Weekly Update

Stephanie has left, but we think she had an "OK" time.  We enjoyed her being here and showing her what little we know about the north shore of Lake Superior.  Donna got to check off one of her bucket list items as we got to watch the Whitefish Bay leave the Two Harbors area (top photo).  Another

bucket list item was to get a kayak trip in while we were here.  So she and Stephanie got to go on a kayak excursion near the mouth of Temperance River (third & fourth pictures from the top.)  We also fit in a walk near Split Rock Lighthouse (Day Hill trail) and got a pic of Split Rock Lighthouse (second from the top).

So we stayed busy.  Walked a lot.  Ate a lot, too.

We're nearing the end of our stay here.  It's Heritage Weekend this weekend in

Two Harbors - think of it as a family reunion - so it'll be another busy weekend here.  After we survive that, we're off to the heat of South Dakota for a week before heading back to Michigan.  That's the plan, anyway.

Everyone have a great weekend!  David

Happy 4th!

Yep, that ain't a Two Harbors picture, but it's got the flag in it.

We're fine.  Sky not as clear as it was the first week we're here.  Rain & weather fronts have come & gone, but we're now getting smoke from forest fires in Canada.  Kinda hurts the "yosemite skies" we'd gotten use to, but makes for interesting sunsets.

Finally finished riding the bike trail from Gooseberry Falls State Park to Beaver Bay.  We did the first half a couple of weeks ago where we rode from Gooseberry Falls to Split Rock Lighthouse State Park.  On Sunday, we drove up to Split Rock Lighthouse and road on to Beaver Bay and back.  11.5 miles round trip.  Nice ride, scenic, standard north lakeshore views, etc.

We're also excited.  Stephanie got here, yesterday.  She's here for a week.  So we've finally really loaded the new frig for the first time.  We also took Stephanie to Gooseberry Falls State Park for a hike and picnic lunch, today.  Then stopped for pie on the way back to the trailer.  Then took naps after we got back.  I think there's a kayak trip planned Saturday, but I'm not participating.

So that's our week.  Have a great holiday!  David

Checking out the North Shore of Lake Superior

Most of this week's walks were around Tettegouche State Park.  Since we'd walked the Shovel Point area last summer, we worked inland this time.

At top, High Fall along the Baptism River.  At right is the mouth of the Baptism River at Lake Superior.  Below is Two-Step Falls.  

During rainy days & days of rest, we've been walking into town for lunch or breakfast.  Today the flog cleared, and we struck out on  our walks, again.  The 4th picture down is a fall along Split Rock Creek while the 5th picture is at the mouth of Split Rock Creek at Lake Superior.  From there we went back to Tettegouche State Park for our picnic lunch and walked back out to Shovel Point.  The picture at the bottom is of the fog rolling back in at Tettegouche's Visitor Center.

 We're still enjoying our time here.  Got about three more weeks before we leave.  We plan to continue working our way north along the shoreline.  At least that's the plan!  Later, David

North Shore of Lake Superior

 We've finished our first week here on Lake Superior's north shore - most of it in Duluth, MN.  We took advantage of it by finally getting down to the Canal Park, walk some of the Lakewalk, get the truck service, and get some shopping done.

On Tuesday we moved on up to Two Harbors, MN.  This is where we came to spend sometime at the Lighthouse B&B

last year.  This time we're in the Burlington Bay Municipal Campground. We're within easy walking distance of most businesses & trails here in Two Harbors.

Today, we went back to Gooseberry Falls State Park.  Most people on Facebook are probably tired of seeing our pictures and videos of the falls here.

We were, too, so Donna packed a picnic lunch, and we decided to hike on the inland side of Hwy MN 61 and visit Fifth Falls - a falls we hadn't seen in our trips here in 2012 & 2014.  We had a great time, but the highlight of our day was those little guys pictured at the top.  They're know as Whistle Pigs (really groundhogs), and they came right up to us as we walked the trail.  I was sure people had been feeding them.  But one of the local rangers felt that they were too young to know better, and they just wanted to check us out.  We never saw momma, but we learned that there's a den nearby where we were.  I'm sure momma was watching.

The next picture down is of a young loon we saw cleaning itself at one of the shallow pools along Gooseberry River.  The middle picture is Fifth Falls.  The pictures to the right & below are of Gooseberry River as it flows over ancient lava flows. Look closely and you can see where the river is beginning to cut out a gorge or canyon.

If all goes well, we'll finish with having the truck serviced tomorrow.  Once that's done, we'll strike out further from Two Harbors with our bicycles in tow and see more of the exciting stuff up here.

