One Down ... Four to go!

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Marquette, Michigan

One down, four to go. There are five great lakes on the north border with Canada and the U.S. For my history students … can you name them? Hint: homes. Our plans are to skirt all five of these, touching on the beauty of the earth and the way we have either protected or ruined these lovely places.

We’ve spent 2 days exploring the North Shore of Lake Superior and Duluth in Minnesota. The last three nights we’ve stayed in a KOA, a state forest campground and a Walmart. The KOA was is a small town just south of Duluth … quiet and had electric for our Coyote. We also stayed at the Eckbeck campground in the forest just west of Lake Superior and next to a tiny river called Baptism … no hookups, but peaceful and beautiful … and remote. The Walmart is a Walmart … but quiet and allowed us to stock up on junk food (ice cream and pig skins). 

People so wish to be helpful and friendly … just give them a smile and a good reason to open up. Linda at the visitor center coming into Duluth kept answering the questions before we spoke up and even gave us a hint that was perfect … go see the tall ships in the harbor, they would only be there one more day. David on the harbor revealed a hidden secret … the next day Tuesday, everything was only five dollars. He is a photographer and gave us his card. His job? The gate keeper to a foot bridge that rises up and down for small boats. 

The largest part of northern Minnesota along the North Shore along Lake Superior, is either state forest or state park … much attention has been given to the protection of this part of the Lake. Even the mining for coal or iron ore has been surrounded by parks and large expanses of forests.

The largest ships on the lake are called “lakers”, 1,000 feet long and flat the entire length except the ends where the engines and building are. These transport the iron ore or grain or coal through the lakes to the east supplying the large cities … even to the Atlantic to transfer the products to a ‘salty’ to take to Europe and beyond. It is the waterways through the lakes to the St. Lawrence River that allows this.

We hiked a lot, exceeding 10,000 steps each day … waterfalls … in Gooseberry Falls. MN thinks this is a hiking trail … it was 2 miles round trip.  The waterfall in the picture is one of three we saw on that hike.

The Tall Ship … in Duluth from Spain as part of a world tour … was great fun. El Galeon Andalucia is a 170 foot, 495 ton, authentic wooden replica of a galleon that was part of Spain's West Indies fleet.

If you talk to people … you find out bits and pieces not on the interpretive signs. We spoke to a young lady who worked on the ship. There are 21 crew members, 3 of which are women; herself, the cook and the Captain! You have to travel a long way to see one of these!

Yesterday we drove eastward from Minnesota to Wisconsin and then across the UP (Upper Peninsula) of Michigan in Marquette on Lake Superior (250 miles) and stopped at a city owned campground … all amenities of a private campground, along the water for only $27. I like this city!  The Edsel … couldn’t resist this picture. 

What We Discovered

North Shore of Lake Superior from Duluth to Canadian Border.

                So much to see and do. We spent three days there.  https://www.northshorevisitor.com/

Marquette Tourist Park with campground in Marquette, Michigan.

                2145 Sugar Loaf Ave. Marquette, Michigan 49855 

https://www.marquettemi.gov/departments/community-services/parks-and-recreation/tourist-park/

 Comments

Say hello to Munising if you go that way. We lived there for 7 years. Hope you can go to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore--it's beautiful! Looks like you're having a wonderful time. From Patty Schad, on Aug 25, 2016 at 01:37PM

So jealous... It sounds beautiful! From Wendy Rector, on Aug 25, 2016 at 04:38PM

Hi Patty, we did go to pictured rocks today. We got our last picture of Lake Superior there. And headed east to St. Ignace. On Aug 25, 2016 9:38 AM, wrote: From Dan & Vicki, on Aug 25, 2016 at 11:00PM