Minnesota and North Dakota

 Playing catch-up is not something I like to do but it seems I have fallen into this scenario again. It seems life just gets in the way sometimes and having fun is almost always a priority.

After spending an extended stay in the UP of Michigan we continue our trek along highway 2 through the northern states.  Let me preface this statement with the fact that we are having to contend with a dreaded “black tank” problem! All RVers know about this and hope it happens to the “other” guy. We know what the problem was, how it happened, just don’t know the remedy. Luckily it didn’t keep us from traveling but it was always an irritating thought….what if?

 

As we weave in and out of time zones we finally end up in Duluth, MN. Having never been there before to visit, we had decided the top thing to do was the Northern Lake Superior Scenic Drive. It is 143 miles long but because of time constraints we were only able to about 55 miles.  There was so much to see but I am sure there was a lot we missed. I have a few highlights to share with you.

                                             One of the many awesome Lake Superior scenes

Gooseberry Falls

                                                        Two Harbors, MN 125 year old tug

                                                                  Split Rock lighthouse

                                   Lighthouse from the beach. Most photographed scene in MN

Is true, we do not have a schedule to meet but we feel like we need to move on. The ever niggling problem of the infamous blank tank looms over us, and (keeping our fingers crossed) check to make sure it has not become any worse. It’s not any better but has not prevented us from moving on.

Next stop is the Red River SP in E Grand Forks, MN. We don’t usually do State Parks because they aren’t always able to accommodate big rigs. Boy, we’re we surprised. It wasn’t exactly easy to find the entrance, winding through city streets and business district AND in the rain. It is one of the nicest state parks we have seen. In 1959 there was a major flood there and the city bought up 500 homes and created a flood plain and a beautiful park. We were only there for 2 nights but I sure got a lot of exercise while there.

                                                              Our morning visitor while walking

                                                       The river follows the park trail

                                                               Trail distance markers

In case you need a few minutes to rest

Even though we are having fun and the weather is beautiful, we pack up our things and make our way, slowly, to Montana. Visited another SP, Turtle River in ND on our way to Minot. It also was a very nice state park. Before we get to Minot, we stopped at the Geographical Center of North America in Rugby ND.

While we were stopped we noticed a Prairie Museum almost next door. Can we get this beast turned around to go see it? Museums are a “gotta see” thing. Luck was on our side as both places were on a service drive with a large parking lot. Before we could change our minds, there we were walking inside the museum and being given directions to best see the exhibits. It was a village loaded with history. We finally drove away a few hours later. I won’t bore you with all the pictures I took but will share a few to give you an idea of what we experienced.

                                                              The General store had it all.

                                                 Statue of the tallest man in the world from ND.

                                                        Someone is not paying attention!

                                                 These dresses were referred to a jingle  dresses.

                                                      A train car used to transport workers.

                            A huge collection of classic vehicles was also housed at the museum.

It’s time to mosey along as we have reservations at a campground and we do not like to setup late. Getting an RV parked and setup after dark can be rather entertaining and we do t like being the topic of discussion.  

We have watched enough and had a few good laughs. With time on our side, we manage to find the campground without getting lost…that’s always a plus. We rest our weary bones, check our blank tank, yep, still frustrating and trying our patience, but for now  it is “status quo”. We are ready to relax and plan out our next stop, Montana. We have never been to MT and are excited about all there is to see and do there.

Until we meet again, get outside and breath that fresh air, take a walk in the woods and let the breeze blow freely around you. While out there remember to look up, it’s amazing out there.

 

A Little Bit of History

When I was in high school one of my least favorite subjects was history. I’m not sure why because my Dad seemed to know so much with so little education that I was sure I must have had some brain cells missing. But the truth of the matter is, I did not have a “connection” with my history teacher. Or at least that’s my version of the story. Fast forward many years and I realized how much I missed out on learning and what a fascinating world we live in with so many details I seemed to have missed. It’s no wonder that I have a yearning to explore and visit so many of the places that made our country what it is. As we travel across the US,we seek out places that have historical value to give us a better understanding of what it to took to survive so many years ago.

