Day 5: Duluth to Omaha
A drive to Marquette, Michigan was aborted for the same reason I stayed in Duluth an extra day, so my travels came to an end. I made it as far as Port Wing, Wisconsin before being forced to turn around. That part of the state is exactly what I was looking for when I started out on this trip, small lakeshore towns without all the touristy activity.
There's always next time.
Day 4: Duluth
Due to nagging stomach trouble, I ended up holed up in my hotel in Duluth for most of the day today. I ventured out an hour or so before sunset and the entire city had been covered by this very thick fog. It was quite beautiful.
Day 3: Minnesota's North Shore
Driving down Highway 61 while listening to Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited seems out of place. The real highway is open and gorgeous, winding its way along the shore of Lake Superior from Duluth to the Canadian border. Dylan's 61 is far more threatening and obtuse.
Today was rainy and cold, the temperature hovering around the 45 degree mark throughout the day. It feels more like March than mid-June. The rivers that feed into Lake Superior are all swollen and rushed. It appears that any more rainfall will cause the rivers to overtake the highway, washing it away in many places.
The Grand Portage area is awesome, definitely worth the drive up there. The image above is from one of the many scenic overlooks in that area.
Places visited: Two Harbors, Silver Bay, Lutsen, Grand Marais and Grand Portage, MN. Grand Portage National Monument. Cascade River and Tettegouche State Park.
Day 2: Fargo to Duluth
Day two was spent mostly on Minnesota Highways 34 and 200 through the North Woods, passing by a whole lot of small lakes and this enormous Paul Bunyan statue in Akeley.
I'm really intrigued by Duluth with its 45 degree sloped downtown streets and towering bridges linking to Superior, Wisconsin. The entire city literally overlooks Lake Superior thanks to the huge hills that tower over the lakeshore. Tomorrow I'll be heading up the north shore towards Ontario.
Places visited: Hawley, Detroit Lakes, Park Rapids, Nevis, Akeley, Walker, Remer, Jacobson and Duluth, MN. Superior, WI. Height Of Land and Leech Lakes. Chippewa National Forest.