South Shore of Lake Superior, Wisconsin

On Friday, August 29, John and I drove along the South shore of Lake Superior, Wisconsin. There was not as much to see as we found along the North Shore in Minnesota, but it was a lovely day for a drive so off we went! Once again we had beautiful sunny blue skies.

We decided to drive straight across the state and then take the road up and around the South Shore. We stopped at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center for information on the area and plan our trip.

Our first stop was Bayfield, WI. The Bayfield area is home to many commercial flower farms, berry farms, and orchards where visitors are encouraged to walk between the rows, savor the beauty, and pick pails of berries, apples and squash. We stopped at several farms and bought some fresh picked blueberries, blackberries and some dried flowers.

Spanning the horizon from Bayfield is the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, and archipelago of 21 islands with miles of pristine shoreline and more historic lighthouses than any other park in the National Park System.

Madeline Island is the largest of the Apostle Islands. The Island is 14 miles long and three miles wide with a year 'round population of 200. Regular ferry service across the 2.5 miles of lake begins in early April with ice break-up and usually continues through the first week of January. During the winter, after "freeze-up", cars travel back and forth between the Island on the "ice-road". The ferry runs about every half hour out to Madeline Island ,with visitors and locals alike.

Autumn brings glorious fall colors, and although only Mother Nature knows when the leaves of fire will peak, we did find several trees with their leaves in Autumn splendor.

On our way north from Bayfield on Highway 13, we came upon three quaint villages, Cornucopia, Herbster and Port Wing. These small friendly villages offer picturesque harbors and clean sandy beaches. Some of the old fishing sheds on the waterfronts have been converted to wonderful gift shops and galleries.

Another beautiful day here in the north!

Hope all is well with everyone, more later. Until then,

Candy and Johnny

John and Friend, Duluth, MN

Along the Canal Park John found a new friend!!!!

More below........ Candy

Duluth,MN/Superior, WI, August 27, 2008

You're in northern Minnesota-yet, not 100 feet from you, a freighter from Africa is making its way under the gleaming Aerial Lift Bridge. (photo left). The Aerial Bridge was originally built in 1905, and upgraded in 1929 to the design you see today. It takes about two minutes to rise, and goes up 25 to 30 times daily during the height of the shipping season.

The Duluth-Superior harbor is the world's largest, farthest-inland seaport, and over 1,100 vessels drop anchor here each year during the April-December shipping season. Each carries iron ore, coal, grain and other cargo some 2,432 miles across the Great Lakes-and from there, to ports worldwide. The ship at left is loading iron ore.





The Superior Entry Lighthouse (photo) had stood sentinel over the Superior harbor entrance on the Wisconsin Point since 1913. Lakers, ocean-going vessels and water craft of all sizes, slip past so close you can almost touch them as they are safely guided into the world's largest inland port - 2,432 miles from the Atlantic Ocean.
The Entry, as first charted in 1861, was 1500 feet wide and 4 - 16 feet deep. The channel is now 500 feet wide and 32 feet deep. Currents in the channel sometimes reach speeds of more than 3 mph.













We also went to the Richard I. Bong WWII Heritage Center in Superior, WI. The Heritage Center takes you back to a time when ordinary people became heroes. The Center honors the lives of Medal of Honor recipient, Major Richard I. Bong, America's "Ace of Aces", and all the men and women of World War II who contributed to winning peace. There is also a fully restored P-38 Lightning aircraft, one of only 25 remaining in the world. This plane bears the markings of Richard Bong. Major Bong is credited with shooting down 40 Japanese planes. His Medal of Honor also is in the center.
The Center also talks about the women's roles during the war and their great effort. All in all a very interesting place.

Another interesting day, Friday another adventure.

Until later, Candy and Johnny

North Shore of Lake Superior

On Tuesday, August 26, we decided to drive along the north shore of Lake Superior. It was a glorious day! Clear blue skies and crisp cool air, temperature about 68*. From downtown Duluth it is a 151 miles along the shore to the Canadian border. We were not sure how far we would get in our travels so we took our passports along with us. We found a wonderful publication, "North Shore Scenic Drive". It gives a mile marker description of points of interest along the drive.

First some facts about Lake Superior:

Length: 350 miles
Width: 160 miles
Depth, average: 483 feet
Surface Area: 31,700 miles
Shoreline length: 1,826
Shoreline with islands: 2,726 miles
Shoreline in Minnesota 206 miles
Elevation, above sea level: 600 feet
Lake Superior is called the Greatest of the Great Lakes.
Lake Superior is the world's largest freshwater lake, by surface. Its 3 quadrillion ( that's 3,000,000,000,000,000) gallons of water could flood North and South America with one foot of water.