This past week we came upon the Adventure Mine in Mass, MI near Ontanagon. This was not some place we were looking for but happened to find it on our way looking for something else…which we did not find. It turns out they were just closing but if we returned another day we could take a walking tour of the underground copper mine. We returned 2 days later ready to explore the underworld.  Our tour was reserved for noon. We had picked this time to allow travel time in addition to the tour length of 1 1/2 hours so Baxter wouldn’t be left home alone too long. We arrived with 15 minutes to spare....or so we thought. When we checked in they told us we missed our tour and the next one would be at 1:30! I came unglued for a minute, spoke my piece about not being late, and then they showed me the clock. We were in a different time zone! When in the UP it seems you go in and out of times zones like the sun goes in and out of the clouds. With a big apologetic smile and begging forgiveness for my indignity, I told them I was truly sorry for not being aware of the time zone and asked what we could do while waiting for the next tour (which by the way we were the only 2 on the tour). They pointed out several short hikes we could choose from that would take in sights we would not see on the tour. We chose the shortest one. Thankfully we made it back only a few minutes late. They were so understanding and our guide was ready and waiting.

   Our options, luckily we took the right path.

 

                   Typical path

                Foundation of part of the mine

 

          Rob exploring one of the caves 

               Inside the cave

 

                 Entrance into a no longer used shaft.

          Remains of the Powder house

 

                Me thankful for a boardwalk!

tour guide, Quince, was a very knowledgeable (and cute) college geology student with so much enthusiasm we couldn’t help but be excited about all he had to tell us. To be honest with you, he had so much to say about the mine that my brain couldn’t keep up with it all. I will share a few facts that I recall along with some  pictures.

The Adventure Mine is a copper mine (silver also) that operated from 1850 to 1920. During that time, miners removed more than 11 million pounds of native copper from the ground. It’s one of Michigan’s best-preserved historic mines. It is believed there is as much silver and copper remaining, if not more, than what was removed. There are only 2 such mines in the world that has this type of pure copper, the other being in a European mine someplace. Sorry folks, can’t remember that detail. He explained in detail how the miners maneuvered through the dark, damp mine for days on end with only the use of a candle for light to work by (I can’t even imagine how!) It is a constant 48^o year round, brrrr.  The ages of workers was between 8-30... that’s right, 8! Talk about child labor. But they did what they had to do.Wages for an experienced miner was a $1.00 a day and they had to supply all their own materials, including the candles they needed so they could see. And there are so many working folks today that think they have it rough!   Of course, we were given the latest in fashion attire to wear while traversing the elements down below and given a chauffeured ride on a path that made you thankful for the hard hats we had on and straps to hold on to for dear life. For more interesting facts, check out the link below.

https://adventureminetours.com/about/

 

           Entrance to Adit #1

 

                      Just part of the tunnel

       Quince leading and lighting the way

 

               Evidence of temperature 

     Some of the treasure found down there

 

       Quince demonstrating the candle use

   This is the device they carried the candle in

 

     Part of the engineering tools for clearing passage

         View of where we had hiked

 

         One of the original caves used

                Aren’t we stylin’!

 

                       Quince our guide

       The vehicle we were chauffeured in

 

      Leaving the mine....this is the office and store

This was such a great tour and experience. It’s just so hard to wrap my mind around all those facts and to think how difficult life was back then. It gives me a new perspective on life. We really have it made today regardless of whatever we are going through. Let’s all be thankful our lives are not as difficult today as then.  I hope you can find a little but of history to explore, no matter what or where it is. And while you are doing so remember to look up, it’s amazing out there.

Detailed update of our Iron River Explorations

Wakefield, Michigan is a very small community in the UP with a population of about 1900. Its basically a town you go through to get to another, and that’s what we were doing. We were on our way to Ontanagon and Keewanaw. If you stop at the Visitors center that sits on lovely Sunday Lake you will be greeted by a friendly couple with a wealth of information about surrounding areas. As we approached the building we couldn’t help but notice the directions to “other places”. As accurate as it may be, I bet we could somehow manage to get lost.

