Bayfield Wisconsin, Blessing of the Fleet

In Bayfield they bless the fleet to start the summer season. A wonderful setting down at the city dock and harbor. It's a postcard view on a sunny day.

Brighton Beach, Duluth Minnesota

Just outside of Duluth as you approach the expressway to Two Harbors is Brighton Beach Road and what I still call Brighton Beach. But the sign says Gitche Gammi Park or Gumee? I think it's Gammi and it's the poet Longfellow that has us all saying Gummi with his Hiawatha poem. It's all very confusing to visitors I have in my car with me. There is a Kitchi Gammi club in Duluth that spells it with a K and so on. I don't know when the sign went up at the park but it's always going to be Brighton Beach to me. Either way it's a wonderful spot to take visitors to the area and see the waves hit the rocks. Kids just love the rocks and climbing all over them. While visiting recently somebody was getting married right there next to the lake.

Apostle Highlands Golf Course Bayfield Wisconsin

The view is incredible, call it a Pebble Beach like view. Not many golf courses in Wisconsin look down on the islands like this one does. I believe one in Door County Wisconsin is the only other golf course that compares. There are alot of hidden gems on the shores of Lake Superior.

Lester Park Minnesota

Amity Creek flows thru the nice neighborhood of Lester Park on the Eastern end of Duluth Minnesota. The start of Skyline drive on it's eastern extension is Seven Bridges Road. A nice drive up from East Superior Street. I think the bridge in the picture is bridge six?

http://www.lakesuperiorstreams.org/streams/amityphoto.html

Memorial Day Weekend

A big attraction in the Duluth Minnesota area on the holiday weekend is Canal Park and the Duluth Shipping Canal. You can check the Shipping News and see when ships are arriving and departing.

http://www.duluthboats.com/

Research Vessel Kiyi

Look what is tied up to the seawall in Grand Marais tonight. The research vessel Kiyi from Ashland Wisconsin. Click on the link below to find out their mission each spring.

http://www.inlandmariners.com/Special/Special_Kiyi.htm

South Shore of Superior

Just north of Bayfield along the south shore is Little Sand Bay. There is a park service boat launch and and a small harbor. A few slips for boats and a excellent beach. The beaches on the south shore are very sandy and the water so clear. It was a fantastic blue clear day when we visited. You could see all the way to Minnesota's North Shore. There is a excellent campground and very nice facilities.

http://www.travelwisconsin.com/item_detail/Little_Sand_Bay_Recreational_Area.aspx

Chester Bowl Duluth Minnesota

Up on Skyline Drive above the Chester Park neighborhood in Duluth Minnesota is a real gem of a small neighborhood ski hill. Run by a small staff and volunteers it's a very nice community gathering place in the wintertime. It shocked me to see just how little they charge for lift tickets.

Imagine living in a neighborhood with your own ski hill nearby? That is winter Duluth style. A quality of life for winter sports lovers. And what do you do with all the old used rental skis? You don't want to toss them in a landfill. They aren't really worth anything or sought after. The answer is you make a art project out of them on the shed. It really turned out colorful and nice.

On May 7th volunteers attached them to the shed. More can be found on the ski hill website link below. Chester bowl is also home to some old ski jumps. Ski jumping was huge in Duluth back in the early days and Chester Bowl was the site of a National Competition once. I really can't imagine going off a ski jump of that size or any size for that matter.

http://www.chesterbowl.org/

Watercolor

Yesterday in the fog Grand Marais Minnesota looked like a watercolor painting down at the harbor. The area has a real sense of place. So much to do there. The area has a real vibe to it with the shops and artists.

Mr. Cook, Mr. Snively and Glacial Lake Duluth.

What I really enjoy about the Lake Superior Region is it has awe inspiring history. You only need look around a bit and you start a complete story that you can research for hours. Spring makes me think of Skyline Drive above Duluth Minnesota. Hawk Ridge and the bird migration is something to do on the drive. Hundreds of birds migrate past in the early spring and again in the fall. The drive alone is simply wonderful way up above the city. The views of the lake are outstanding. The former mayor of Duluth knew this however and it was his dream and life goal to build the Skyline Parkway. Which he did over his entire life.

Samuel Frisby Snively (November 24, 1859 – November 7, 1952) was the mayor of Duluth, Minnesota from 1921–1937. His legacy as mayor will be largely remembered for the tremendous effort he put into the creation of numerous parks and boulevards throughout the city, particularly Seven Bridges Road and Skyline Parkway.

A fellow named Cook also saw the beauty of being up high and bought a piece of property up above the city. The lot had many cobbles and rocks all over it. What do you do with all of that? Build your house out of it that’s what you do! It is one of the most interesting houses on the Skyline Parkway I think.

But it doesn’t stop there, why was his lot all covered with these rocks anyway? That is a great deal of rocks? How did they all get there? Because during the time of the glacier the lake level was at the height of the Skyline Parkway. It was the shoreline and all those cobbles washed up on that ridge that is now the Parkway. That was the shoreline of what was then called Glacial Lake Duluth. Many hundreds of feet higher then today’s lake level.

All of this from a simple drive on Skyline Parkway in spring time. I need to drive up there again next weekend.

And thankfully we have these old postcards so we can see it all as it was back then.

I have the pictures in present day but I prefer the postcards.

Satellite shot of the region shows snow and lake ice.

