After
seeing so many great
pictures from friends who spend time every year up along the North
Shore in Minnesota, we decided this was a good year for it. We
are still in the midst of the Coronovirus pandemic - we are both
vaccinated but John is immunosuppressed and there is a
relatively new, very aggressive, COVID variant (Delta) out so we are
being careful. We decided to hunt for a rental house or cabin so
we could mostly
deal with our own food and we'd have private 'relaxing' space - most of
our activities would be outdoors/ hiking which are relatively safe if
we avoid crowds. We found quickly that (in May) we had waited way
too long
and most rentals had been booked long ago - but we lucked out and found
one in Two Harbors that had just
been listed! So I grabbed
it. It had 3 bedrooms so we invited family: Katie and Bekah both
signed on. Sarah and Sean had committed to helping Tyler and
Jackson on their new house in Green Bay that week - but it turned out
they finished up there early so were still able to spend a few days
with us. We seldom are able to be with all 3 daughters together
so that was fun! Lots of pictures with captions are posted
here if
you want more pictures, or if you want to skip the Trip Log and just
look at pictures! [All of the pictures in the Trip Log can be
clicked to enlarge for a better view.]
Thursday June 24 we both had activities in the morning but we set off
for Minneapolis in the afternoon. We had supper and spent the
night with Katie and George to deliver her belated birthday presents -
very yummy baked goods from Good Bakes
(Rachel and Maewynn). Still trying to be cautious about exposure
to COVID, we picked up some carry-out (Moroccan and
Thai) at the market downstairs and Katie kindly shared her bonus
chocolate cupcakes with us.
 Friday
June 25: We headed north in the morning intending to stop at
Banning State Park on the way to Two Harbors. We first stopped at
Big Springs
Falls south of Sandstone. (Pictures on both sides.) It was
a nice walk - not very strenuous or long so a good "warm up."
It's really more cascade than falls but very pleasant and people were
swimming in a calm pool just above the falls. Along the trail we
did notice a very smelly, wet area (closer to parking lot than to the
river) but we were able to walk around it and it was pretty localized
at that time. After we got home, we read that the whole Big
Springs area is now closed up due to "unauthorized release of sewage"
while they figure out where it came from and how to stop it!
Next,
we
went on up to the main part of Banning (I had bought an annual state
park pass in preparation for this trip) and had our lunch at the
picnic grounds there. While there were a few people around, it
was definitely not crowded! After lunch we hiked the Quarry Loop
and went down the Hells Gate Trail as far as we could (at left) before
looping back. The trail ran through an old quarry area and some
of the buildings, or remnants,
are still there, adding some interest. The return part was along
the Kettle River and that was nice, too. A good first day!
There was construction around Duluth Harbor (right) as we went by but
it only slowed us down about 5 minutes or so. Bekah had already
arrived when we got to the house and she helped us unload the coolers
and kitchen supplies. This is a great house! The kitchen
is very well equipped, nice living room, two bathrooms (one up and one
down), washer and
drier and a great deck. The deck wasn't quite finished when we
got there but the contractors came to finish it up while we were away
hiking so it wasn't disruptive at all. It's right across the
street from Lake Superior and all of those windows are facing the
lake. It's right in the town of Two Harbors so very convenient
for all supplies and a nice walking trail runs along the lake in one
direction to Burlington Beach and in the other to the lighthouse and
Agate Bay.
Saturday
June 26: First sighting of "our" deer was right across the street this
morning. She didn't seem intimidated by cars or people, but
wasn't overly aggressive either. We started out walking north
along the Sonju trail to the Farmer's Market. It's early in the
season for fruits and vegetables, but there were lots of crafts and
some non-seasonable items like jams, honey and baked goods. It is
held in the parking lot of a big building that houses a large selection
of souvenirs/gifts and also Callie's Sweets. We were so good, we
didn't succumb to the temptation of fudge or truffles! (John did
go back later in the week and get some fudge, however.)
John stopped at Burlington Bay on the way back to beachcomb for a
while; Bekah and I kept walking on down to Agate Bay and the lighthouse
area, though we didn't walk out to it today. We enjoyed the
variety of wildflowers! We eventually saw loads of wild (aka
Prairie) roses (left), creeping dogwood (aka Bunchberry). I don't
think I saw forget-me-nots (on the right) at any of the other parks,
though.
Katie arrived
in mid-afternoon (she had to work on Friday) and we helped her unload
and then figured out what to do with all of the cars. We mostly
just relaxed and chatted after supper. Bekah introduced us to a
new (to us) British comedy (Ghosts) - I brought my Fire TV Stick so we
took advantage of some of her numerous streaming sources!
Sunday
June 27: Nobody got up very early today - it is vacation, after
all! We also wanted to save the major parks for week days when
they are not as likely to be crowded. After a leisurely
breakfast, we all walked down to Agate Bay to visit the lighthouse, the
docks, the Edna G. It was quite foggy when we started out - see
the picture of John at the breakwall below. When we first got
there, we literally could not see the iron docks, but by the time I
took the picture at the left we could at least see their
outlines! And, at the right, by the time we headed back to
the house the fog had burned off and Bekah felt compelled to take a
selfie
of us on "National Sunglasses Day."
