We left Devils Lake, North Dakota on Wednesday morning and set our sails for Minnesota. Now that we’re closing in on home, and we still have a good 10 days left in our allotted time schedule, we’ve decided to ease up on the reins a bit, and even go so far as to venture off course a little. We’ve been traveling US Hwy 2 on our way home, but, when we got into Minnesota we decided to stray north a bit and go up the coast of Lake Superior a short ways. We found a campground right on the shores of Lake Superior in Two Harbors, MN and planted ourselves for two days. I couldn’t believe the size of some of the barges that we watched come into the harbor from our campsite. (pic attached)
The walking/bike trails along the western shores of Lake Superior are extensive in this area and we took advantage of them. We had the added bonus of wild raspberry and thimbleberry bushes being plentiful along the pathways and being ripe for the picking. Yum!
Thursday we took a drive northwards up the coast and checked out Gooseberry Falls State Park and Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, both Minnesota state parks. Even though it was a rainy, overcast day, it did not dampen our enthusiasm or our appreciation for this “superior” area. As you head north, there are even more state parks along the coastline, but, we ran out of time. We may have to put this area on our “check back later” list. (pics attached)
On Friday we left Minnesota, but, stuck close to the Lake Superior shoreline. We found a beautiful state park campground in Superior, Wisconsin, just across the Minnesota/Wisconsin border, called Amnicon Falls State Park, only 50 miles down the road from our last campsite. The ranger at Amnicon Falls told us to be sure to check out the Big Manitou Falls in Pattison State Park just 15 miles down the road. Big Manitou Falls (a 165 foot drop) are the largest falls in the state of Wisconsin. Being in Minnesota and Wisconsin really gives us a feel for “home”. I think it’s all the trees and water, minus the mountains.
The walking/bike trails along the western shores of Lake Superior are extensive in this area and we took advantage of them. We had the added bonus of wild raspberry and thimbleberry bushes being plentiful along the pathways and being ripe for the picking. Yum!
Thursday we took a drive northwards up the coast and checked out Gooseberry Falls State Park and Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, both Minnesota state parks. Even though it was a rainy, overcast day, it did not dampen our enthusiasm or our appreciation for this “superior” area. As you head north, there are even more state parks along the coastline, but, we ran out of time. We may have to put this area on our “check back later” list. (pics attached)
On Friday we left Minnesota, but, stuck close to the Lake Superior shoreline. We found a beautiful state park campground in Superior, Wisconsin, just across the Minnesota/Wisconsin border, called Amnicon Falls State Park, only 50 miles down the road from our last campsite. The ranger at Amnicon Falls told us to be sure to check out the Big Manitou Falls in Pattison State Park just 15 miles down the road. Big Manitou Falls (a 165 foot drop) are the largest falls in the state of Wisconsin. Being in Minnesota and Wisconsin really gives us a feel for “home”. I think it’s all the trees and water, minus the mountains.
Speaking of mountains, tomorrow we have reservations at Porcupine Mountains State Park in the UP of Michigan. I realize that the Porkies will be somewhat anti-climatic after having just left the Rockies, but, oh well. I’ve never been there and it’s someplace I’ve always wanted to check out. Ready or not, here we come Porkies!
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