Adorning the lake front is this wooden statue called Nee-gaw-nee-gaw-bow (Leading Man). It stands just north of the Visitors center. It was carved by artist, Peter “Wolf” Toth to honor the Chippewa Indians. It is the 59th statue on the “Trail of Whispering Giants.” Peter Toth has donated a different Indian carving to each of the 50 states and Canada from 1971 to 1988. The statue was carved from one piece of pine donated by the Ottawa National Forest and was completed in 1988. It’s a rather impressive size, to say the least.

It was recommended at the Visitors center that we visit the Bond falls, not too far down the road. They assured us we would enjoy these beautiful falls. We are always game to see new waterfalls so we proceeded with anticipation. We walked the boardwalk, enjoying the scenery and felt a little déjà vu. And for good reason, we had been here 3 years ago. Oh well, we weren’t disappointed in the least as we seek out waterfalls because they offer a serenity that has a relaxing and calming affect on us. Have you sought out any places like that lately? It does wonders.

                                                             Bond Falls

                                                        One of the boardwalks

Continuing on with our road trip we ended up on the shores of Lake Superior. Who can be near Lake Superior and not put their toes in the sand? Not us. We had Baxter with us and weren’t sure how he would react to being near the “big waters” since all he is ever near is a small pond or nearby lakes. He recently has become obsessed with drinking out of streams, rivers, ponds, whatever.....doesn’t really matter. So much for making sure he always has clean drinking water. Who knew? As we managed to make our way through the hot sand, going down hill, Baxter could hardly contain himself. As we approached the water he was running like a puppy just let out of it’s cage. Now understand, he is on a 6’ leash with me on the other end. The sand was being thrown to and fro and his ears flopping in the wind as he tried to chase the waves. Oh my, what a sight this was. He made us laugh as we tried to keep with him. I was trying desperately to get a picture of him and every time I got him in view he ran after something  else. It was so worth the trip there if only to experience his happy antics. After we landed Baxter in the car and got him cleaned off, we stopped a little ways down the road and did some “rocking”. 

                                                     Rob walking the beach on Lake Superior 

                                                    Baxter at the end of the leash....out of sight.

                                                 Just one of the many rocky beaches we visited

The day was exhilarating and refreshing but time has a way of getting away from us. We were a couple hours from home so we decided to call it a day and complete our road trip before darkness set in. Being married to someone who loves to drive, finds so many interesting places to explore and is alway game to go along with some of my crazy ideas is a true blessing to me.  Our life is good.

We find we happiest when we have our boots on, walking sticks in hand and a trail map in our pocket. I hope you are able to find a place that brings you such happiness and peace. And while you are out there looking for it, remember to look up, it’s amazing out there.

Iron River, Michigan

We are in Iron River, MI. This place is a little magical. Not sure why, but that is how it affects me. It’s definitely a “Yopper” town but it offers a very special Welcome with so many things to do within a few hours drive.  Since being here we have walked the beaches of Lake Superior in Ontanagon and Keewanaw, explored “Ford country”  in Baraga, visited the Bonds Falls, took in so many beautiful sights, visited local restaurants, walked and shopped downtown, (of course made some purchases) and took in an underground tour of the Adventure Mine. Not to mention, the campground we’re at offers us the ability to take nature walks, walk to downtown and has a fabulous grocery store that I have become obsessed with. I have included a few of the highlights of our days here.

                                                                Crossing the Mighty Mack

                                                              Boardwalk at Campground 

                                                        The shores of Lake Superior 

                                                          Some of our finds along the beach

                        The marina on Ford property where years ago was used to supply wooden parts.

                                                                          Bond Falls

                                           Making a fashion statement during our Mine tour. 

We are at the end of this leg of our trip and are plotting and planning for the coming weeks. Not exactly sure of where we will be or what we will be doing, but we are sure about the route.  After all, it’s not always about the destination as much as it is about the journey. Whatever your destination may be, remember to enjoy the journey, don’t forget to look up, it’s amazing out there.

P.S. I will be doing Individual posts on a few of our explorations we have made while here.