The Lowe Down

We left Duluth this morning after awakening to the clearest day that we have experienced here. Our morning walk took us over the Lift Bridge and on to the lakewalk.  At the bridge we got to look across Lake Superior as the sun rose.   From there we walked around the lake to the end of the boardwalk section.   This boardwalk section extends just over a mile with Teakwood decking.  Absolutely beautiful.  We overlooked part of the boardwalk from one area Yesterday we spent getting ready for the trip home.  After we washed and dried laundry we went out and attempted taking a Surrey bike for a trip down the Lakewalk.  This was a waste of time.  After trying all morning to get a Surrey, we were able about 1 pm.  Jan got in and I followed.  The pedals were great for Jan but I felt like I was on a 10 year old's tricycle.  My knees were way to high for me to pedal effectively.  After about a mile I asked Jan if we could return ba...

  At Gooseberry falls we found that there are lots of folks that know about this area.   To start with, the parking lot was overflowing but just as we got there one car was pulling out.  I took advantage of this.  It was a short walk to the falls but just as crowded as the parking lot.  Oh yes, this was our first introduction to black flies.  They weren't nearly as overwhelming as they were at Split Rock.  I would have loved to have seen these falls with a full amount of water going over them.   Since on our earlier trip to Tettegouche SP, we missed the "Palisade". We were passing by again so we made a short side trip to it.  This is really some kind of view off a really tall bluff over Lake Superior.  My guess is that it is 120" or so straight down to the lake. Our destination for the day was Ely, MN.  We took a "scenic" drive to it.  It was a good idea but, a long day with little to see.  Sure there were a few lake...

We made it.  These new RVer's are destroying the old way of travel.  There are so many out there that most all of the campgrounds are booked well in advance.  We are now at Lakehead on the docks here in Duluth.  Literally "sitting on the dock of the bay".  The campground manager told me that he has bookings into 2027.  These reservations are mostly for the big holiday weekends and it would take a death of the RVer to open up these slots.  Within an hour of being here we got to see one of the large cargo ships go under the 'lift bridge'.  Shortly we will get to see one of the largest ships on the 'Great Lakes". Jan and I just sat down with a map to lay out our loops for our time here.  We are both very excited with our choices.  I hope to share these trips.  Our goal is explore the "North Shore" of Lake Superior here in Minnesota. 7/26  We traveled up the "Arrow Head" seeing many of the sights we had planned on seeing....

  Leaving TN was easy driving.   The roads were good and traffic though heavy was moving very smoothly.  After leaving TN the road became VERY bumpy and had lots of rough areas(pot holes).  Getting to the Cadiz area, there was considerable construction with about 12 miles of one lane traffic.  After Cadiz everything smoothed out considerably and then 3 miles from the Ohio river the road went to single lane and there was a lot of traffic fighting for one space in front of the other.  This was just a sign of things to come for the next 20 miles. From the time we arrived in IL we experienced  ROUGH roads with one lane closed at 3 mile intervals.  Onward toward LaSalle, IL the road improved after the first 150 miles. Traffic was about as you would expect for mid summer post COVID.  Most drivers were considerate of the others.  There was a trailer that passed us that had a painting of the vehicle inside on the back.  This was almost 3 di...

  Again we have decided to hit the road.  Maybe this time we will be able to avoid the heat that we experienced on our last trip west.  We are headed to Minnesota.  In particular, Duluth and along the coast of Northern Lake Superior.  Neither of us have been in this area, so it is going to be really a novel treat.  Our location that we will work out from is Duluth.  We are actually staying on one of the docks, within site of the lift bridge (pictures will follow later).  Thanks to all that have helped us find locations to see (Ken and Fran Castleman, Garry Floeter and Steve Rausch).  A running buddy from Nashville posted on Instagram some pictures from the upper section of Lake Superior, so I contacted him and he gave me a ton of places to see.  We won't be able to see them all but well give it a "college try".  I don't expect to see much along the way, but if there is I'll keep you posted.  When we were setting this trip up, ...