Day 21 Porcupine SP, MI

 

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.

Day 20 Bayfield

 

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. 

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Day 19 Bayfield

 

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.

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At the end of our visit to town we bought fresh Lake Superior whitefish at the docks which is presently being prepared for supper.

Day 18 – Hibbing, MN, to Bayfield, WI

 

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.

Days 16 – 17: Hibbing, MN

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 buildings 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 not sell a single car.  People wanted to ride in the Hupmobile but nobody bought one.  So he  offered rides from Hibbing to an adjacent town for 15 cents.  It was so successful that a larger vehicle was needed, and the first bus company which eventually became Greyhound was born.  George remembered Grandma Harper traveling on the Greyhound Scenic Cruiser to visit family members in Tampa.

 After a few days of chilly rainy weather, we really enjoyed the sunny pleasant weather here.  It was perfect for bicycling on the Mesabi Trail  from Hibbing to Chisholm and back.  Much  of the trail was bordered with wild flowers, a real contrast to the rust colored rock that was frequently visible.  We were surprised that we encountered so few people on the paved, well-maintained trail. After bicycling, we returned to our “campground” at Wal-Mart where we stayed because we couldn’t find a good RV park in Hibbing.  We’ve enjoyed our “paved site” here and the convenience for shopping.

 

Day 15: Exploring Two Harbors

 

Our rainy weather continued today – but lighter than yesterday – so instead of bicycling to explore Two Harbors, we drove.  Our first stop was  the tugboat Edna G. which was the last coal-fired, steam-powered tugboat in operation on the Great Lakes.  The Edna G. is a very old lady having been built in 1896 and retired in 1982.  It has a large 2-stage reciprocating steam engine similar to one we saw in a static display at the Maritime Museum in Duluth. 

The Depot Museum houses exhibits of Lake County’s pioneer days including logging, mining, railroad, commercial fishing and war memorabilia.  There was also a train video of the Duluth, Mesabi, & Iron Range RR hauling iron ore and two very old locomotives parked outside.  We planned to visit the 3M Museum but it was closed.  It is located in the original 1902 office building.

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.

So much of the history in this area  revolves around iron ore and transporting the ore by train and  freighter, but it’s also an area of much natural beauty.  While I was photographing the ship today, the plentiful wildflowers along the lakeshore and ducks in the water caught my eye as well.  So I’ll end today’s blog entry with yellow wildflowers that we’ve seen everywhere since we’ve been in Minnesota.

 

Day 14: Gooseberry Falls

 

We visited Gooseberry Falls State Park this morning and enjoyed walking on the trails through mixed evergreen, aspen, and birch forests to see the falls  of the Gooseberry River.  The most visited state park in Minnesota, much of it was originally built by the CCC during the Depression including the 300-foot long “Castle in the Park” stone retaining wall.   Trails go along each side of the river and loop to all the falls.  Near the steel arch bridge over Highway 61, the 30 foot Upper Falls can be viewed, and a short ways beyond are the Middle and Lower Falls.  The Visitor Center had interesting displays and 2 videos:  The North Shore State Parks and Lake Superior. 

After a very pleasant morning at Gooseberry 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.