Thunder Bay - Lake Superior

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Day 1

We ended up leaving Rogers Park around 6pm on Friday, July 2. We drove a Toyota Rav 4 SUV. I was mortified that we were going to hit a bunch of traffic but honestly once we got out of the city, it was a straight shot. We were working on a lot of adrenaline because we were all very excited for this trip. We just drove and drove and drove. We took I94 through Milwaukee.

We arrived at our campsite in Trego, WI about 1am. It was literally at this park right off the freeway. It was an alright campsite except for the people in the site next to us. Apparently my friends slept like babies but I had a more difficult time falling asleep.

Day 2

We woke up about 8am and took showers. I thought my friends hadn't slept like myself so I let them sleep in a little bit. Little did I know, they were wide awake waiting for me to get up. We had bagels and cream cheese for breakfast and were on our way shortly thereafter.

Duluth
Duluth is a cute little Minnesota town. In my second life, I would love to spend some time here. It is very gorgeous but lots of industry. The freeway is similar to Chicago where it is under the city. That was pretty neat.

North Shore Scenic Byway
I really enjoyed the byway. It was amazing and incredibly picturesque. The coast of Lake Superior is unlike any other. In addition, the towns were pretty and I enjoyed looking at the old mansions in Grand Marais. There were a bunch of state parks along the route and often vast picturesque riverways.

Border
The border was interesting, quick and unproblematic. Not only does my phone not work but the GPS does not work in Canada either and we are completely mapless. We stopped that the wayside station immediately once you get into Canada. We are able to get a couple maps but unable to exchange any money.

Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park
This park was amazing. We got out and had our cream cheese vegetable rolls for lunch. One of my friend was finally able to get us cash money but the rest of us were still unable to get cash out of the atm. From lunch, we walked around the falls for a bit and took some pictures. It was about noon when we got there. We decided we would go to our campsite and set up camp, then maybe go for a hike. The campsite was not at all what it appeared to be from the reservation site but it would make do. Also, there was a tree down so we had to creatively get to our site. We set up camp, went to the Vistor Centre and took a hike. The hike was a loop and the majority was along the Kaministiquia river. At one point, we ran into a spring which was pretty neat. Towards the end, it appeared as if it were going to rain but it completely blew over without a drop. We also skipped stones for a while along the river which was fun.

At this point, we decided to go for a beer run. It is 10 minutes to 6. There is one store that sells booze in Kakabeka Falls. However, by the time we get there (6:15), we are too late and have to drive 30 minutes to downtown Thunder Bay which is fine because we have the time and the scenery is beautiful. We drive and get a little turned around but end up at a mini-grocery store. We buy some garlic for the Salmon fillets we are having for dinner. We end up at the LCBO (booze store). You can buy individual beers there so we buy 1 of a bunch of different kinds of beer. My girlfriend gets 4 pomtinis which ended up tasting like juice. On our way out, I get gawked at by this guy hardcore. My friends find this amazing and I stop the car to talk to him. He immediately ignores his friends and chats with us. I get over it quickly and we leave.

Back at the campsite, I get a killer fire going using just one match. My friends are quite impressed and lets be honest, they should be. I manage to cook up some killer grilled vegetables on a skewer and amazing salmon. My friends are even more impressed at that. We drink and chat and eventually retire around 10pm.

Day 3

We got up relatively early and had to drive to the showers because they were so far away. We showered and headed to Sleeping Giant which was on the other side of the city. At one point, we pulled off to look at a scenic overlook. It wasn't that scenic but it was named after a one-legged Canadian hero that ran across Canada for cancer research.

Sleeping Giant Provincial Park
This was an amazing park with so much to see. The first thing we went to was the Thunder Bay scenic overlook. This was amazing and by far one of the top things we saw on this trip. It involved about 25 minutes of driving a a dusty red dirt road to the top of a cliff. Once you got to the top though, the views were breathtaking. They have this little walkway that jets out above Lake Superior. Mind you, Lake Superior is probably a couple hundred feet below you. Additionally, Lake Superior from this vantage point is endless and the shore is like nothing you have ever seen before.

From there we drove around some more looking at the amazing views this park has to offer. At one point we ended up in the little town of Silver Inslet. This town is tiny and right on the Lake Superior coast. They have one general store at the marina "downtown." They did have a very nice beach though and a tea room in the general store. At the general store, we filled up our water bottles for the multiple mile hike we were about to take.

We hiked the Kabeyun Trail to the Big Giant Trail. This was an ideal hike because it was along Lake Superior for the majority of the time. There were often times when you hiked right on the beach. We hiked on until we reached this giant rock barren piece of land and could not locate where the trail continued. It was probably for the best though because my friend's feet were in pretty bad shape. Did I mention I hiked all weekend in flip-flops because my big toenails are falling off? It was not all that bad despite how it sounds. The weather had its ups and downs throughout this hike. It never really rained but it sprinkled and then for a while it was really misty and then it cleared up to perfect weather. By the time we had gotten back, we were all exhausted and probably had about an hour or so to get back to Thunder Bay's Chippewa Park.

Chippewa Park
Without a map, we did pretty damn fine all weekend. I knew that Chippewa Park was along the coast just south of Thunder Bay so I just drove in that direction until we eventually came upon it. Chippewa Park was interesting to say the least. Although it was on a river, the campground was more like a giant field. The RV park portion of it was along the river along with several cabins. We set up camp and once again, I made a fire using only one match. We cooked salmon burgers and veggie patties which were of course delicious despite being soaked from the cooler. I was starving and the food definitely hit the spot. After dinner, we let the fire burn and walked over to see the fabulous sunset. Then my friends got ate alive by mosquitoes. They were even starting to bother me which never happens. When I say it was bad, it was bad so we put out my amazing fire and went to bed.

Day 4

Mt. McKay Scenic Overlook
This was very neat and offered spectacular views of Thunder Bay. Mt. McKay is quite magnificent as well. The woman at the front gate informed us that there had been a pow wow there the night before and it was not quite cleaned up just yet. In fact, when we got up there, it looked just as she described and there were actually people up there camping. From Mt. McKay, we started the long 12 hour drive back to Chicago.

Gooseberry Falls State Park
This was a incredibly neat park along the North Shore Scenic byway in Two Harbors, Minnesota. There were so many people here that there wasn't enough parking spots even in the overflow parking lot. The weather is once again spectacular. The walk to the falls is not far from the parking lot. Once you get there, there are tons of people playing around and splashing around in the water. The falls are quite breathtaking and there are three by my count. You can actually walk right to the edge of the falls which is the first time I have ever done something like that. It was incredible.

Eau Claire - Northwoods Brew Pub & Grill
We got a cheeseburger and pint for $6 here. It was delicious with the beer battered fries but I could not finish it. We got a beer flight which included all their brews for only $5. The stout was my favorite by far and the wheat ale was terrible. It looked like dirty lemonade. I was unimpressed by most of their brews but the stout was fantastic.

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Photos

Kakabeka Falls
The falls!

Kaministiquia River
Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park

Spring
Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park

Lake Superior Overlook
Sleeping Giant Provincial Park

Beach
Sleeping Giant Provincial Park

Lake Superior Coast
It's misting outside but check out that orange!

Gooseberry Falls
Gooseberry Falls State Park - Two Harbors, MN