We started our trip in Duluth, Minnesota. This is the well-known aerial lift bridge in Duluth. We could walk to it from our hotel. The bottom portion lifts straight up when a ship needs to pass through.
We could also walk to this pier and lighthouse. There are a lot of lighthouses because the weather over Lake Superior can be treacherous.
We decided to take a scenic drive along the north shore of the lake. The area is known for iron ore mining. They use trains to bring the ore to docks on the lake.
Tugboats help pull the 1000-foot ore boats up alongside the docks so they can be loaded with ore.
An ore boat came in and docked while we were there. The boats take the iron ore to steel mills in Michigan and Ohio.
We continued to drive along the north shore of Lake Superior. We took a tour of Split Rock Lighthouse. It was built after 29 ships were lost in a single storm in 1905 on Lake Superior.
The place we stayed at in Duluth put out stuff for s'mores every night. Yum!
The next day we left Duluth and headed to Bayfield, Wisconsin, which is also on the shore of Lake Superior. Henry surprised me by booking a night at a really nice B&B.
It even had a spa tub in the room!
We took a ferry to Madeline Island for the day. Madeline Island is one of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior. We hiked around and had lunch there.
This narrow strip of sandy beach was popular for swimming and kayaking.
The next day we went to the Lumberjack Championships! In the early afternoon they held the qualifying rounds. In the front is the "double buck" contest - two men sawing. On the water you can see log rolling competitions.
They held the "opening ceremony" later in the afternoon, before the finals. They treated it like the Olympics, with flags, national anthems, and an olympic flame.
There were all kinds of competitions, and they happened one after another, so you never had to sit and wait for the next event. Below is a photo of the pole climbing event. The shorter poles are 60 feet high and the longer ones are 90 feet.
And there were competitions for women, too!
This was one of the most entertaining events - boom running. The logs bounced and lots of people fell in the water. Women seemed to have an advantage over men in this event.
The Lumberjack Championship was great fun! The next day it was time to head to the farm. There was corn growing as far as the eye could see on the drive there. Below are the farm house and barn, located in central Wisconsin.
This is Henry's mom, Anna, and his son Dave.
This is the inside of the barn. It isn't used anymore, but typically would've been full of hay for the cows.
The farm used to be a dairy farm, and this is where the cows were fed and milked.
We had fun driving the farm equipment around the fields.
But we also did some real work. The barn had some old oats in it and rats were nesting in there. Yuk!
And I got to mow the whole front yard. Fun!
On our last day we stopped in St. Paul at the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory.
We also walked through the Mall of America in Minneapolis while waiting for our flight home. It has 520 stores, plus attractions such as an aquarium and rides. This is a picture of the center of the mall where you can see some of the rides.
It was a great trip! It was educational, I got to see a new part of the country, and I met Henry's mom. Good times!