Unfortunately, it looks like we'll have to leave Isle Royale Natl Park for anther time.  We're on the wrong shore to do what we wanted to do.  We preferred not to take a 5+ hr boat ride to stay at the lodge.  We'll save that for another time when we on Michigan's UP where the boat ride is a lot shorter.

Everyone have a great weekend.  See ya! David

"The New Refrigerator is Awesome"...

...according to Donna.  We stayed the weekend at Shipshewana, IN to ensure everything was working while we learned how to work things.  As everything was OK, we've moved on to Duluth, MN with stops at Hickory Hollow RV Park (North Utica, IL) and the KOA at Oakdale, WI (to shop for cheese).  We got to Duluth today.  We'll be here over the weekend before taking the short tow over to Two Harbors, MN next week.

The top picture here is of the loons over the Ogston's Ponds.  This is an old picture.  We haven't seem them this afternoon, but I've heard them.

The picture to the right and below is of Mill Bluff State Park located between Oakdale & Camp Douglas, WI.  These mesas & buttes are fairly prevalent as you travel along I-90.  So we stopped a few years ago to visit the park.  Somehow - according to the state park's placards - these things escaped glacial activity and are slowly eroding from the middle and collapsing over time.  That's what they say, anyway.

Not sure what we'll do over the weekend, but there's lots to do here.  I'll guess you'll have to wait for the next blog posting to find out!

Everyone have a great weekend!  David

Patchwork Quilt Country Inn...and a new refrigerator

With the trailer in for major appliance replacement, we decided to stay in a B&B to allow Indiana Interstate Enterprises to just work on the trailer without having to get it ready for us to sleep  in each night.  We chose Patchwork Quilt Country Inn (Middlebury, IN) since we could get a room with a small refrigerator to hold some items we didn't use up completely before having the trailer serviced.

This is a beautiful B&B more known for weddings & events than for overnight accommodations.  The house started as a farm house (as you would probably assume), and eventually became a restaurant.  The current owners took over four years ago as an event location and started the B&B part of the business two years ago.  We enjoyed our stay and had a great time.

We had a lot of work for Indiana Interstate Enterprises to do on this service trip.  We'd broken several things, had structural issues with our two rear storage compartments, the door locks were recalled, and we'd shorted out the electrical fireplace just before we left Gulf Shores.  And after months of agonizing decision making, we decided to swap out the Dometic RM1350 RV refrigerator (12 cu ft) for a Samsung RF197ACRS residential refrigerator (17.8 cu ft), add two additional batteries (actually just put them in the battery compartment and tie them in as the trailer is designed to hold four batteries) and add a inverter so the new refrigerator would run when we decided to camp without electrical hookups.  I think that adds up to about three or four years of Christmas presents!

It all came together this afternoon, and we're now staying nearby in Shipshewana, IN for the weekend ensuring everything works before we head north to Two Harbors, MN.  Donna's done her cleaning thing since we've arrived and is now playing with the new frig.  It's also nice to our electric fireplace back since summer seems to be a little late in arriving.  And to our amazement, it's good not have to eat out all the time.

We're also by the Pumpkinvine Bike Trail, so Donna can still ride that while we're here.  We were also able to get her bike repaired so that she can shift into 3rd gear.  She's a happy camper now, so when she wants to take a break from playing with the frig, she can bike ride to her hearts content.  If all goes well, we leave Monday.

Everyone have a great weekend!  David

Williamsport, MD

C&O Canal and towpath

Cushwa Basin (C&O Canal)

We spent our week at Williamsport, MD with the intention of bicycle riding some of the C&O Canal's towpath.  To our surprise, we found the Western Maryland Rail Trail (WMRT) and spent most of our bike riding time there.  The C&O towpath is fairly rough - especially to the north.  The WMRT is paved, so you know why we spent our time there.

WMRT

Otherwise, our Memorial Day was uneventful. We stayed at the Jellystone in Williamsport.  The Jellystone there is what I describe as all the advantages of paying Disney prices without the hassle of traveling to Disney World.  Don't get me wrong.  It's a really nice RV park with lots of activities. But it's not Disney, either.  I think they call it a "destination" park.  No matter, it was full.  I think we saw one cabin not

Our site for Memorial Day

being used, and one RV did leave Sunday.  Otherwise, "packed" is how I describe it.  If you've got kids, it's got a great little waterpark.

We left Wednesday and arrived in Angola, IN just a couple of hours ago.  We take the trailer in for service and a new refrigerator on Monday.  After that and when we're sure things are working OK, we off to Two Harbors, MN.  At least that's the plan.

Later, David