippewah Falls, WI

 

As we drove today, we left cornfields behind and enjoyed the wooded roadsides, seeing conifers and aspen.  Early in the day we passed by a large wind turbine farm.  We saw rocky knobs of Mill Bluff State Park and took a walk to a scenic overlook of Black River Valley, a nice break at a rest area.  Nume

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rous east-west railroads caught George’s attention.  We enjoyed the benefits of a tail wind much of the day as we did yesterday.  It’s much cooler now, around 75 degrees at 4:15. Boy does that feel good. Wal-marts are not as plentiful in this area, but we stopped for a few provisions at one near Rockford, IL, and ate lunch in the

coach while we were there. We had 3G in Rockford, IL and again in Madison, WI. Irene has started doing her internet connections while on the road so George has more time to do his while in camp. The campground here in Chippewa Falls, WI is really nice. We are now only about 150 miles from Duluth. We’ll be glad to stay put for a week.

Day 3 (8/8/09): Utica, IL

 

We h

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eaded northwest out of Evansville and soon crossed the Wabash River into Illinois.  Surprisingly we saw several oil wells.  We were on two lane roads for about one hundred miles. In Charleston, IL, we passed by a very striking castle-like building. We were curious about it and since George found a place to park, we stopped to explore and learned it was Eastern Illinois University.  We ate lunch at a shop that advertised gourmet sandwiches and it lived up to the name.   Almost continually from Evansville, we drove past fields of corn – tall, green, and well-watered.  We are still in the midst of cornfields 300 miles later in Utica, IL.  We crossed the Illinois River just before arriving at Utica where we bicycled on the Illinois and Michigan Canal State Trail.  We saw an assortment of small wildlife – a large-beaked bird on a power pole, 3 turtles on log, and a skunk on the trail ahead of us (causing us to stop very quickly).  We ended our excursion at a local pub where we had a very nice dinner before returning to the campground where George cleaned lots of bugs off the front of the coach.  

Day 2: Evansville, Indiana

We drove up the Pennyrile Parkway thru Kentucky, across the Ohio River, to Evansville, IN, where George has many memories of coming to visit relatives as a child. George’s cousin Debbie and her husb

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and Bob took us around Evansville to all the old haunts George remembers from his childhood visits. Boy have things changed since the mid fifties. We ended up with dinner at the Old Mill restaurant where George ate with his parents and relatives on most visits in the fifties.

Day 1 Clarksville, TN

 

It’s been a challenging first day. We got off to a late start due to problems turning on the data service on the cell phone. During lunch just north of Chattanooga near the Tennessee river we realized we left the power supply for the laptop at home. Pretty much a disaster for bloggers. South of Mont Eagle we spotted a Walmart and got one there. Life is good again. However, while there we started the gen to run the A/C and discovered the coach batteries were very low. Irene went on the internet north of Mont Eagle and located a distributor of the type of coach battery we have in Clarksville, TN our destination. We went there and they determined the batteries were bad. We think this was caused by the paint shop letting the batteries totally discharge. We think we can recover them through a process called “equalization” which we can do ourselves once we have time.

George was pleased with how the coach performed going over Mont Eagle particularly since we just changed over to a new engine coolant. Pulling the grade the engine and transmission temp actually went down presumably because the radiator fan kicked to a higher speed.

When we came out of the battery place we noticed that our back up camera was not working. George called our friend George Sanders in Birmingham who had a suggestion that got it going.

Once in the campground, George accidentally left the water fill valve on. The fresh water tank overflowed attracting the attention of the camp ground patrol. All is well now. The campground is very nice and attractive.

There’s always tomorrow! We’re excited. We’ll be crossing the mighty Ohio river as we approach Evansville, IN.

Planning for a new adventure!

It’s been a while since we’ve posted on our blog, so in planning for our next adventure, we decided to try a new tool for writing entries.  George just installed Windows Live Writer which I’m using now.  We think it will simplify making blog entries – and that we’ll post on the blog more frequently. 

Our next trip will be to Minnesota and Michigan.  We’ve found wonderful scenic areas, paved bicycle trails, train expeditions, and cool weather to escape summer’s heat.  The photo at the right is Split Rock Lighthouse on Lake Superior’s North Shore  which abounds with great views as well as bicycle trails.

Leaving Minnesota, we’ll join our motor homing friends Jan and George to see their favorite areas of Michigan, their home state.  Among these are Mackinac Island, Petoskey, Sleeping Bear Dunes, and Grand Haven.  We’re looking forward to bicycling on a number or trails in this area.

Hope you’ll check back with us later in the summer and see where we are on our travels!