Day 2
Saturday, August 7, 2021
While packing the car, I started thinking about plans for the day. I could always tackle the hike I blew off the day before. It would have taken me by an abandoned railroad tunnel and out to an overlook of Duluth. Considering the weather, I thought better of it.
Instead, I drove back downtown and ditched the car by the lake. The wind off Lake Superior had picked up a bit and waves were crashing over the breakwater...
This the northern access to Duluth Harbor. A pair of lighthouses mark the entrance to channel. One glows green, the other red. This one is named simply the North Pier Lighthouse. The Coast Guard is selling this one, too. If you're eligible, you might even get it for free.
Directly across the channel from the North Pier Harbor Light is obviously the South Pier Harbor Lighthouse.
To get there, you have to cross the Aerial Lift Bridge. It's not the original one over the channel. That was a design I had never heard of before, called a Transporter Bridge. Instead of going all the way across, you'd go onto a platform on one side. That platform would be carried to the other side, like an aerial ferry. There are only four of these still in use. You can see one from South Wales in action here:
That bridge was built in 1905, and replaced with the current lift bridge in 1930. It's still in use. I even found a website with a schedule for large cargo ships passing through. Unfortunately, I found it after I left Duluth. You can see amateur video of a ship passing through here: And since this sort of thing fascinates me, here's a brief interview with Dave Campbell, the Bridge Supervisor.
Directly on the other side of the bridge is the South Breakwater Inner Light. Its purpose is to guide ship coming out of the harbor into the channel.
Yeah, just a little choppy out on the lake...
The South Breakwater Lighthouse...
It was time to go. I still had a ways to drive up the lakeshore, and two state parks on the itinerary. Everything was right off Hwy 61, which made for a nice, scenic drive...
The first stop was Gooseberry Falls State Park. There are trails out to four waterfalls within the park. The first two are close by the visitors center. Naturally, it all starts with the Lower Falls...
Middle Falls
And Upper Falls
There's a trail to a fourth waterfall, oddly named Fifth Falls. I considered the three mile hike, but still had some ground to cover. Instead, I went looking for lunch.
Just couple of miles back, I had passed a place called the Rustic Inn. Over their restaurant is a big sign that said PIES. How could I pass it up.
Due the same staffing issues that seem to be plaguing every business, they only had one seating area open. I asked and the wait would have been close to an hour. Shame since they had a list of their daily pies by the cash register. A slice of apple, caramel and pecan pie certainly sounded interesting.
Instead, I simply crossed the street to the Grand Superior Lodge and Grill. They were having staffing issues, too. But, at 2P, there wasn't much rush, and I did get a great view.
Back on Hwy 61, I kept driving north to Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. After a especially bad storm in 1905 that sank or damaged twenty-nine ships, the government knew something needed to be done. Five years later, they lit the Split Rock Lighthouse.
The view from the backside of the light...
You can't go to the walkway around the light, but they do let you inside...
When the lighthouse was originally built, the only access was by boat. When a road was added in 1924, the lighthouse keepers suddenly became tour guides as well.
From the parking lot, there's a short trail down to the beach. It's well worth it.
There was one last stop to make. In a small park in the town of Schroeder. there sits a memorial to Father Frederic Baraga. He emigrated to the United States in 1797 and dedicated his life to working with the Native Americans in the upper great lakes area.
After hearing about an epidemic in northern Minnesota, he took a small boat from Wisconsin to come help. An unexpected storm blew in, threatening the boat. Everyone on board survived when the boat was blown over a sandbar and into a river.
In thanks, he planted a wooden cross, which was later replaced with granite...
From there, it was an easy drive to Lutsen(pr; LOOT-zen), named after the German town of Lutzen. My home for the next three nights was a nice little place called Mountain Inn. It's just a half mile from the ski lifts.
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