Minnesota's North Shore 2020

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Day 1 Saturday September 26, 2020

We got up at the ungodly hour of 3 am to make our way in time to the Knoxville airport for the 6:15 am flight. I love the Knoxville airport, it is just small enough to be cozy, but still big enough to have all of the amenities to make your trip comfortable. There are rocking chairs facing out the window over looking the airstrips and also in each of the bathrooms (the women's anyway!). The entry way leading up to security is decorated with a lovely flowing stream down the middle of the walkway. It was a relaxing start to a pretty relaxing first day.

Our first flight was only 1/3 full at best, so Rob and I were allowed to take an entire row to ourselves. He had the two seats on one side of the aisle and I had the two on the other. The flight attendants were very friendly and the flight was fast and comfortable all the way to our connector in Atlanta. The next flight was as full as they could get it with the new Covid restrictions, but that meant that we had the three seats on our side to ourselves. They had great entertainment, so I just relaxed and listened to a Pride and Prejudice audio book that they provided. The flight flew by.

The drive out of St. Paul was simple and we were soon admiring the pretty Fall colors and the scenic Minnesota countryside. We had time to converse and before we knew it we were in Duluth. I love the entrance to Duluth, coming in from an overlook of the cityscape. The old industrial buildings harkened back to the hay day of the mining industry. You can see the old money that the iron ore and taconite brought to the town in all of it's beautiful buildings. Although mining is no longer the main money maker for the city, it is still very much a working town. The waterfront is teaming with industry and ships and their cargo still come and go in the harbor.

One of the beautiful old buildings was the old train depot that has since been converted into a museum filled with huge relics of the past. It was definitely worth the visit and I highly recommend it. All the better because entrance was free at this time to encourage visitors in the time of Covid. The upper parts of the depot were made in to a playhouse and art museums, but we only had time to see the train museum because we were headed next to the Aquarium.

The Aquarium was small but housed a nice selection of water life along with some examples of the local wildlife. It was right along the waterfront and we were able to get a nice view of Superior before the fog rolled in. It was rainy most of the day, although it did little to dampen our enjoyment. The fog however had gotten so thick by the time we checked into the hotel that we decided to stay in and have food delivered. Thanks again to Covid, almost all restaurants deliver now, so we were able to get a very nice meal from Blackwood's on the Lake sent right to our hotel. We capped it off with a decadent cholate cake that was divine.

Day one is now complete and I am thoroughly exhausted. I am going to turn in and get some sleep so that we can get on with our adventure in the morning.

Day 2 Sunday September 27, 2020

A little about the hotel we are staying at. It is called the TRU by Hilton. It is a brand new hotel and it is ultra modern. There is such as thing as too modern, though. It kind of feels like we are in some modern student quad. In the lobby there are wicker seat swings and brightly colored nooks for using your laptop. There is a water bottle refill station so you don't have to buy plastic water bottles. There are USB ports all over for charging devices. All of these things I like. Although the room itself is small, it is well laid out for convenience, for the most part. However, if someone is at the desk, as I am now writing this, then it is hard for anyone to get to the other side of the bed, where my husband has all his things. I have to move every time he needs to get by. But the bathroom is the main problem, it has some features that were not well thought out. For one, the bathroom light is kept on with a motion sensor. After a while of no motion, it shuts off. Only problem, it does not detect you while you are in the shower, so I spent half of my shower in the dark. The shower itself is a sleek modern shower with a sleek glass door, and no handle to close it on the inside. Rob and I can reach up and close the door from the top, but if you are under 5 feet tall, like a child, you would have to have someone close it for you. Haha. I really find it more amusing than annoying. Must have been designed by engineers that never actually stay in hotels. 😊

I wanted to say a little about the bridge that you pass coming into Duluth. There is a long, curved bridge that crosses the bay from Duluth and takes you to Superior, Wisconsin. That is the very town that the Edmond Fitzgerald sailed from. Anyway, I found that bit of history interesting. I also wanted to point out how incredibly friendly everyone here is. Just really nice, genuine people.

