Duluth Minnesota, July 8 – 18, 2021 and Grand Rapids Minnesota, July 18 – 22, 2021
Minnesota was another first. Neither Steve or I had ever been to Minnesota before. Duluth was the first stop in Minnesota and sits right on Lake Superior, and across the river from Superior, Wisconsin.
I usually do not provide detailed information about the cities that we visit, but I found Duluth interesting. Duluth is very industrial. The port in Duluth and the port in Superior are called the twin ports. Combined, the twin ports are the largest freshwater port in the world and connect the midwest to the Atlantic through the great lakes. The area around Duluth manufactures taconite (iron ore pellets) and ships the most taconite in the world. The waterfront is inundated with factories, train depots, shipping companies (UPS, Fed X), manufacturers, mills, fisheries, and refineries. Steve thought the city reminded him of Asheville, I thought the city reminded me more of a blend between Mobile and Birmingham.
Despite the industrial nature of Duluth, the city brings in a number of tourists who travel to see the sights. We joined that group.
Our first stop was the Leif Erikson Park and Rose Garden. The park runs along the river north of the industrial area of Duluth. The park is small but beautiful. The roses were still in bloom.
The lake walk (I know – not very original – but appropriately named) meanders along the lake behind the Leif Erikson Park and all the way down to Canal Park. Canal Park is home to the Aerial Lift Bridge and the maritime museum. The area has lots of shops and restaurants and on the two days that we visited was packed with tourists.
The Lake Superior Marine Museum was informative and had a special exhibit dedicated to the Edmund Fitzgerald. You know – the song by Gordon Lightfoot about the wreck on Gitchi Gummi (which means Big Water in Ojibwe) . The museum was not huge, but packed with exhibits and of course it had a room dedicated to engines!
We visited the Lake Superior Train Museum in Duluth and rode the North Shore Scenic Railroad to Two Harbors. Two Harbors is about 30 miles from Duluth. We rode in a dome car, so we had a pretty good view. However, the trip was a little corny and Two Harbors was not that exciting. We picked up lunch and ate at Castle Danger Brewery. I really liked the beer at the Brewery.
We also drove to Two Harbors on a different day so that we could visit the lighthouse and Gooseberry Falls State Park. The falls were unbelievably crowded and apparently one of the most visited falls in Minnesota. We hiked in the park and had a pretty good afternoon.
As usual, we spent some time at the local breweries. Steve was very excited and kept telling me that there were ten breweries within five miles. Wow! We visited Ursa Minor, Thirsty Pegan, Bent Paddle, Fitger Brewing Company, and Earth Rider. We loved Ursa Minor and went there on several occasions and even saw a guitar player one afternoon.
Singer at Ursa Minor Brewery
One of the highlights of the trip was the Willard Munger Trail. A trail head was accessible from our campground. It was awesome and we rode on the trail four or five times during our stay. The trail is paved trail and is about 70 miles long. We only rode a portion but the trail was beautiful and we actually saw a bear and her cubs on one of our trips (from very very very far away!).
We left Duluth on July 18 and made a short stop in Grand Rapids. We rode our bikes every on the Mesabi Trail and did not see much of the city. The park was nice, and Ziva had a great time watching the chipmunks.
“Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” by Bob Dylan. This is the second time I have used a Bob Dylan song, but in this case it is appropriate because he is from Duluth. We even rode on Bob Dylan Way!