Wisconsin

21^st July – Wisconsin

Monday morning we set off heading for our next state – Wisconsin.  We drove the Lake Superior Scenic Byway to Bayfield; occasionally getting glimpses of the Lake through the trees.  We stopped at Cornucopia for coffee where there was a beach and people were swimming in the Lake waters –  not quiet warm enough for us. We arrived and our camp site and after setting in we drove the short distance into Bayfield were we took a stroll around the harbour. Once a thriving town with the logging, mining, and fishing industries its main business now comes from visitors and there are more properties in the town than permanent residents.

22^nd July – Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

In the morning we hopped on a boat tour around the Apostle Islands. There are 22 Islands of which 21 belong to the National Lakeshore and we were able to see all the islands on the cruise, albeit some in the far distance.  The Islands range in size from over 10,000 to just 175 acres.  All, but North Twin Island, were logged, some as recently as 1950s, and they have now re-grown although it has changed the distribution of tree species. 

As part of the Captain’s narration he described how the logs would be floated down the lake in flotillas 1 mile long and ½ a mile wide. 

Once it was decided, back in the 1970s, to protect the Islands the Government had to purchase them individually.  The logging companies were happy to sell but some people had homes here and hence there are still one or two residents on some of the Islands.

We sailed around Devils Island which not only has a lighthouse, but also the Sea Caves. The sandstone cliffs, rising 60 feet above water level, have been undercut by the Lake water to create a honeycomb of caves.  These caves were particularly popular this year when Gitchi-Gami (Ojibwe name for Lake Superior meaning Big Water) froze over, allowing people to walk to see the caves with their massive frozen icicles.  The last time it was possible to walk to the caves was in 2009. 

 During the first 2 months of 2014 there were over 138,000 visitors compared to 148,000 during the whole of 2013.

There are bears on the Islands and that evening we learned from the TV news that one of the Islands was closed to visitors because a particular bear was causing a problem.  Our Captain had earlier told us a story of one bear that had been re-located 300 miles west on the mainland many years ago but had still managed to find his way back to the Islands 6 months later.

In the evening we went back into town for the Concert on the Lake.  We sat on our picnic chairs with a drink/ice cream in the Waterfront Park and listened to a due called Brave Cowboy play and sing folk and blues with the Lake as a back drop.  Very relaxing!

23^rd July

We had hoped to book a kayaking trip to see the Sea Caves up close, but all tours were fully booked so we had a restful day at the campsite with a little excursion to one of the many fruit farms in this area.  Here we purchased among other things, some tasty non-alcoholic apple and blueberry cider.

Lake Superior. North Shoreline.

14^th July 2014 – Travel to Temperance River SP

We set off in the rain to drive a short distance back down Lake Superior’s shoreline.  Cascade River SP did not have any suitable camp sites for our RV so we carried on down to Temperance River SP.  This was actually nicer and we were camped very close to the Lake. 

When the weather finally cleared in the late afternoon we took a stroll up the gorge to see the waterfalls and rapids of Temperance River.  This is the only river feeding directly into Lake Superior without a rock or sand bar at the river's mouth.

15^th July – Lutsen Mountains

We drove a few miles up to the Lutsen Mountains just 10 miles up the shoreline.  The village had numerous ski lifts and was obviously a place for skiing and winter sports.  We took the gondola lift up Moose Mountain and were treated to a gorgeous view over the Lake.

Then we tried the Mountain Slide which involved a ski lift up another mountain and then grabbing a toboggan-style tray and sliding back down the mountain on a concrete course.  Great fun!

On our way home we called into an Outfitter and booked an afternoon to kayak on the Lake.

Later Paul went fishing and caught a White Sucker fish – which tasted very nice.

 

16^th July – Superior Kayakers

With a surface area of 31,700 sq miles Lake Superior is the largest fresh water lake and holds 10% of the world’s fresh water.  However that water is only 4C and wearing wetsuits is recommended.  The Lake ‘behaves’ more like the sea and we did not feel our inflatable kayak a suitable vessel so we went out with an outfitting company who provided the correct gear. 

Two ladies (Rita and Rosanne) joined us, our guide Dave took us along the shoreline to the mouth of Temperance River, where the water was considerably warmer and people bathe in it. 

We stopped on the beach and Dave pointed out Agate stones which Superior is renowned for.  Had we known we were coming down to this state park we would have brought our front door key and we could all have had afternoon tea as we were only 100 yards from the RV.

The water was a little choppy at times and the journey back was quicker as we were travelling with the wind, which was pretty cool.  From the water we could see the houses that were hidden

from the road by trees.

Now that we have been out on the biggest lake we can call ourselves ‘Superior Kayakers’.

17^th July – Travel to Duluth

 

Travelling further south the next day, we stopped at Gooseberry Falls SP for coffee and to see the waterfalls.  All along this shoreline the rivers have some form of ‘drop’ down into the Lake with either rapids or waterfalls. (Alison has a "thing" about waterfalls).