We left Duluth at around 9 am and made our way out of the town. The sky was sunny and clear and the view downtown from on top of the hill where the hotel lay was spectacular. We could clearly see the bridge to Wisconsin and all the old majestic buildings that were indicators of a town that saw a lot of money. It was a really cool town. Just out of town was Brighton Beach as it is called by the locals, though it’s official name is Gitchi Gammi Park. We made a quick stop there admiring the views and the cute little shelter lovingly named Belle’s Castle. It was supposedly built as a Public Works project and now shelters beach goers from sun, rain, snow and wind. It even has a fireplace in it for cold winter months. It was pretty cool. Moving on from there, we caught the old highway 61 and followed it along the shore admiring the beautiful old houses and spectacular view of the Lake. We stopped at Kendall’s Smokehouse to try some Wisconsin cheese and smoked Lake Trout. The cheese was too sharp for my taste, but the fish was mild and quite good. We later found Mocha Moose where we each got a local exotic drink concoction. Rob had the Northern Harvest, which was espresso with chocolate, blackberry and raspberry flavorings. I had the Purple Rain which was Earl Grey tea with lavender flavoring and cream. Along with the drinks, we tried their famous chocolate chip ginger cookies made gluten free, nut free and vegan. It was all very delicious! Upon arrival at Two Harbors, a small town with a huge harbor where freighters are loaded with taconite, we veered off toward the Lake and found a small little train museum. We read a little of the history of the Three Spot train and visited the gift shop where we found most of the souvenirs that we were wanting from here. I got my two little lighthouse miniatures and we got a few other small things. While in the gift shop we heard the owner tell another customer that a freighter was due in at 2pm, so we made a mental note and since it was only 12 we decided to go back to a small craft fair that was set up along the old highway 61. We saw a lot of dogs and I bought a hat. We were getting hungry, so after much deliberation considering the horrendous crowds and all the restaurants Covid restrictions, we determined our best bet was to get Subway. Even this took quite a while since there was a line even there. We took our sandwiches to the parking lot near the Lighthouse B and B and ate them with a view. It was nearly 2 pm after we ate, so we walked out to the pier to catch site of the incoming freighter. You cannot imagine how huge they are until you get to see them up close. We were totally mesmerized with how the captain skillfully pulled the huge beast into the harbor and lined it up with the ore hoppers to be loaded. It was quite a site. It was finally check in time at the Lighthouse B and B so we headed up there and settled in to our small little skiff house room. It was cool, the complete opposite of the modern accommodations we had the night before. Once settled we took a really nice leisurely walk along the Superior trail that runs by the Lighthouse. It was so pretty, and the perfect weather and lighting for pictures. This is what we came for. After our walk we decided to eat at Betty’s Pies since the B and B gave us a gift card for there. It was just a short drive out of town and along the way we passed bumper to bumper traffic going back the way we came. We had to order take out, which we ate in the car along with some of Betty’s famous pie. I had a Pasty, pronounced Past-ee. It was the traditional meal of the taconite miners since they needed to eat in the mines while not getting taconite on their food. It was actually pretty good. The drive back was not as bad as it had appeared and we were back in our room in no time. We took advantage of our in room spa tub and then retired for the evening.

Day 3 Monday September 28, 2020

Sleeping in the Skiff house was heavenly. It was cool and crisp in the room and so very cozy in the bed, which had just the right firmness and pillow firmness for my taste. I slept like a baby. Of course, I was really tired from having not slept well the night before. Outside the sun is shining, but the wind is really railing. It is really nice to lay in bed and listen to the wild wind and the waves of the water moved by it. Can’t wait to start the day!

We left Two Harbors and headed up the coast. Our first stop was at Gooseberry Falls. It is a meandering set of trails that flank the river. The actual falls are not far from the parking area and they really are quite beautiful. We hiked the area around the falls getting different views from all angles. So pretty with all the color in the trees and the sound of the waterfalls.

Our next stop was Iona's beach, a really pretty pink beach with spectacular views all around. The best part of it was that it was not a popular stop, so there were very few people there. I took some cool pictures with my new lens ball and we enjoyed the gorgeous sites. Definitely one of the highlights so far.

From there we went up to the Split Rock Lighthouse. We took some pictures at the pull off with iconic views of the 1907 Lighthouse. It was built after a record storm sank or ran aground a dozen ships in 1905. It is truly a lovely building with an amazing panoramic view of Superior. I can imagine that the keepers (they employed three at a time) really enjoyed their jobs. Especially since they were all given first rate accommodations for that time. Each house had 3 bedrooms, steam heating and running water. We toured the grounds and really enjoyed the walk.