Below: John preparing to walk out to the lighthouse; a closeup of the
old lighthouse, and evidence that the custom of putting "love locks" on
fences, cables, etc. has spread to the North Shore!
More pictures from that
Agate Bay area: An apparently very efficient spider web along the
causeway;The Voyageur, sculpted with a chainsaw by John Gage and the
Edna G (tugboat that was put into service in 1896 and retired in 1981).
After
lunch, a grocery trip was made to collect what we thought we'd need,
but hadn't brought, for the next few days. Lazing around,
enjoying the deck, watching a storm blow in (on the right) and then
watching "Red" after supper finished out the day.
Monday,
June 28 was Tettegouche State Park day. We packed lunches,
gathered day packs and hiking sticks and set off around 10 AM.
(We are not early risers, especially on vacation!) The Visitor
Center doubles as a "Rest Area" for the highway, so you can park there
for a limited time without a permit. That is one reason the lot
fills up pretty quickly! We took advantage of the modern, clean
restrooms and then found the Shovel Point trailhead just behind the
Visitor Center and started off. There were lots of steps and
boardwalks to help prevent damage to the surrounding environment.
There are also numerous viewpoints all along the trail that did,
indeed, offer stupendous views, though they were mostly variations of
the same shoreline. The view at the left is from about half way
along the trail, I think. The furthest "point" you can see with
the tower on it is known as Palisade Head. Later in the week
you'll find the view of Shovel Point from there! You can also see
how clear the water is (especially if you click to enlarge the picture)
- even from that far up you can see the rocks on the bottom of the
lake.
 The
picture to the left below was taken by another hiker whose group got to
the point just after we did. We had to have a "proof we did it"
picture. The one on the right is the view from that furthest
point (north). Just gorgeous! It was about a mile and a
half round trip so not very long, but quite a bit of climbing.
There was a nice picnic shelter right by the parking lot back at the
Visitor Center so we took advantage of that for lunch before we moved
the car down to the "permit" lot and started our afternoon hike to High
Falls.
 The
trail to High Falls and back is a 3-mile round trip but that doesn't
include the side trip to Two Step Falls that involved going down and
back up 200 steps. Yes, really! There is a sign that warns
you about that - John decided that the nice bench was put there for him
and he just enjoyed the peace while he waited for us. I'm not
going to make any judgement about whether it was worth it or not - but
the water was cool and it was a nice place to rest before we started
back up! In the left picture you can see where the name came from
as there are two distinct "steps" of the falls. After another
half mile of trail, there were "only" 80 steps down to High Falls and
John came down to that one with us. I took off my shoes and socks
and enjoyed the cool Baptism River. In my picture (right) you can
see Katie at the right on the big rock getting close-up pictures!
On the way back we stopped at the Rustic Inn that is highly recommended
by hikers, especially for their pies. It was only about 4:30 but
it was already filling up so we grabbed a table and ordered
supper. Our conclusion was that it was large portions of "hearty"
fare but not spectacular. (At the end of the week we also
preferred Betty's Pies.)
 Tuesday June 29 We were all a bit stiff the next
morning and
decided to make it a less strenuous day! There are lots of little
pull-offs along the highway and so we set off to visit several of those
rather than attack any lengthy hikes.
We started at Flood Bay (left) which is just outside of Two
Harbors. There is a vault toilet there and the first actual
"sandy" beach we've seen. There were
a few other people there fishing or beachcombing - Bekah and John were
rock hunting while I found a White Admiral butterfly. The
interesting thing about the White Admiral is that it looks totally
different from the top (see the 2 pictures on the right). They
were very prevalent pretty much everywhere we stopped.
The next beach was totally different - Kelsey's Beach is a more typical
Lake Superior rocky shore! We were the only ones there: John and
Bekah were rock hunting, while Katie stalked flowers with her
camera. Below are both of those pictures plus one of the
bellflower Katie was focusing on!
  Shortly
after we stopped at Iona's beach, also known as the "pink beach" it
started to sprinkle so the last two stops were fairly quick. The
pink beach is pretty but the rocks are all fairly large so it wasn't
very easy to walk on. Only two pictures here - John at the edge
of the water and a lovely huge driftwood log. Not only would it
have not fit in our car but it is also against the law to collect
anything from that particular designated Scientific and Natural Area.
Our final stop that day was at a viewpoint just at the Silver Creek
Tunnel (below, left) on the highway. A portion of the
Gitchie-Gami State Trail passes over that tunnel (below center) so we
could walk up and get a nice view (below, right).

This is the end of "Part I" - a random decision
because it just seems like enough for now! Tomorrow we head to
Gooseberry State park.
Click here to continue with Part II
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