Grand Marais

Grand Marais was our planned farthest north town on our trip.  With a population of under 1500, it has become known as an artists community and a destination for tourists who enjoy boating, hiking and enjoying the beauty of the land and water.  It is also referred to as the gateway to the Boundary waters canoe wilderness area just inland from town.  The town  marks a real change in the composition of the shoreline.  As you head north on route 61 from here , the road is closer to the lake and you will see the shoreline become less rugged and at least somewhat less threatening to ships and boats.

We stayed at the city operated campground, that was nearly full but we did manage to get one of the last sites available of the 300.  It was not very level and we were surrounded by mostly seasonal folks with all their toys everywhere.  We stayed there the first night and were lucky to get  a better spot for our second night.

The campground has its own beach and small marina.  It has a great view of town, which is in easy walking distance of the campground.  One of the closest restaurants to  the campground specialized in fresh fish caught on the lake.  Anneke had to try the Lake Superior herring.  It is certainly different than the small herring in Holland which is served raw.  This was a much bigger fish and served fried.  It was very good. 

We then walked the entire town in just an hour or so. We checked out the breakwater on the town side and found several new arrivals being closely watched by mom.  Enjoyed some close up views of some of the boats moored in the harbor. A few of the stores worked hard at enticing you inside, but not finding anything we needed, we headed back to the campground.

The rest of the evening was spent trying the popular stone skipping.  The beach is made up of various sizes of what are known as Lake Superior agates-otherwise known as stones. Perhaps the best part of the day was watching the setting sun over the harbor. 

Two Harbors, MN

When we were planning our trip, beside the goal of finding cooler temps, we wanted to explore an area we had not been to before. We found that  one of the most scenic drives in MN was route 61 north from Duluth along the shores of Lake Superior. 

Everyone who lives near the shores of Lake Superior and most everyone involved in the marine industry knows the reputation of Lake Superior.  It is lined with rocky unforgiving coastline and prone to violent storms with huge waves and very deep water. The foolish, unprepared, and often just the unlucky routinely perish on this lake.  Perhaps one the latest and most remembered is the loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald but there are many others.  Along this coast, MN has built a series of safe harbors for small craft to seek shelter from storms.  We stopped at one of these harbors to enjoy the view.  In addition to the harbor itself they have also provided  for other recreational activities for non boaters.  This one was in excellent condition.

Two Harbors exists only because of the discovery of iron ore in the nearby mountain ranges.  Beginning in the late 1800's, the town could only be accessed by water  or by rail.  The driving force behind the town development was the Duluth and Iron Range Railroad. While today the town enjoys some tourism, it remains primarily a transshipment point for the iron ore. Most of the shipping season, there are at least two Great Lake freighters calling here every day.  The ore docks are certainly the prominent feature of the town.

Near the docks is the train station, which is now a museum with displays of the first inhabitants,  town history, and the railroad,

Nearby, you can visit the harbor lighthouse and the assistant keepers house. There is an early steamship bridge overlooking the lake to get the feel of how it might have been to be onboard a laker.  On the grounds you can walk out the jetty to the harbor entrance light for a great view of the harbor and ship loading piers.

Finally, Two Harbors is also the home of the 3M company.  In the modest original office ,  you can take a short tour of the history of the company.

We made several assumptions about this drive.  First that it would be scenic and two, it would not likely be that busy.  We were half right, as it turned out.

We headed north from Two Harbors planning a stop at the Gooseberry State Park to see the falls.  This should be no problem on a Monday.  As we turned into the park entrance , we immediately knew we were in trouble. Cars were parked in the grass along the entry road right up to the two large parking lots which included parking for RV's only.  Unfortunately all  the spots were filled with mostly cars. After two passes, there was no way we were going to fit even our small Rv in anywhere. Also the campground in the park was full.  So we continued north.