We stopped at the Crossings for lunch and met some very friendly people who were transplants to this area. They steered us to Black Beach and suggested we make the drive to Finland. We did both. Black beach was so pretty, made up with fine taconite discards from the nearby pellet factory in Silver Bay. It is a huge, still operating factory that dominates life in the small town of Silver Bay. In this part of the North Shore, the fall colors are truly incredible as they fill mountainsides and mix with the dark rock to make a mosaic of colors. The views from Silver Bay overlooking Superior along with the Fall colors were breathtaking.

We then took highway 1 up to Finland, which was a pretty drive, and we saw that wooden carving commemorating St. Urho ( a made-up Finnish Saint) who supposedly cleared the land of giant grasshoppers. I was amused by the story. After that we found the Inn we are staying at for the next few days and tried to check in. It was too early for check in, so we drove around a little and found a place to take a small nap.

At 4pm we checked into our inn, which consisted of punching in a code that they gave us in an email and reading the directions to our room from a card held by a big stuffed bear. The directions led us upstairs to our room called Northern Lights, we never saw a single person. Our Inn is a rustic looking log cabin, but clearly it was more recently built. Our room is rustically appointed, with our own bathroom, with a jacuzzi tub. Not too bad. Here we just relaxed and debated what to do for the rest of the week.

Day 4 Tuesday September 29, 2020

Today was a really fabulous day. We slept decently in our oversized bed (I struggle to get up into it) and got started at around 9am. When planning the trip, I had hoped that we could go kayaking on the Lake, and had limited the "must see" activities to accommodate that thought. Unfortunately, the weather and wind put the idea of kayaking out of the question, so we had a day in which we could do activities on a whim and at our leisure. We started the day with the one "must see" that I had planned, Palisade Head overlook. It was touted as the best view of Superior on the North Shore. It definitely lived up to its reputation. The views were breathtaking and the dark Lake contrasted by the Fall colors were stunning.

We left there and decided to buy some groceries at the town's only store, since there were little to no options for dining and what there was was often closed the first few days of the week. North of Two Harbors, the towns are more sparsely populated and even the touristy type stuff falls off. So finding what we need in the way of food was challenging. Rob went out the night before to find food, only to discover that the only grocery store closed at 7pm. He had to resort to gas station fare. We survived, but did not want to repeat the struggle, so we picked up what we needed while the store was open in the morning.

Well stocked for lunch and dinner, we decided to take a drive in the country. We found a road called Lax Lake Road and took it in hopes of finding a Lax Lake. It did not disappoint. Lax Lake was this beauty nestled in between the rocky cliffs and colorful trees. The waters edge was populated with grasses and water lilies and the wind rippled the water so that it danced in the sunlight. What a cool find!

Liking the exploratory driving, we took another side road out of Finland and discovered that the paved part ended and it continued as a dirt road. We were not deterred. The road paralleled a waterway that was swampy in sections and I was hoping to find a moose wading in them. No moose, but stunning views of vibrant trees and rocky cliffs. Feeling adventurous, we took our off-roading a little further and headed down a smaller dirt road off of the main dirt road because it had the tantalizing name of Schoolhouse Creek. I was hoping to find some old country schoolhouse, but the road ended up being gated off before we found any structures. We did see a couple of quail in the road. The male was puffed out trying to impress the female, but we interrupted his efforts and scared the female off into the forest. We headed back to the paved road and then back toward the town of Finland, where we found a country store where we got candles and Rob got a Finland ballcap.

After our little side trek, we went back to the B & B and ate our recently purchased lunch items and had a bit of a siesta. We made plans after that to go for hike in the Tetagouche State Park. The hike we chose was to high falls, a modest 1.5 mile round trip trail that sounded like and easy hike. It turned out to be a bit more of an effort than we thought, with lots of up hill hiking and a bunch of steps, but it was all worth it for the walk in the quiet, pine scented forest and the tall crashing falls. We got some amazing pictures of the Baptism River flanked by the mottled colors of the birch, maples and pines. We were feeling great after the exercise even if our feet and legs ached. Wonderful hike.