The average depth within 3 miles along the north shore is about 700 feet (about the height of a 70-story building). The deepest spot, located near the south shore, is 1,333 feet (about 1/4 mile).
Lake Superior is so large and cool that it modifies the local climate. On average, it's 5* to 20*F warmer in winter and 5* to 20*F cooler in summer. And . . . the water is downright frigid! The surface water averages about 40*F. During winter, the lake can become 40 to 90% covered with ice - rarely does it freeze over completely.
During most of summer, the lake can be so calm that it appears to be covered by glass. However, during a storm, waves can reach 10 to 20 feet in height! Over 350 shipwrecks have occurred on Lake Superior during stormy weather.


Along our way we stipped at Two Harbors and found the tug boat "Edna G". She was a brightly colored tug as you can see from the photo. We also found the Two Harbors Lighthouse. It was constructed in 1892, and is the oldest operating Minnesota Lighthouse on the North Shore.

Further along our journey, we spotted the lighthouse at Split Rock (botton photo). The Minnesota Historical Society operates Split Rock Lighthouse as a state historic site. Split Rock Light House Station was built atop a 130-foot cliff in 1910 by the U.S. Lighthouse Service. The Lighthouse was retired in 1969 after 59 years of service.

There are seven state parks along the route and we stopped at several of them... more on them below....

That is all for now.

Candy and Johnny

State Parks along Lake Superior

As I said, there are seven State Parks located along the north shore route, along with many rivers and streams that flow into Lake Superior. Here are a few of the places that we stopped along the way.

The top photo was taken at Gooseberry Falls State Park. The upper and lower Falls views have barrier-free accessibility. The photo at the left is of the lower falls area.

Our next stop was at Tettegouche State Park. The Baptism River flows rapidly through the park having the highest waterfalls within the state. We had to hike about 3/4 of a mile to the High Falls. It was a beautiful sight! This falls drops 170 feet on its journey to Lake Superior.

Our third falls that we encountered was at Temperance River State Park. The Temperance River drops 162 feet in a half mile in a series of cascades, the last of which (pictured here) occurs about 100 feet from its mouth at Lake Superior. Surrounding the spectacular rocky gorge is a thick coniferous forest. Large potholes and cauldrons occur in the gorge, some of these are still being carved by the river today. the name of the river was derived from the absence of a "bar" at its mouth.
Our last stop was at Grand Portage State Park. This park is located just before the Canadian Border. The border line between the United States and Canada runs right down the middle of the Pigeon River that runs through the park. The Pigeon River drops 120 feet at the impressive High Falls. Once again we had to hike to the falls but it was well worth the trip.

It was a long day but a beautiful day and a beautiful drive. I was only sorry that we could not continue all the way around the lake. We plan to head back to Duluth and spend a few more days and then continue along the south side of the lake through Wisconsin and Michigan. More later.....

Candy and Johnny

Map of our adventure

This is an interactive map. If you click on the balloons this will give you a brief tour of where we have been and what we have been doing.... candy

View Larger Map

August 25, 2008 Minnesota

Hi All, We have left Minneapolis for Duluth and the North Shore of Lake Superior.

The time spent in Minneapolis was great! I had two wonderful weeks taking care of Abby and Michael. We had a great time although they did wear me out!! We went to Como Zoo in St. Paul. I remember going to this zoo when I was a child. Angela took a day off of work and we also went to the Minnesota Zoo. It is much bigger with so much more to see and do than the Como Zoo. Almost everyday we walked up to the local park and the kids had a wonderful time playing with the other children and on the slides, swings and climbing bars.
While I was with the kids John was back at the coach washing and waxing and general chores. He is not much to be with children all day, but I loved it.

The weather was great we only had one day of rain. Warm days and cool nights.

We also had time to spend with old friends. We went to Buffalo, MN and watched the old cars race. The vintage was about 1915 and earlier. We spent the day with an old retired NWA pilot friend, John Scholl. I have known John since I was first a stewardess....
I was also able to go to lunch with a former F/A friend Diane Fitch Tveit and John and I had dinner with Bee Evans another F/A friend. It was so much fun to talk over the good old days. John and I also had lunch with Carol and Jay Westrup. Carol and I went to high school together at Our Lady of Peace High School.

John and I also found time to go to the "Great Minnesota Get Together" the Minnesota State Fair. (Top photo) We went early in the day when it was cooler, by noon it was rather warm and as you can see rather crowded. They have food everywhere, everything on a stick...or fried!!!! We managed to get by on just a small tasting. Thank goodness, I have to say, the people watching was wonderful, better than it was at airports.

We had a family gathering at my sister's new condo. All of my brothers and sisters along with my mother were able to attend. I was amiss and did not get a photo of all of us.... Candy, Chris, Claudia, Chip, Mike and Kathleen and mother Phyllis. It had been a while since we all have been together....



Angela and Abby

Nana Candy and Michael












Mother and Daughter




Today, Monday August 25, John and I left Minneapolis and drove up to Duluth, MN via Mille Lacs Lake. We took a short drive into the city and got some information about the North Shore drive around Lake Superior. Tomorrow we plan on heading north around the lake...more information later.

Hope all is well with everyone. To our friends in Florida I hope that you have finally dried out from all the rain.

Love to all,

Candy and Johnny