There's no sleeping in today! Lennie has our sightseeing all planned out! We're taking a drive up the North Shore on the scenic byway. This entails towns, state parks, marinas, restaurants, etc,etc between Duluth & the Canadian border. We are not going as far as the border, we're only going as far as the town of Grand Marais, a distance of about 110 miles & back!!!! There's no lingering over breakfast this morning! Lennie, always the first one up, is already packing our picnic lunch while I'm getting dressed. I'm not even sure what time it is!?! I take Otis out for his ""morning duty" while Lennie loads the car up, this includes our sweatshirts as today's forecast is for cooler weather??? Well....we are UP NORTH!!
As we head out I finally realize it's not even 9:00am! We must be planning on covering a lot of ground to leave this early! It's a little overcast, I hope for pictures sake that the weather improves. We're driving along the North Shore scenic byway, but you don't really see a lot of the shore? At one point we did spot one of the TALL SHIPS anchored out in Lake Superior! Of course from the distance, we didn't know which ship
this was......9 TALL SHIPS came into Canal Park Harbor at staggered times this afternoon.For a fee, the public could view them!
Our first stop is at the village of Two Harbors.
The lighthouse was built in 1892 & is on the National Register of Historic places!
I wanted to get a good picture of the Lighthouse so I walked out on the pier to check out the view....
I could see behind the property, paths leading to a garden of some sort & a fence. While Lennie & Otis went to the car, I went to investigate the opportunity for a better photo shot &.......
by sticking my camera through the fence, I got the shot !
Let me say right now, this was a day that I took tooooo many pictures. Trying to decide which ones to post was not easy! Mind you while I'm taking still pictures I'm also manning the video camera! Our next stop was Gooseberry Falls State Park. This is a 1662 acre park with spectacular waterfall views. This is where I just started clicking!
& kept clicking
& sometimes I have to let Lennie use the camera!
I thought the next photo was my "postcard" photo of the day....
but I can't be sure till the day is over!?!
So driving on, camera aimed, SPLIT ROCK LIGHTHOUSE!
the lighthouse located atop a 130' cliff overlooking Lake Superior, began operation in 1910.For 59 years its fog signal & lens aided ships in navigation & avoiding the dangerous,rocky cliffs of the lake's "North Shore". The lighthouse retired in 1969 & is now a state historic site is open to the public(for a fee!)
Since we ate breakfast so early this morning, I'm already starting to get hungry. I have a tinge of a headache, I don't know if it's a hunger headache, or my ""dizzy" issues??? We stopped at a marina that offered picnic grounds & a view!
We were talking to two couples traveling together. One couple was from Minnesota, the other couple from Massachusetts. They met each other at a RV park in Punta Gorda, Florida where they both spend their winters. They asked us if we were going to the border & we told them just as far as Grand Marais. The couple from Minnesota told us to make sure we stopped at The Worlds Best Donut Shop in Grand Marais!!! Sounds like a plan to me!!!
The next stop,
the next picture is among my "postcard" photo choices!
it's hard to pick!
definitely not this next one!
How did Lennie get the camera from me!?!
Our last scenic stop on this drive brought us to Cascade Falls! Another beautiful spot!
Notice we're now wearing our sweatshirts! Yes it's gotten cooler & we've even had some rain, but we keep looking & clicking!!!
No way I could pick my favorite photo shot today!
What's around the next corner?
It's Grand Marais, & the fog is starting to settle in!?!
This little town is 48 miles from the Canadian border. It is an artist community with a busy events calendar, plus restaurants, fishing, sailboat charters, galleries & gift shops.
I stay outside with Otis while Lennie goes in & makes our selection. I trust his taste, besides the fact I haven't met a donut I didn't like!?!
All the outside seating was wet from the fog & rain, so we walk & eat! Doesn't take long to eat a donut!!! We don't spend much time in Grand Marais, cute as the town is, the rain & fog is making it cold & damp.
I only went in 2 shops. A definite tourist T-shirt shop & a cute little Scandinavian shop, then we headed back to Duluth. There was no stopping on the way back to the RV park, we're getting a pretty good rain now!
I said we didn't stop then much to my surprise Lennie pulled into a place called, Aunt Betty's Home Made Pies. This stopped surprised me since we haven't had this kind of dessert since February. I know there should be a picture here, but by now it's not only raining it's also thundering, so we hurry to make a selection so Otis won't be nervous in the car!!! Lennie got Apple Crumb, & I got Chocolate Turtle cream pie. After our dinner we both ate our pie, it was sinfully delicious! We justified our pie by all the walking we did today! Good thing that doesn't happen every day!
I wonder what tomorrow will bring, it's our last day in Duluth!
You outdid yourself with the waterfall pictures today....absolutely breathtaking!!!! Love the little red lighthouse too....great framing with the fence. Isn't it amazing that you met people from Mass? Small world when you're traveling...meeting people from all over.
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