The sun was peaking out a little, so we decided to go back up to Palisade Head. It is always a breathtaking site. We missed the sun, but the views were no less spectacular. We had one more short hike in mind for the day, and it was on our way back to our B & B. On the side of the road, and not really well marked was a short hike to Illgen Falls. Unlike the High Falls that we could not see in all its glory without going on a significantly longer hike, these falls were perfectly viewed from the trail. We spent some time there taking in the power of the falls and the scenic river running up to it. There was another trail there that tantalized us enough to try it out called Devil's Rock. But after a bit of a hike and not much to see, I decided it wasn't worth the further effort. By the time I was back at the car, I was ready to go back to the room for dinner, a little reading, blogging and a nice hot bath in the jacuzzi tub. Good thing I brought my massage therapist along with me! 😊 Pulling up to the cabin, we were greeted by 4 beautiful deer, who seemed to care less that we were approaching them. I don't think we have ever come as close to the deer at home as we did these. A nice end to the day.

Day 5 September 30, 2020

We had a much more relaxed day today. We took our time getting checked out of the B and B and headed up the 61 toward Lutsen. Our main stop off on the way was the colorful Sugarloaf Cove. It definitely lived up to the descriptions on the websites, the multicolored rocks complimenting the dark Lake and brilliant Fall colors. We had a nice short hike along the cove and through the wooded area in the nature reserve there. I was a little sore from yesterday, but the exercise did us both good.

Further up the road was a cross erected in the memory of the Priest that had risked his life to cross the lake from Wisconsin to bring needed medical supplies to the natives here in Minnesota. He and his men were caught in a storm and only through Providence were they saved, when the waves pushed them over a sand bar and into the mouth of a river. The river is now called Cross River as that is where he had erected a wooden cross in thanks to God for saving them. Later, a concrete cross replaced the wooden one to preserve the story for posterity.

Our Lodge was up the Lutsen mountains on the hwy.5. It is called Caribou Highlands Lodge. Although I would have liked a room facing the beautiful Fall colored mountains, we did not get that lucky. Also unlucky was the fact that the onsite restaurant was on off season hours and will not open until tomorrow at 4pm. We wanted lunch and the options were limited. We went back down the mountain to a restaurant we saw along the way call Blue Fin and had lunch there with a fantastic view of the Lake. I had a local specialty of duck and wild rice quesadillas and Rob had a Lake Walleye fish sandwich. Both were delicious.

The highlight for the day, however was the Gondola ride. Just up the mountain from the Lodge we are staying at is the starting point for the Gondola that took us up the mountain. The ride was spectacular, with sweeping views of the Lake and the colorful mountains and the beautiful river that ran through it all. It was easily 10 degrees cooler at the top of the mountain and raining, but that did not hinder the view one bit. It was an expensive ride, but every bit worth the cost.

We came back to the lodge after that and decided to try out the jacuzzi and indoor pool. We had it all completely to ourselves. The jacuzzi was nice and hot and the pool was cool and refreshing. We did both, and then played a little ping pong until we lost both of the balls. We did find them both (they were in the pool), but decided that it was time to just head back to the room and relax for awhile.

Day 6 Thursday Oct 1, 2020

There was a 10 degree temperature drop overnight in Lutsen. The high there was in the mid 40’s. The further north we drove, the temperature went down even more, and then the wind picked up, making the wind chill quite frigid. We decided to go all the way to the Canadian border and hike High Falls first then come back down and hit the highlights along the way. The one place we did stop on the way up was Hollow Rock Resort. The rock that gives the resort its name is very photogenic. We took lots of pictures and marveled about how big the waves were getting with all the wind. The wind was really something along the Lake making it look more like an ocean compared to the more placid lake we saw earlier in the week.

At the Canadian border there is Grand Portage State Park. It was called Grand Portage because the locals had to port around the river’s rapids and falls to carry items to the bay. The portage was a nine mile “grand” trek. The hike to High Falls was not a grand trek but just a short and mostly paved walk. On a normal day it would have been a breeze, but with the wind chill, especially at the Falls themselves, it really took my breath away. So much so that by the time we got back to the car, my lungs actually hurt. Having had pneumonia earlier this year, I decided that I would not risk anymore hikes in the cold. Therefore, Rob was on his own on the hike to Devil’s Kettle falls in the Judge Magney State Park.