I was so inspired by this satellite shot that I had to post it. Today was sunny this morning so there was a good clear shot of the Lake Superior Region. Yes that is ice on the Boundary Waters lakes of Minnesota. Part of Thunder Bay in Ont. still has ice as does Black Bay Ont. On the top of the Bayfield Peninsula that is snow and the Porcupine Mountains still have a spot of snow near the Lake of the Clouds. And over in the Huron Mts. there is snow as well. And the top of Mt. Brockway has snow at the top of that spine of the Keweenaw of the U.P. In the Penokee Mts near Mellon Wi. looks like snow also. Now I want to jump in the car and start touring the entire region. So much to do and see. Put everything on Craigslist and Ebay and just live in my car with my camera. How long would it take before it got old? I'm guessing alot longer then you would think.

Honeymoon Bluff

I was going to do a where is Waldo quiz here but I know folks would know this spot. A bit chilly this spring but that isn't stopping our spring touring of the Northshore. The climb up Honeymoon Bluff is short but steep. The view is outstanding of Hungry Jack Lake below a few hundred feet. And while up on top a small snow squall blew threw and told us that it's not quite spring in the region. We hiked around and worked up a appetite and went down to Grand Marais for Lunch. In the top picture you can just about see the snow coming in the distance. I have some fear that this summers tourist season might see the effects of high gasoline prices. I always like to see families with young kids on the Northshore having a good time. When hiking or touring the waterfalls it's always nice to see kids discovering the wonder of it all. Lake Superior waves and rocks however always seem to be the biggest draw.

Past ice in Duluth

We have had a cool April and a few snowfalls. But in the past it took time for spring to arrive as well. This shot from the tower cam of the local TV station shows the ice on Minnesota Point.

Gooseberry Falls State Park Minnesota

My favorite stop during the spring run off as I enjoy a strong flowing waterfall. Gooseberry Falls has a very nice visitor center and paths to the falls that anybody can do with ease. If you stop in the springtime you can see Steel head fishermen in the river after their trophy fish. Even in the chilly wet day there were a good number of visitors. The couple keeping warm in the picture were from Europe and having a lovely time. A excellent link for more information and a good book about more Northshore things of interest click below:

http://northshore-thereandback.blogspot.com/

Artist Point Grand Marais Minnesota

Down on the water front in Grand Marais Minnesota is Bear Tree park. A nice waterfront park that is all landscaped and very nice. Local people have put a great deal of effort in making the park very nice. Benches and walkways have been added in recent years. It's very nice in the summertime to take a stroll after dinner at one of the restaurants nearby. In the background is Artist Point. If you look carefully it seems to have ice or snow piled up yet on the shoreline that is protected from the open lake. Spring is trying to make a effort but it takes time in the North.

Surfing USA Duluth Style!

Took a long weekend due to spring fever even if there was very little spring in the North land. But it turned out to be far more interesting then if the weather was nice. We had a gale with a strong northeast wind due to the massive low pressure system that brought all the tornadoes to the south. That wind blew in snow squalls and of course blew up some nice large waves on Lake Superior. After driving up to see the waterfalls we took the scenic drive from Two Harbors to Duluth along the shore. There they were, surfers just off of Stony Point. They were catching some large waves and getting into the curls. They had some nice rides due to the large waves. It made for a wonderful scene that only happens once and awhile in Duluth. There is a Duluth Surf Club and they put out alerts on their blog to tell others that the waves are good. According to their web site there are about 40 surfers in the Duluth area. Hard to beat the North Shore! The big waterfalls, weather, waves and surfers. And after all of that there are many places to eat on the way home. It's plain to see in the last picture why it's called Stony Point. Really interesting rocks. The spot is about 12 miles north of Duluth on scenic old HWY 61. If you're hungry there is the Lighthouse Restaurant, Nokomis and the New Scenic Cafe all within just a few miles of Stony Point. Eat and watch the lake out the window at the same time.

The remains of winter

All that is left of that 15 foot high snow dune on Canal Park beach is a dirty crude pile of snow.

That snowless blizzard had stacked the lake ice quite high and made a wonderful attraction. Duluth seems to always have something interesting going on or about to happen. Up on Hawk Ridge is the bird migration and I see tonight in the paper down at Bayfront Park Willie Nelson is going to come this summer. I wish I lived in Duluth!

The last of the old London Road Motels,Duluth Mn.

This week they razed the last of what I call the old London Road motels. Motels from the 50's and 60's. The Chalet was knocked down and I found it sad as it's a passing of a era. The era of the old motels that you drove right up to your door. They were called Motor Courts in the early days. London Road was called Motel Row in the 1950's as there were so many. The Chalet, the Lake Motel, The Lake Aire, The Viking and the Flamette Motel. Of course the Edgewater which is now the big waterpark Hotel. The old Edgewater is now gone also. All of this is making me just a bit sad because of all the good memories of trips to Duluth and staying in the motels. Some of the people that were on those trips with us are gone as well. It also makes me feel old to recall all of this. But it is really great history and Duluth is nothing but history. I only hope that somebody has saved that old London Manor sign that was under the Chalet Motel sign. That is really a old motel that once existed on London Road.

http://attic.areavoices.com/2011/04/08/farewell-chalet-motel/#comment-7085

Bumble Bee on the Lake?

What is that?? Yellow? Really? I sure hope it's just new insulation that isn't covered yet? I have friends that recall visiting the Trading Post in Grand Marais in the late 1960's. Not sure what it looked like back then? I never got to Grand Marais until about 1982 for the first time.

Where is the snow?

Up the North Shore and over in Upper Michigan in the Keweenaw is where the snow still remains. But it's going fast. Today Houghton/Hancock had 7 inches of heavy wet snow but was melting quickly. NOAA provides the snow cover graphics. Click on the picture.