Saturday July 13 - Sunday July 14 Days 42-43 Duluth, MN 74 miles / 938 total

Passing by Bayfield on our way out.

We left Pike's Bay at 6:45 a.m. under cloudy, hazy skies, but calm seas once again.  We passed between Bayfield and Madeline Island, then out past Raspberry and Sand Islands --- destination Duluth.






Sand Island Lighthouse

It was a little hazy and far away, but this lighthouse is identical to the one we saw back in Eagle Harbor on the Keewanaw peninsula.  According to Bonnie (Superior Way , by Bonnie Dahl is our guide for this trip), we'll see it again as the Passage Island Light at Isle Royale (next week's destination), 

This was one of our longer days and a bit cool, a good day for cooking/baking.  I had found local fresh strawberries in Bayfield, so I did a shortcake (my grandma's recipe) for dessert.  After the cake was done, I threw a chicken "stew" in the oven and just let it bake. 

We approached the south entry into Duluth's Superior Harbor about 4 p.m.


South Entry Light

This is a very busy industrial harbor shipping  iron ore, grain and coal aboard the massive freighters we've seen throughout our journey.



Ore boat just inside the channel.

The harbor is lined with huge grain elevators and the world's largest ore docks.




Huge grain elevators.

There was so much to see as we made our way 9 miles to the north end of the harbor and Lakehead Boat Basin.  Seen along the way.........

 


The SS Meteor, launched in 1896, now a museum.







Freighter loading.

Finally within sight of the marina located near the Aerial Lift Bridge that is the north entrance to the harbor.

Admiral and Captain communicating on the approach to the marina entrance.  Where's "green can #3" ?


We were safely docked by 5 p.m. with Day Dreams right behind us.  It's not your premier marina facility, but it is within easy biking distance to the Canal Park area with it's aquarium, maritime museum, shopping and restaurants.  Location,  Location,  Location!

Dinner was ready on arrival -- no need for restaurant tonite!


Sunday, July 14   -- Let's do Duluth!


Our day began at 9 a.m. as we biked across the lift bridge into the Canal Park area.  We grabbed coffee and rolls from a bakery café and enjoyed them across another foot bridge near the excursion boat docks.  From there we could see our marina across the way and also watch the traffic in and out of the harbor.

Downtown Duluth is behind us along with the SS William A Irvin, an ore boat/museum.  He's not going anywhere!

From there, it was on to the Great Lakes Aquarium.  Garry learned all about the variety of fish in these waters (got to put the new fishing pole to use soon). 

The numbers you see in this picture are the average water temperatures of the Great Lakes.  Easy to see why those swimsuits are still in the drawer.............




Next, we parked the bikes and did a little shopping.  The showers that had been threatening all morning finally arrived. So we took the opportunity for a late lunch/snack at Grizzlies before jumping back on the bikes for a little exercise.  We took the Lakewalk north along the shore  --- there are both bike and walking paths for several miles with parks and observation areas all along the way.  Everywhere, people were taking advantage of this great facility. 

 





Looking back on the lift bridge and the skyline from the bike path.


We rode all the way to the Leif Erikson Rose Gardens.

The park features over 2600 varieties of roses displayed in several settings along with other perennials and more varieties of peonies than I have ever seen!  Absolutely beautiful.

My mom and dad always had a "Crimson Glory" rose, like this one, climbing along the fence in their flower garden.








This one's for you, Mom.

It was just beginning to sprinkle again as made our way back to the bridge area.  So we quickly donned the rain gear and pedaled over to the Corp of Engineers facility and Maritime Museum.  It had an interesting group of displays on the evolution of the shipping industry in and around Duluth and the Great Lakes.  By that time, the rain had stopped and we made our way back to the dock for the night.  We have certainly enjoyed Duluth's spectacular lake shore facilities.