North Shore Lake Superior: Summer 2021
Part I

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.

Big SpringsBig SpringsFriday 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!

Hell's GateNext, 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 Duluthremnants, 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 Housekitchen 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.

deerSaturday 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.

wild roses   bunchberry dogwood   forget-me-not
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!Sunglasses Day

iron docksSunday 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!

John at seawall   lighthouse   love locks
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).
spider web   Voyageur   Edna G
stormAfter 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.

View of Palisade HeadMonday, 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.

at Shovel Pointshovel pointThe 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.

Two Step FallsHigh FallsThe 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.)

Flood Baywhite admiralTuesday 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
white admiral 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!

Kelsey Beach    Kelsey Beach    bellflower

Iona's beachdriftwoodShortly 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).

Silver Creek Tunnel    Gitchie-Gami trail    on silver creek cliff

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.

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