The North Shore

Upon opening our eyes from a very deep sleep Friday morning we realized we were sleeping in a real bed, in a real hotel, in civilization.  We lied there just enjoying it all.  We were clean with clean clothes to put on.  We could take a shower and drink all the water we wanted without filtering it.  We also didn't have to get up and hit the trail.  So we didn't.  We rolled over and went back to sleep.

Mid-morning we did finally get on the road after repacking the car and sorting the gear again.  Our first objective was Grand Marais.  We had talked to a couple that were sailing around Isle Royale who were from Grand Marais and they had given us tips on the go-to spots in town.  Our first stop was an art gallery which was full of great art, much of which featured life or the landscapes of the North Shore.  (The North Shore is the coast of Minnesota along Lake Superior from Duluth extending to Grand Portage and the Canadian Border.)  We then wandered out to the marina and Coast Guard station.  The was an area called Artist's Point of craggy rocks that juts out into the lake that we strolled along.  We probably could have spent some serious time here watching the rolling waves and the boat traffic but our main reason for being in town was to eat at The Angry Trout, which opened at 11am, and Arthur didn't want to miss it.   All week on our backpacking trip we had talked about

having our celebratory supper at The Angry Trout and this thought is what got Arthur through a few days.  However our ferry was delayed so we didn't get to eat at The Angry Trout (or anywhere for that mater).  Our one meal the previous day had been a frozen pizza at the ranger station while stranded on the island so we were more than ready for a sophisticated meal.  The Angry Trout is located right on the water and they even have outdoor seating on their dock.  We ordered the fresh fish of the day-- grilled white fish and lake trout.  The boat beside the dock where we were dining was the vessel that brought the fish in that morning.  As we waited for our meal we must have had the look of ravenous wolves as one of the waiters came to fill our water glasses again and asked if we were backpackers.  How he knew I don't know since we were wearing normal clothes and had showered.  Once our sandwiches arrived it was pure bliss to sink our teeth into homemade buns and fresh fish-- another meal we will remember for a long time and well worth the anticipation.

Departing from Grand Marais, I made the executive decision that if (or when) we move to Minnesota this is where we should live.  We meandered down the coastline to Split Rock Lighthouse.  A storm in late November of 1905 ended up damaging or sinking 29 vessels, killing 36 seaman and costing the equivalent of almost $95 million (2015 dollars).  This was called the Mataafa Storm, after the largest shipwreck, and it prompted the building of this lighthouse.  The lighthouse is situated at the top of a 150' rocky cliff made of diabase and anorthosite, two rocks rarely seen at the earth's surface that are particularly resistant to erosion. For the first 20 years of operation the only way to reach the lighthouse was by the water.  All supplies had to be hoisted up or put on a tram line that was built from the dock a few years later.  It is hard to imagine the lives of the three light keepers and their families on this isolated rocky outcropping.   We toured the museum which had displays about shipwrecks, commercial fishing, and how to navigate using lighthouses.  After our previous night on the ferry where I was overjoyed to see the light marking the inlet for the bay signifying our three hour tour was finally over, I have a better understanding off how sailors felt when they finally saw the lights of their home harbors appear on the horizon.  Next we went on a guided tour of the grounds and explored the lighthouse itself.  Arthur was very impressed by some of the engineering components that were needed for the light to function.

It was amazing thinking about how difficult building at the site would be; at the time, materials had to be brought in by boat and lifted by a crane.  They had to get the crane up there by attaching skids to it, securing it to the rock face, and having the crane reel itself in.  The mechanics of the lens, the weight systems ensuring that it turned, the pumping force necessary to get water from 130 feet below, the engines powering the foghorns, these were all extraordinary engineering feats.  The lighthouse light is rotated using the same principles as a grandfather clock, where a falling weight drives the gears that turn the beautifully crafted Fresnel lens.  In this case, the falling weight weighted 6000 pounds and had to be cranked up every two hours by one of the three keepers assigned to lighthouse at any given time.

Our trip down the North Shore ended in Duluth.  Ever since I was a kid my dream was to always grow up and get a job in a cubicle in Duluth.  I'm not sure where my fascination with Duluth started but now I was finally going to get a chance to explore the city.  We made our way down to Canal Park to check out the board walk and get something to eat.  We picked up smoked fish sandwiches at a deli and ate them on the board walk looking over the lake.  While I was enjoying this picturesque picnic Arthur was not.  There is  deli and a restaurant with the same name and my google map printout was for the deli.  Arthur was less than pleased that his meal was a fairly expensive regular sandwich instead of a sit-down meal.  Also after a few minutes on our park bench we were swarmed by a group of noisy, unsupervised high school student which detracted some from the ambiance.  Next we walked down to the lighthouse and saw the Arial Lift Bridge (a Duluth icon).

Our accomodations that evening was a camping spot at Snowflake Nordic Ski Center.  The ski center is home to cross country skiing trails in the winter which they open up for some camping in the summer months.  This worked out well for us since it was on the outskirts of Duluth, not open to RVers so a little bit quieter, and a great price compared to everything else in Duluth on a weekend.  We arrived shortly before dark and set up our tent.  Then like the true campers we are we hung out in the chalet where there was electricity and bathrooms for awhile before heading to bed.  We aren't the campers that needed to build a fire and sit around and enjoy the outdoors-- we had been there and done that on our vacation.  Omnia Vincit Amor.