After the customary convenience store stop for a large coffee and some "not good for you" donuts, I headed out. I don't know if its due to the extreme weather in this part of the country, but you could not see the road stripes very well in the rain and dark. Fortunately, there were few cars out at this time of day. The photos below gives you an idea of what 7:30 am in Northern Minnesota is like (rain had stopped by now).
Along the way, I came across Littlefork, MN... home of "JackPine Savage". I had to check it out... Here's are photos as you enter town and "JackPine Savage".
If you are wondering what life is like in Littlefork, here's what it looked like about 8am on a Tuesday in October.
Time to head on to International Falls. The rain had ended, but was still overcast and in the lower 4o's... a gloomy day to say the least. I arrived in International Falls about 9am.
As with the other towns I had passed thru, it was pretty quiet... The main drag toward downtown and the border crossing to Canada had some good fall foliage, so I stopped to get a shot.
As I entered the main part of town you could see the factories along the Rainy River (name of water that separates the United States from Canada. I wanted to get a shot of the river so I went wandering thru the residential areas and finally found a small park to take the shot below.
Not too far from the park was this Boise facility right next to the road leading to Canada. This facility manufactures coated & envelope paper, copy forms, sensitized copying papers, Photography paper, Clay coated papers, Polyethylene coated papers, Polyester coated papers, Silicone coated papers, Latex treated coated paper, Waxed paper... "now you know..."
The following shots were taken from an open area in the Boise grounds overlooking the Rainy River and Canada. The 1st photo shows the bridge crossing into Canada (note the security barriers cabled across the river to prevent water access to the bridge). The second photo was a Canadian factory, which I can only assume is another wood products processing facility. I suspect while I was out taking photos I had BOTH the United States and Canadian Customs Agents anxiously checking me out from a distance.
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I needed to gas up so I checked out the "tourist" area of International Falls. The following photos show the Welcome Center to Minnesota, and the downtown area. Not a biggie... or at least nothing like the Niagra Falls border crossing!
After a fill up and another large coffee, I am off to Ely, Minnesota.... The rain had been holding off, but there were intermittent sprinkles suggesting the rain was in the way... The drive southeast across Northern Minnesota was filled with what appeared to be marshy areas, and wooded areas surrounding them. There were beautiful "yellow" conifer (fir) trees, that were all yellow... Never seen fir trees that color. They are called Tamarack Trees. In my photos, most of the landscape shots with yellow trees are Tamaracks. Here are some shots on the road to Ely...
I had to throw the train photo in. This thing must have been at least a mile long, and was crawling along. While in International Falls, I noticed a huge train yard, so I suspect this is a major rail shipping location.
Along the way, I came across another fish statue to add to my photo collection. It was located at the turnoff to the Lake Kabetegama. Remember earlier when I mentioned there several "Walleye Capitals of the World"?? I also took a photo of the general store across from the statue. These types of "convenience stores" can be found at just about every major intersection not in a town. I'll bet you can get about anything you need in there!
As I enter the town of Orr, I came across a very scenic roadside body of water - Orr Bay (located on Pelican Lake). This was a MAJOR photo op for me. I'll only post a few here, but will have more posted on my Picasa Photo Album of the trip which I will link to at the end of Day Three. Here a a few of the views that I thought were very scenic...
A few more miles down the road I crossed the Pike River Flowage, and came across another stunning view. Here's a few shots from this area...
I decided to pass thru Ely, as I hear it mentioned frequently by vacationers to Northern Minnesota. A nice little town. Here are a few shots I took as I passed thru... The 1st shot is a business in Downtown Ely... loved the architecture. Note the gentleman in front, winter attire already, and head down due to wind and cold that was setting in. The 2nd shot was of the Welcome sign as you enter/leave Ely on the south side of town.
I couldn't leave Ely without first paying homage the "The Root Beer Lady" at her original home. The photo shows the site of the home. I should note, this grove of trees and the cabin are all that are left.. on one side of the site is a cemetery, and on the other side looks to be there schools...