We eventually found our campsite, on the south of Duluth, around lunch time.  We got a spot right on the St Louis River.  This river marks the state line between Minnesota and Wisconsin. 

It was  quiet and peaceful and Paul wasted no time getting his fishing rod out. In the evening we went into town and found a place advertised as ‘English pub atmosphere, Italian chef, Celtic music and several different beers’.  With Guinness and Strongbow on tap what more could you want.

18^th July – Canal Park Duluth

We first drove into the town of Superior for some shopping and to find a branch of Bank of America.  In order to apply for an extension to our visa we need to obtain a Bankers Draft (or similar) and hence need a branch of our US bank.  Having consulted the Internet we thought this would be straight forward – wrong!  We spent 2 hours driving around Superior and Duluth trying to find a branch of Bank of America without success.  Minneapolis and St Paul have the only branches in Minnesota and Wisconsin has no branches at all.

So we gave up and went for lunch at the Canal Park in Duluth; part of the Downtown on the harbour front.  It was very busy with shops and eating places and was right next to the Aerial Lift Bridge.  We saw the bridge raised a couple of times to let ships pass in and out of the harbour.

At the mouth of the St Louis River is a spit of land which created a natural harbour; however the natural entrance was 5 miles further along the shoreline in the town of Superior so another man-made entrance was created back in the late 1800s at the Duluth end, for which the aerial lift bridge was necessary.  The Maritime Visitors Centre Museum was very interesting and explained how the harbours were built and also of tragic shipping accidents in the Lake.  The Ships main cargo is coal, grain and iron ore.

The Blue Heron is a Large Lakes Research Vessel owned by the University of Minnesota and was in the docks for an Open Day, so we hoped on board and had a guided tour by 3 of the personnel

including the Captain.
Some of their data collection included water temperature at different depths and the plankton type food at those depths.  It all fitted in with the depth that Paul had been fishing on lake superior, as the temperature affects where the food for the fish is and hence where to find the fish.

When we got back to our campsite we discovered there had been an invasion – the place was packed for the weekend with little children running here there and everywhere. (Hundreds of the little blighters, they had no respect for other campers and ran everywhere).

19^th & 20^th July – St Louis River

We spend the next two days by the river fishing and kayaking.  Our neighbours Griffin and Helen, a couple of University students took the kayak out for a while too. I think they need a bit more practice.

 

 

 

As far North as we can go.

7^th – 8^th July – Tettagouche State Park

It was a relatively short drive along a picturesque road from Ely to Tettagouche, on the shoreline of Lake Superior.  The wild flowers along the highway are colourful.

Logging was one of the main activities during the 1880s-1900s.  After all the good-sized trees where chopped down the logging companies would move onto another section of the forest.  Incredible to think these forests have now re-grown in the last 100 years and everywhere we look there are trees. During the years of logging and mining, emphasis was put on rail-road and water transportation and no public money was spent on roads.  It wasn’t until 1920s that they started to develop the road network. 

After setting up camp and having lunch, we had an afternoon hike to see the waterfalls in the park. It was a lovely sunny afternoon.

The next day the weather had changed; the temperature dropped and the mist on the Lake did not lift until the afternoon.  We did a couple of hikes along the shoreline; Shovel Point and Palisade Head.  Although the area is known for Peregrine Falcons we believe the bird we saw was an Osprey, but it was hard to tell from a distance.

9th – 13^th July – Grand Portage

9^th July

We spent most of the morning driving 70 miles along the coastline up to Grand Portage just a few miles below the Canadian border.  We stopped for coffee near the Cross River, cascading into the Lake.  We booked into the campground on the Ojibwe Indian Reservation lands and then drove around the village and booked our tickets for the ferry across to Isle Royale National Park in a couple of days.

In the evening we got chatting to our camp neighbours and they kindly invited Paul to go out on their boat to go fishing the next day.

10^th July

Paul was up early and on the lake by 9am with Mark and Don.  It turned out to be a beautiful sunny day and the Lake waters were still – so an excellent day for fishing and the three men caught five good-sized lake trout. The trip was a learning curve for me as I have never been on a boat like this to go fishing. We were fishing at a depth between 70 and 110 feet using trawling gear. Four rigs were out with one lure per rig. The water is still very cold after a bad winter. Trout need the water temperature to be up in the 50s but at the moment it is around 42f so very few people were catching anything.

Alison drove into Grand Marais for some window shopping; a lake-side town with a lovely little harbour.

11^th July

The weather was abysmal all day and we watched the other side of the bay appear and disappear as the mist came and went.  In the afternoon we visited the Grand Portage National Monument.

 The Heritage Centre had well-presented exhibitions and displays and explained the life of the ‘Voyagers’.It then led into a reconstruction of 4 main buildings of what the Village would have been like in the days of the fur trade in late 1780s/90s.  The local Ojibwe Indians traded with the British & French here during the days when beaver hats were fashionable.  When the Canadian/USA border was finally established here the trading post had to relocate further north in 1802, putting an end to 20 years of trading.

