International Falls
We are at the very top of Minnesota, the coldest place in the Continental US. Fort Frances, Canada is just across the border. We crossed into Canada and geocached our 300th cache. Voyageurs National Park is close by and we go on a two hour boat ride to Kettle Falls where we have lunch at a restaurant at the hotel there. The waterways of Voyageurs Nat. Park include one of the most important segments of a 3,000 mile fur trade route of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The demand for beaver hats by Europeans, and beaver could no longer be found in Europe, the fur trade shifted to North America. It relied on voyageurs, or French-Canadian canoemen, to get trade goods and furs between Montreal and the Canadian northwest. On our trip into the park we saw several Bald Eagles and their nests. The leaves are starting to turn here and the colors are beautiful
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| Beaver Lodge |
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| Bald Eagle |
Duluth area
We move to Duluth area and drive along the North Shore of Lake Superior and see a couple of lighthouses. We also do some geocaching along the way.
Drive across the border to Superior Wisconsin and have lunch at a triple D restaurant. The Anchor Bar definitely looks like a dive but lots of people eating there and we had a good lunch. Our bill for lunch, 2 hamburgers, home made fries and 2 micro brew beers came to $12.25. You can't beat that!
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| Split Rock Lighthouse |
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| Two Harbors Lighthouse |
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| Anchor Bar and Grill in Superior Wisconson |
Needed a couple of things fixed on the motor home so found a Cummins Coach Care in Minneapolis. We were able to park in their parking lot, with electricity, while they worked on the MH. We were in Minneapolis for 3 nights and able to explore during the day while MH was being worked on. The first morning we went the the Mall of America. It is 4 stories high with an amusement park in the center. Dick survived 2 hours there. For lunch we ate at another triple D, Victor's 1959 Cafe which features Cuban food. It was really good. For dinner that night we ate at another triple D, Donatelli's Italian.
The next day we went to Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge and Fort Snelling, a historic fort which was active until after WWII. The walled fort was closed for the season but we went to the visitor's center and saw a move about the fort. Ate lunch at another triple D, The Nook.
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| Mall of America amusement park |
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| Fort Snelling |
Sept. 26, 27 Wisconsin
Ashland, Wisconsin
Our campground is on Lake Superior in the town of Ashland. We drive up Bayfield Peninsula to the town of Bayfield and have lunch and checked out the stores in town. Stopped at visitor's center for Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and saw a movie about the islands. There are 22 islands and many have light stations on them and only accessible by boat. We geocached along the way.
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| Dick by a Fresnel lens from a lighthouse |
Sept. 28 - Oct. 5 Upper Peninsula Michigan
Baraga, Michigan
Staying in Baraga Michigan so we can drive up the Keweenaw Peninsula to Copper Harbor. The area is know for Copper mining and is now Keweenaw National Historical Park with several Heritage Sites scattered along the Peninsula, ruminates of the copper mining which began around 1843 with the last mine closing in 1996.
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| The beautiful colored leaves in the UP of Michigan |
Munising, Michigan
Move further east on the UP to Munising. Took a 3 hour boat trip to see the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Lake Superior which are sandstone cliffs which tower 50 to 200 feet above the water. The cliffs are mineral stained by dripping water which contain iron, manganese, limonite, copper and other minerals that leave behind a colorful stain. The water was a turquoise color and the cliffs were beautifully colored. The next day we went by car to Seney National Wildlife Refuge and took a 7 mile scenic road through the refuge. We saw lots of swans and a Bald Eagle.
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| Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan |
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Our campground in on the Saint Marys River and can watch the big freighters go by on their way to the Soo Locks between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. There is a 21 foot difference between the two. We drive the Jeep along the shore of Lake Huron to De Tour Village. We have now seen all 5 of the Great Lakes. The next day we drive across the border to Sault Ste. Marie, Canada and did a few geocaches and ate lunch.
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| Large ship going by campground on way to locks |
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| Soo locks from the bridge over to Canada |
Williamsburg, Michigan
We move down to the main part of Michigan to visit Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Took a 7 mile loop road with views of Lake Michigan and some of the sand dunes. Our last stop in Michigan is Grand Rapids for one night.
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| Sleeping Bear Dunes |
Oct. 6-9 Indiana
New Carlisle, Indiana
We are camped just over the border into Indiana and drive the Jeep to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. The waves were rolling on Lake Michigan and it looked like the ocean. We have visited all 4 National Lakeshores. We go to a potluck in the campground for dinner and afterward we joined our neighbors for a campfire. The next day we drive into Illinois to do some geocaching and have lunch at Palermo's in Chicago. Had delicious deep dish Chicago Pizza and went to Rainbow Ice Cream for their 5 flavor layered ice cream.
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| Indiana Dunes |
Indianapolis, Indiana
Our goal on this trip is to geocache in as many states as we can. If we are near a state, but not staying in that state we will drive there to do a few geocaches. We are near Ohio so we drive across the border and get 5 caches.
The next day we go to the Indy Speedway and look at the display of race cars, the first race was in 1911. They have many of the early cars on display. We took the bus ride around the track. For lunch we go to a triple D reataurant, The Tamale Place. We each had 2 tamales and they were good. For dinner we went to Carmel to another triple D, Bub's Burgers.
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| 1911 winner and 2011 winner |
Oct. 10-14 Kentucky
Park City, Kentucky
Kentucky is a beautiful state, there is green grass everywhere. We are camped near Mammoth National Park. We do some geocaching around our campground and now have 406 caches.
We decide to drive up towards Louisville to visit Maker's Mark Distillery. Took the back roads and saw the beautiful countryside. Saw lots of tobacco hanging in drying sheds. The tour of the distillery was good and ended with a taste of 3 bourbons. In the nearby town of Loretto were several large storage buildings, about 6 stories high, where the barrels of bourbon are aged for about 7 years. On the way back we stopped at Knob Creek and saw a reconstructed cabin of Abe Lincoln's boyhood home. We drove a little further to Hodgenville to Sinking Spring Farm to visit Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park. A cabin similar to the one Lincoln was born in is inside a Memorial Building built to resemble the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.
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| Tabacco hanging in drying shed |
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| Bottling at Maker's Mark Distillery |
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| Dipping the bottles in the red wax to seal |
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| Sinking Spring Farm cabin marking Lincoln's birthplace |
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| Memorial Building with cabin inside. |
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| Reconstructed Knob Creek boyhood home where Abe Lincoln lived from age 2 to 8. |
We are leaving Kentucky on Monday and going to Nashville Tennessee for 4 nights. Have tickets on Turesday to go to the Grand Old Opry to see Martina McBride, Vince Gill, Clint Black, Jimmy Dickens and other performers. Happy Travels, Barb
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