Blogs from Duluth, Minnesota, United States, North America

I've never spent much time in Minnesota. In fact, the only thing I really know about it is that it's cold in the winter and has a rich Viking (Scandinavian) influence. So why did I go to Duluth? This past semester, I put in for a LOT of grants, fellowships, and scholarships. One of my lab mates even came up to me and said, "Are you ALWAYS writing?" It sure seemed like it and it does makes you a better science writer which I know I have some work to do. I think my advisor agreed because after requesting a letter of support, he insisted that I pass everything through him before I send it onward. Of course that rule hasn't really stuck given that he's usually very pressed for time and I have applied to ... read more

Duluth, MN is a port city with a population of around 85,000 located at the west tip of Lake Superior. It is to be the first stop on our trip across the north shore of the lake to Sault Ste Marie. On the internet we found a "campground" located on a pier in Duluth harbor. This sounded like something different and interesting, so we decided to give it a try. It turned out to be about 3 blocks from the city's landmark Aerial Lift Bridge, which spans the harbor entrance. The bridge is an unusual design, and the entire span is raised to a level of 138 feet to allow ships to pass in and out of the very busy harbor. Our location was great. From our marina/campground we had a beautiful view of the city, ... read more

Entry Three: Iowa City, Iowa (depart 3 p.m.) to Red Wing, Minnesota (arrive 11 p.m.) Miles driven: 606 (309 Friday, 27 Sat.) If You Build It…They Look for It. And not find It... Where the F* is this M-fer?! After the 3 hour blogging process, Sophie the dog and I left Iowa City, heading northeast with the goal of hitting the Great River Road, which parallels the Mississippi River. After traveling for 2 hours north, I was looking at my trusty Readers Digest (who’da thunk?!) Road Atlas and noticed an attraction dot 10 miles north of Dyersville, Iowa that read “Field of Dreams.” Now, I was conflicted. I was getting a late start (3 p.m.) and had only been on the road for 2 hours. Plus, the “set” for Kevin Costner’s yawn about old, dead baseball ... read more

We were sleeping sooooo good last night up here in Marquette when we were abruptly awaken by the rocking of the motor home. Oh my goodness, I thought it was a tornado ! I said to myself, we’re in Michigan not Kansas, what the heck is going on. Tim got up to investigate and happily reported to me that it was just the winds coming in off of Lake Superior and boy was I glad. I did not want to die in a motor home, in a Wal-Mart parking lot, with a bunch of strangers, hundreds of miles away from home. Luckily the wind calmed and we were able to doze off until we heard the annoying sound of Tim’s alarm going off. It was so cold at a bitter 48 degrees, and I was so ... read more