12^th July – Isle Royale NP

As forecast this was a beautiful day and just perfect for catching the ferry over to the Island.  We stopped at the ‘Witch Tree’ which is a tree seemingly growing out of a boulder which is held
‘special’ by the local people.

We had only 4 hours on the island, which is around 50 miles by 5 miles, so we established the best hike to do in that time and set off up to Grace Creek overlook where we had lunch looking down on Feldtmann Lake in the valley. It looked an ideal place to spot a Moose but sadly all we saw were hoof prints in the mud and moose poo. 

When I first read about this Island 8 or 9 years ago it was described as the best place to spot bear, wolves and moose.  The animals may have crossed to the island years ago when Lake Superior was completely frozen over – as it had been this winter, a rare event.  Sadly there are no more bears, only 5 wolves and the population of 2400 moose had depleted to 1000.  In fact the whole north-eastern moose population in Minnesota had reduced considerably in the last few years and they are not sure why. The Island is described as 99% wilderness and primarily used by backpackers who camp out overnight travelling one end to the other.  There were a couple of Scout Troops doing just that who travelled out or back on the ferry with us.

13^th July

Another sunny, but windy, day and we drove up to Grand Portage State Park which is right next to the Canadian border. This is the most northerly point of our trip this year. The Canadian/USA border follows the Pigeon River and was named after the hundreds of Passenger Pigeons that used to be caught here (unfortunate for them they tasted good). 

We hiked up to High Falls which was the main obstacle for the fur traders. Traders brought their furs down the river to Fort Charlotte.  It was then too dangerous to continue in canoes so they carried their goods and canoes 8.5 miles to the village of Grand Portage on the shoreline – the Indian name was "Gichi Onigamiing" meaning great carrying-place.
They also grow wild rice in this part of Minnesota.

Later in the day we made use of the Casino swimming pool and restaurant.

Minnesota

29^th June – Into Minnesota

We drove north into Minnesota known as the State of 10,000 lakes.  We stayed at Rice Lake State Park for our first night and apart from one tent and the camp host, we had the place to ourselves – and millions of mozzies!  In your hair, through your T-shirt, in your ears and up your nose – there was no stopping them.  Welcome to Minnesota we are told. 

We also learned about the Wild Parsnip which can create a reaction when the leaves come in contact with sweaty skin making the skin hyper-sensitive to sun, resulting in blistering.  So we decided not to stay here and moved on the next day..

30^th June – Through Minneapolis

We carried on heading north on the I-35W through the city of Minneapolis.  This is one half of the twin-cities – the other being St Paul, the state capitol, on the other side of the Mississippi River. There has been a lot of rain recently and we could see where parts of the Mississippi had flooded in the city.

We stopped at St Croix State Park – the biggest in Minnesota with over 200 camp sites.  Again in our campground loop there were only two other campers.  Is there something we should know?

We are right on the state line with Wisconsin here.  Paul did some fishing on the St Croix River, which joins the Mississippi just south of Minneapolis.  Alison went for a jog along the river side and not only had to contend with the mozzies but discovered the place was crawling with ticks!

1^st July – St Croix State Park

We went for a hike in the morning.  It was over-cast, but warm and humid, and there was enough breeze to keep the mozzies down; but the ticks ……….!

The place was infested with them.  They waited poised on the top of grass stalks between ankle and knee height.  Fortunately they were large enough to spot and showed up very well on pale trousers.  We must have disposed of at least a hundred during our 3 hour walk.

During our hike we came across the remains of the Camp used by the CCC when they were working here in the 1930s. The only remaining visible sign of the camp was the chimney stack.

2^nd – 6^th July – Bear Head Lake State Park

We headed even further north and eventually escaped from the ‘piranha- mozzies’ – or at least the insect repellent worked better here.  This campground was next to a good-sized lake and was about 20 miles outside the town of Ely.  This is a lovely spot in the summer and also a winter-sports resort with dog-sledging, snow-mobiling and ice-fishing (perhaps a return visit in 6-months?).

We visited Ely a couple of times including their 4^th July Parade.  We might have considered their firework display but a thunderstorm came in that evening.






Just outside the town was the International Wolf Centre.  We were fortunate that two of the wolves were quiet active during our visit.

A visit to the Soudan Iron Ore Mine, on Sunday, was very interesting.   The journey ½ mile below ground in the old mine cage, travelling at 10mph, was great fun.  We also visited the engine room, still operating as it had for years, bringing the cages up and down.

This was Minnesota’s first Iron Ore mine in 1882 and produced high quality ore until 1962 when open-cast mining elsewhere was cheaper and easier.  Some of the tunnels have now been converted into Science Laboratories where they conduct particle physics experiments searching for Dark Matter and play around with neutrinos etc.

The rest of the time was spent out on the lake kayaking and fishing.  We saw Loons with chicks, large snapping Turtles, Beaver and Deer and were told a black Bear had been spotted by the lake edge, but we ever saw it.  Paul went fishing early one morning and was greeted with a dawn chorus by 100 bullfrogs.