Thursday, June 20, Day 59
We got up early because of the time change. It is a hazy morning, with the sun making a golden haze across Lake Superior. John put on shorts, stepped outside, and saw dark clouds coming from the west. Almost immediately, we heard the continuous rumble of thunder. We hustled to get ready before the rain came. I don't think I have ever heard a continuous sound of thunder - not rolling thunder, or thunder and lightening, just one long sound of thunder. It was the quickest change John has made yet back into jeans!
The white area on the map is Wisconsin. We are so far north that the state is only 108 miles across here. The green dotted area is the Apostle Islands, 22 in all. The largest one is owned by the Chppewa, and the rest is a National Lakeshore Preserve. They have all kinds of boating, lighthouses, trails, historic sights, biking, kayaking etc. It is an area we would go back and visit.
But back to the story --- driving rain! There is construction all along here, and everything has turned to MUD.
Around the peninsula is a town called Cornucopia. However, they have named their waterfront Corny Beach. Unfortunate on a number of levels.
AND, we spotted these cranes! This was a time to back up and get pictures. We had seen one earlier and didn't know what it was. Now we know. They are about three feet tall!
They weren't in the least bit spooked by our presence. Very stately and tall birds.
Lots of rivers along here, ending in the lake. This one is the Flagg River.
And then we came to Port Wing. They apparently have a lot of fun here. The population is only 164. Must be all guys....
This is one time John is taking a picture to share with his buddies back home.
There are upcoming events as well. Oh, boy....
They do have a church in town. Oh wait ... its for sale.
Lake Superior looks a little grey and ominous today. We have been lucky with the sunshine so far. But, the temperature was 48 degrees when we left our campsite this morning!
Rolling farmland along here, juxtaposed with the seashore activities.
Before we knew it we were in Superior Wisconsin. With a population of 27,000 this is one of the most important ports on the Great Lakes. The early inhabitants, mound builders, mined copper for weapons, ornaments and implements. First were the French as fur traders and missionaries. This is one of the most important portages. From Lake Superior they could reach the Mississippi River by going along the St. Croix River.
This is the first commercial ship we have seen the whole time we have been circling the Great Lakes. They must stay far from shore, out of the range of visibility.
In the middle of the bridge is the sign indicating you are now in Duluth. Superior and Duluth share a harbor. Another one of those moments when you feel so dumb. I have always thought these two towns were midwestern, landlocked cities. I didn't even know they were next to one another, let alone on the Great Lakes. Duh!
Spotted from the bridge - a foreign trade zone in the port.
And, we get our welcome sign into Minnesota as we are coming off the bridge. To the other side are all kinds of granaries for companies like General Mills.
One of the first signs you are in Minnesota - a statue of Paul Bunyon and the Blue Ox.
Rain -- and the need to go through some tunnels. We had stopped at a visitors center and heard about all the neat things there are to do along the coastline here. Alas, we won't be doing them in this rain.
The lady at the visitors center also told us of a friend of hers who lives in Finland (a small town up the road) and had a bear in her yard that had been shot in the leg. When her friend called the wardens to find out what she should do, they told her to check to see if the wound was oozing! Who in the heck wants to get close enough to check, she asked us rhetorically. Anyway, she fed the bear and it healed, and the bear had four cubs this year, so the bum leg didn't stop her fraternizing with the boy bears, the lady said.
We also saw another Lance camper. The woman driving it pulled in right behind us. She was also from California When John went to talk to her, turns out she is deaf. Communications were brief, but we really admired her for taking this trip by herself.
Its crazy to keep having so much rain!
A brief glimpse of the coast line.
We are heading into lake country. We had stopped at a supermarket, and ended up having our lunch in the parking lot while it poured outside. It was a chance to have hot tomato soup, which really hit the spot.
We arrived in Ely, Wisconsin, a place that has been on John's radar screen since a couple of his friends took a canoeing trip here last year. This is the beginning of Wisconsin's Boundary Waters.
Another visitors center, and here we really encountered the Nordsky accent. The lady was full of those sayings ... O fer goodness sake. You don't say. Fer Cryin' out loud. We asked her about a circle gravel road, 116 and the condition of it, given all the rain. She said she had taken it once with her husband, but when he saw a pot hole, he slowed down to about two miles an hour, and it drove her crazy, so she hadn't been back. But, she commented, she would go if someone like John was drivin'. "I betcha don't drive that slow!" No kidding.
Images and thoughts: A deer crossing right in front of us. John is really nervous about hitting one, we have seen so many dead ones.
A crossing sign on a bar with a picture of Sasquatch.
Cliffs Northshore Mining Co, in Silver Bay. They are constantly refining how to extract more minerals and ores out of ground that has already been mined. Their facilities along the water are huge, extending way out into the water.
And my favorite sentence for today: " Oh, yah better be shure and put on da loshun or dem skeeties'l bite ya to bits!"
We arrived at our campground on Fall Lake around dusk. It has been raining, or course, there are 10,000 lakes, and the air is very still. Even John realized you can't outrun the mosquitoes. We went for a walk, but walking faster didn't help and we quickly got back in the camper for the night. But not before we got some beautiful pictures of the lake.
The water looks lumpy, but its the reflection of the clouds.
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