As stunning as the views have been all week, I was amazed that this part of the 61 outdid them all. The breathtaking views of craggy cliffs, brilliant color and the sun shimmering on the lake were outstanding. Every turn had another perspective of this wild and untamed part of the country. I am amazed that this place is not touted as the prime go to for viewing Fall colors. As it is, we have not encountered much in the way of crowds since leaving Two Harbors. I kind of feel like this must be one of those well kept secrets. I am glad that we got to see it before it is sells out to tourism and becomes overrun by people.

When Rob got back from his hike, he told me that it was a good thing that I didn't try to go as it was pretty strenuous and also cold. I enjoyed my time in the car, writing on the blog and reading my Cat Who book. We headed back toward Grand Marais stopping at Paradise Beach along the way. It was touted as a good place to find agates and I did indeed find one. It also had beautiful sweeping views and up close contact with the crashing waves.

In Grand Marais, we looked into eating at the Angry Trout, but they were not open for dining in, and we did not want to eat outside, so we gave that up and just went up to the Voyageur Brewery for some soft pretzels and so Rob could try the local ale. It had a cute café atmosphere with German music playing for Octoberfest and the pretzels, root beer and apparently the ale were all good. We didn't go out to Artist Point due to the cold wind and we bypassed the World's Best Donuts due to the long line. That was all that we had planned to do there, so we headed back down the coast. We stopped in to check out Butterwort falls, but there was a fee for parking and we just were not that into it, so we just came on back to the lodge.

Again the drive was stunning, looking different with each movement of the clouds. I will never tire of those views. Back at the room we took another dip in the spa and pool and then spent time relaxing in the room. We hope to get room service, or at least take out from Moguls restaurant here in the Lodge for dinner.

Day 7 Friday October 2, 2020

We woke up from a great night's sleep to cloudy skies and even cooler temperatures. The low was 29 degrees overnight and the high is expected to only reach in the lower 40's. We checked out of the lodge that treated us so well and headed down south on the 61. We stopped in Tofte to eat breakfast at the Coho restaurant. There was a little wait for a table, but not too bad. We then decided to drive up through Finland again and by Lax Lake one more time. It is such a pretty lake.

Just before Silver Bay, we stopped at Black Beach so I could get some of the Taconite "sand" from the beach to show the family how heavy it is. We then found some great souvenir shops along the way and bought some cool unique items for Mom and Laurel. My favorite was an Agate shop. We also pulled into the Rustic Inn for truffles.

When we got into Two Harbors, it was just in time to see a train headed to the Ore Docks with a load of iron ore. It was cool to see. We looked for a place where we could watch the train actually going out onto the dock, but the dock in use is blocked by another dock, so we were not able to witness that. So we continued on our way down to Duluth. We stopped again at the Mocha Moose because they have the best coffee and tea with such unique flavors. Rob got a Mayan Mocha this time and I went for a London Fog with a Lavender add in. They were so yummy. I will miss that place.

Once in Duluth, I wanted to go to the jetties to see the two lighthouses. It was too cold for me to want to walk all the way out the jetty, so we just stopped near the entrance to the jetty where I could get pictures. It was just in time to see the lift bridge open to allow a tour boat through from the harbor to the lake. It was cool. I was too cold and tired to do anything else, so we just found our way back to the hotel we stayed at the first time in Duluth and checked into the TRU by Hilton for the night.

It was still pretty even overcast and a very nice drive. We had a really nice time in Minnesota.

Impressions of Minnesota's North Shore

1. The people are really nice

2.The views are so pretty in the Fall

3. They take pride in their unique foods.

4. There are a lot of hidden gems all along the way.

5. The experiences, sights, and flavors are unique to this area. It was a whole new type of experience for us.

6. I am amazed that it is not more touristy in the Fall, as I have never seen Fall colors so beautiful.

7. If you can stand the cold winters (which I can't) there can't be a better place to live.

8. There is just so much to do outdoors. It is ideal for outdoorsy types, all year round.

9. The Lake is so amazingly crystal clear!

10. They care about the environment here and it shows. The Lake is pristine and we rarely saw trash anywhere.

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Photos

Mocha Moose
Love this Place!!!! The Purple Rain is awesome. My husband liked the Mayan Mocha.

The Crossings
Such cool people!