Day Dreams Adventures 2013: Leaving Wisconsin already!! Minnesota here we come!!

Saturday/Sunday July 13/14

On Saturday, July 13 we left Bayfield, (Wisconsin's version of Martha's Vineyard according to Barb's sis, Gail) @6:45 AM (had rained early morning so we had a dry window to go) We have a 10 hour day so we wanted to get an early start. It is overcast with calm waters and mild temps. I like these longer days. I dusted & vacuumed. I'm weeding out some of my music. I have almost filled my 64 GB mini iPad, so I have to cut back on some things (darn). We both took naps (separately of course, someone has to drive because we were leading today). We read & relaxed.

Sand Island Lighthouse, Apostles

Raspberry Island Lighthouse

We weaved through some of the Apostle Islands, so that was fun.

Raspberry Island Lighthouse is quite a big complex. One of the Apostles, but one of the smaller islands.

Twin cities Harbor, Superior & Duluth, Minnesota

Southern Entry to St Louis River

Northern Entry

Duluth is located on the St. Louis river with a north & south entry. The Southern entry is still in Wisconsin, the town is Superior & it is an easy, unobstructed way to enter the River. Duluth sits closer to the Northern entry where there is a lift bridge. The whole area is very industrialized with Freighter docks & factories scattered. We were coming in from the south, so we entered using the Southern entry. The water is quite brackish & there was some debris (tree branches & logs) floating. The area is called the Twin Harbors. We could have stayed in a nice Marina in Superior, Wisconsin on a small island in the river but we would have been too far to visit Duluth. So we choose a closer spot in Duluth, which was not highly recommended. The owner was nice and we docked on a sturdy cement pier with plenty of electricity but....... first we needed a pump-out. We pulled into the fuel dock which was narrow & tipsy. The owner handed me a token & said "everything here is do it yourself & computerized". Hmmmm, Ok we can do our own pump-out, we've done it @ Middle Bass. But computerized-Hardly!! The pump was an old fashioned small engine type manual pump. But it worked! The showers & bathrooms were a small trailer on wheels with 3 small stalls with head, sink & tiny shower. Oh, did I mention there was an "RV park" in the parking lot? Every paved parking space was filled with an RV. Very Quaint, haha. I felt sorry for the campers, who fell for the ad.

compliments of Garry

We had a long day cruising & while I cleaned, Jacque cooked. She made a fabulous Chicken dish with wonderful seasoning over Coucous AND fresh baked, homegrown strawberry shortcake for dessert. WOW, we are eating better than at home, no doubt.

amphitheater overlooking Lake Superior

Despite the quirky marina & surrounding industry, Duluth has done an excellent job with their waterfront. They have great access to the Northern channel where the freighters come in under the lift bridge. There is an excellent bike path all along Lake Superior where they rent bikes, kayaks, horse drawn buggies & have a very impressive aquarium, beautiful parks, one with a stone amphitheater and one a gorgeous rose garden with the biggest peonies we've ever seen.

While we were in Duluth, we were at the furthest western point one can travel in the Great Lakes & the farthest west we will ever be while on our boat, even traveling the great loop. We were farther West than New Orleans.