A note to travelers in this area... I followed Hiway 53 South out of International Falls, and then East on Hiway 1/169 East to Ely. The drive was great to Ely... little traffic, and great scenery. However, out of Ely, you only have a couple choices - go back the way you came, or head south on Hiway 1 or Hiway 21N.... both of which are VERY winding, and average about 40 mph.... With the sprinkles and leaves on the road, I opted for slowing down, and taking my time. My wife will know that this is NOT one of my favorite things to do - take long, very windy roads... It lasted about 45 minutes and when I came over a rise and saw the view below, I was very thankful! This was my 1st sighting of the Western Shoreline of Lake Superior. On to the lighthouses!
I was still lucking out with the weather... mainly overcast, with somewhat windy conditions, but only a few sprinkles here and there. My 1st stop on the Lake Superior Coastline was the a scenic location called Palisade Head. This overlook was spectacular, and I just so happened to catch a waiting Taconomite ship waiting to load at the Northshore Mining company, just down the coast. Here a few shots from the scenic overlook (AKA radio transmitter tower road)..
Finally, the turnoff to the Split Rock Lighthouse. Part of the Minnesota State Park System, the Split Rock Lighthouse site has not only the lighthouse, but a visitor's center, bike trails, picnic areas, and even a Trail Center facility along the lake shore and trails that can be rented for special events. Here are a few of many photos I took..
The entrance to the Split Rock Lighthouse Park
This is the Visitor Center on the path to the lighthouse
This is the 1st view of the lighthouse as you follow the path thru the woods.
This is a view from the lighthouse looking North along the Lake Superior coastline.
This is a view from the lighthouse looking down the Southern Shoreline of Lake Superior.
From here I followed the park road to the shoreline trails and picnic area and grabbed a few more photos..
You could definitely tell the front was getting closer, the wind was picking up and the temperature was dropping, so I decided to move on before the rains came.
On the shoreline hiway, there was a scenic overlook which gave me a couple more great shots of the Split Rock Lighthouse.
The final tourist stop of the day was the Two Harbors Lighthouse, in Two Harbors, MN. A neat little tourist town. Looks to have several shops, B&Bs and other attractions to visit for a day or a weekend. Check out the this link on Two Harbors for more info. The lighthouse is located on the land between Burlington Bay (Northern Bay), and Agate Bay (Southern Bay). Additionally, there is a small light beacon on the breakwater, jutting out from the Two Harbors Lighthouse. Here's some shots of the lighthouse and surrounding area...
Agate Bay also had two large "ore docks", which are amazing to view. Here are a couple photos of the docks and Agate Bay...
OK, its after 4pm, I am wearing out, and its starting to mist. Time to head to Duluth and Hotel #2. Its 4 lane from Two Harbors to Duluth, and an easy drive. There's even a bike path along the road... It then dawned on me that the Grandma's Marathon begins in Two Harbors, and follows the coastline to Duluth! Entering the northern edge of Duluth, the hiway takes you thru a beautiful residential area along the lakeshore. A mixture of huge old houses, modern houses, and parks, with awesome views of Lake Superior, Duluth Harbor, and all the watercraft that pass by.
Finally the rains came, as I was entering the hotel parking lot in Canal Park. The Hotel was Choice Suites (very NICE!), and the hotel was on the lakewalk along the southern edge of Lake Superior, and adjacent to Canal Park. Here's a shot as I pulled into the Hotel and out my room window while it rained....
The sun was setting, but I wanted to explore the Canal Park area, so I slipped out in the light rain and grabbed these shots...
Looking East along the Lakewalk toward Canal Park
Looking West along the Lakewalk toward Downtown Duluth, and the Western shoreline.
Tug Boat on Display outside the Lake Superior Marine Museum in Canal Park.
View of Aerial Lift Bridge over St. Louis River passage way to Duluth Harbor.
That's it for Tuesday.. more photos will be available in my Picasa Web Album of the sights I visited on Tuesday, October 20th. I will post a link in my final installment of the trip.
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