Duluth, Minnesota

Duluth is one place we have never been and is very much a place that requires more than the one day we had to give it. But suffice to say that we will probably come back again and see something different from this trip. And we really are just passing through this time, on our way to the northern route through the U.P. (Upper Peninsula) of Michigan.

We camped at Saginaw Campground in Saginaw, Minnesota, about 18 miles from the city. There is major road construction on the bridges around the town and we ended up driving the route we would have to take to get from the west side to the east side. It is a good thing we did because when I am driving Phaeton Place, I don't like surprises and there would have been a few on this route. But it certainly was do-able and in the end, when we left this morning, we sailed right through without so much as a blip.

So yesterday when we went into the city from our location, you crest a hill and see the city down the hill. The hill is steep and you drive down at a perilous angle, then when you meet a cross street it flattens, you go across that street, then angle down to the next, etc., until you reach the area near the waterfront. How fun was that? It was a lot of fun and a neat excursion to the water in our truck. It would have nearly been impossible in the motorhome, but fortunately there are routes around for big rigs.

We were looking for the Lake Superior Maritime Museum. It wasn't where Mr. Garmin said it was. . . ho ho ho. . . no surprise there, so we just found a parking lot, parked and started walking around, ducking in and out of the many shops. We were right at the lift bridge, so there was a lot to see. We asked one shopkeeper about the museum and it turns out it was just on the other side of our parking lot. Looking toward our car, we could read the sign on the building of the museum. We walked over and went through the museum. It was free and a nice little museum. There were exhibits of the boats that sail the Great Lakes, past and present, and information about the important of shipping on the lakes. The museum sits right on the canal that was dredged to allow boats to enter the harbor without going out around the peninsula. The bridge that was built to connect the "now" island, originally was tall and had a gondola which transported people, horses, and supplies to the island. It was eventually replaced by a lift bridge. The lower span raises when boats need to enter into the harbor. We saw several vessels enter and watched the bridge raise and lower.

We drove out on the island, crossing the lift bridge. There are a lot of houses on both sides of the long, narrow island. There is really only room for one row of houses on either side and a road in between. Out at the end of the point, there is a park, so we got out and walked over the dunes on the pathway and took a long look at Lake Superior. It's big!

This morning we left Duluth and Terry was able to capture a picture or two of the view from the motorhome and we entered Duluth. It is quite a view. Our route today did not include any of the roads we had yesterday and we were able to get around and out of the town in good time.

We drove east on U.S. 2 and are stopped at the Frontier Bar and Campground. My kind of place. Hah! We did manage to drive ten miles back and visited the Bad River Indian Casino. We won again! It was a good time. On the way back, we drove down to Saxon Harbor which is a park-like area with a small marina, campground and a house or two right on Lake Superior. I had not taken my camera with me, so I had to take pictures with my phone. I don't have cell coverage here right now, so I have to wait until I have a signal to transfer them.

Tomorrow we will cross over into Michigan, the U.P. Another time zone to cross. Man, I am getting mixed up with this time thing. I still have jet-lag from the last time zone.

Till next time. . .

Dale