We left just after 2pm and enjoyed the 90 degree temperatures in the Mustang Convertible. Very little traffic, a few distant clouds, but overall blue sky followed us, then as dusk welcomed us to the Northern part of the state, the temperature slowly dropped to the upper 70s, which is still very enjoyable in a convertible..
When we were about 10 miles outside of Superior, the brisk air from over Lake Superior plunged the temperature to 50, and we quickly pulled over to put the top up. A few minutes later we were crossing the bridge into Duluth, Minnesota, with eyes wide open wondering where to spend the night.
A random turn put us on Superior Street, and we saw an interesting building, that looked like an old brewery. The sign said "Fitger's Inn and Restaurant" and we pulled over. Since it was already early evening we got a sweet deal, lakeside room and a upgrade..Perfect!!!
Trivia: The August Fitger Brewery was founded in 1884 (it was a small brewery before that) and did well as a local brewery. During Prohibition it made and sold soda and candy, then in the 1930s the beer production boomed again. The Brewery was sold in the 40s, and then closed its doors in 1972. In 1984 it reopened as a hotel. In 1995 sold again, and with improvements to the site, reestablished brewing ales and lagers, which are currently sold on the premise and in other areas in Duluth. A walking tour is available in the mall.
The Fitger's complex houses a small mall, with women's clothing stores, hiking/outdoor stores, a shoe store, as well as a, museum, bar and grill, fine dining restaurant and an ice cream parlor. They have used their location to the fullest, with dining available outside, and a walkway along the water's edge.
We ate at the Brewhouse Bar and Grill, which had live music as well. ( It started just as we finished eating.) The singer's name was Mary..but maybe pronounced differently since it was a guy with dreads.
Lake Superior at moonlight
Next morning, breakfast, check out the lakefront....
and we were on our way traveling north along scenic Hwy 61.
Gooseberry Falls State Park was our first stop. IT IS AMAZING! There is no admission fees, and early in the morning only a handful of people were in the park. There are 5 waterfalls, and all are easily accessible. In 1934 the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) built the Park's stone and log buildings and the stone retaining wall.
Water pools and then cascades down the Lower Falls
Where there is room to walk behind the falls, but I did NOT try it.
Lake Superior
We followed the River View Trail..which duh, followed along the river. Started out as a wooden plank walkway, then just a dirt path.
and all that water enters the Lake through that little opening...
There are more falls before the Upper Falls, they could be viewed from the Superior Hiking Trail, which we did not take. There is also the Gitchi Gami Bike Trail that starts in Gooseberry Falls and travels 15 miles to Silver Bay.
Still time to check out an Alcove and then (after a short stop at the
gift shop) time to put the top down and head north again.
Split Rock River,next along Hwy 61, creates a 400 foot tumble over cascades and rapids ending in a waterfall then into a flat valley before entering Lake Superior. We decided to head to our final destination rather than to stop along the way at all the trails or park sites, with the hopes that we will be able to stop on our way back..
Along the way we did pass the North Shore Mining Company.
Trivia fact: Northshore Mining Co achieved a major production milestone in 2010, producing its 300 millionth tone of taconite pellets. This facility is the world's first large scale taconite processing porject that contains a boat loading facility on Lake Superior. The gray mounds in the picture are taconite pellets. Taconite is iron bearing sedimentary rock. The ore is ground into a fine powder, magnetite is separated by strong magnets, the powdered iron concentrate is combined with clay and limestone and rolled into pellets about one centimeter in diameter. The pellets are fired at a very high temperature to harden and make them durable. Pellets are loaded onto ships and sent to steelmills to be melted down into steel.
Oh, BTW, the weather was FANTASTIC. Normally this area has highs in the 50s maybe 60s, but the warm weather from the west over took the cold air off the lake and won. We traveled all day Saturday with the temperature in the high 70s to low 80s, (the car has an outside temperature gauge), but what made the ride really fun was that around Tofte, and Lutsen (midway on our drive along Hwy 61) the road would bend, and dip and the air off the lake would domintate, sending the temperature to the low 60s even into the 50s, then within a couple minutes the temp would be back to 80. It was fun seeing people working outside with winter coats and hats on and then a few miles down the road people in shorts and tank tops
.
Some great views along the way:
Around 2 pm we approached the Canadian border and had to wait in line to pass through customs.
Stay tuned...more to come...
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