This will be a long post in order to cover the past two
days. We are on the Canadian border with no phone or hotspot
service. The campground’s wifi is very unreliable so I’ll write daily but
may not be able to get them sent the day I write.
Yesterday was a beautiful day for the drive from
International Falls to Grand Portage, MN. The countryside was pretty much
non-stop woods the whole way. It’s no wonder people in the 1800’s thought
they could log this area forever. It’s still sparsely populated and the
trees have grown back fairly well after all the logging although I’m sure
they’re not back to their previous size.
This lovely little wayside rest area in Orr, MN, was much
appreciated. It had a big enough parking area for us to easily stop
without being in anyone’s way. There was an electric fence running the
length of the waterfront. They apparently don’t want people mucking up
the area by wading or putting small boats in.
The whole 260 miles was on what Jim likes to call pig
paths. As far as Ely the roads were good. Ely is the town nearest
to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and it’s obviously very big
business for the town. There were boats stuffed in every crevice and
several outfitters on every block. Lots of canoes stacked in racks which
we passed before I could get a picture. It’s a very attractive little
town, clean as it could possibly be. There is no roadside trash up here
in very noticeable contrast to areas closer to home.
Ely, MN, capital of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.
This part of Minnesota is not flat. The parking lanes are so wide we were
able to pull off for a pit stop on the road through the middle of town which
we’ve never been able to do before.
Boat storage in every available nook and cranny.
The 62-mile stretch of MN 1 between Ely and Lake Superior
was dreadful. Near the beginning there was a sign saying “Scattered
Bumps.” We got a good laugh out of that until we’d driven a few miles on
it and knew it wasn’t kidding. It was like a giant had taken a dump truck
full of bumps and thrown them all over the place. The road was so bad
Jim’s stomach hurt from the tension of driving. Furthermore, it was so
bad both cats got sick…..from every orifice. (If anyone has a weak
stomach, don’t read this.) Gwen threw up all over her carrier (something
she’s never done before EVER). Then Goblin threw up. I let Gwen out
so I could clean up her carrier and she pee’d all over Lovie’s blanket and
Lovie’s feet. Lovie looked at her feet with this “EWWWW” expression of
“what on earth is THAT?” While I was cleaning up the pee Gwen got into Goblin’s
carrier and pooped. Goblin had already just done that in his carrier so
it didn’t really matter. (Fortunately we had a puppy pee pad in his
carrier because he occasionally has accidents which Gwen never does.) Jim
quickly found a place to pull off the road so I could get it all cleaned
up. SO, when I say the road was sickeningly awful, I’m not
exaggerating. There wasn’t any other way to get from International Falls to Grand
Portage, short of adding another 50 miles to the trip to go through Duluth,
which we wouldn’t have done without really knowing beforehand how bad it was
going to be.
We’re camped at the Grand Portage Marina so we’re right on
the water with a spectacular view of Lake Superior.
This is our unbeatable view of the bay at Grand
Portage Marina.
Grand Portage is whatever is smaller than tiny. It is
actually the “Unorganized Area of Grand Portage” on the Ojibwe Indian
Reservation about 8 miles west of the Canadian border. There is nothing
here but a minuscule marina, a casino and lodge combo, and the Trading Post and
gas station. The Trading Post has a few groceries and a lot of empty
shelves. There’s also a school and a health clinic a couple of miles up the
road.
Today we went on the boat tour to Isle Royale National
Park. The island is in Michigan even though it’s only 22 miles from
Minnesota. (It’s 56 miles from Michigan.) This is partly because
Michigan was made a state 21 years before Minnesota so there was no State of
Minnesota to take it prior to 1858. In the bloodless Battle of Toledo
Michigan and Ohio were fighting over who owned the Toledo Strip (the area of
northwest Ohio next to the Michigan line). President Andrew Jackson finally
had enough of the fight and gave the strip to Ohio. To pacify Michigan he
granted it statehood and gave it most of the Upper Peninsula plus Isle
Royale. Michiganders thought they’d got the short end of the deal until
they found out about the timber and mineral deposits they got. Michigan
came out way better than Ohio in the end.
It was cold when we left this morning but we’d seen the boat
and thought we’d be seated inside so we dressed appropriately based on that
belief. In fact, we got there 30 minutes early so we could be among the
first on board. NOT. They loaded alphabetically so we were third
from last. By the time we got on the only two seats left were along the
side directly in the wind (under the side windows in the picture). By 30
minutes into the 90 minute trip we were so frozen we elected to stand for the
rest of the time so we could get next to the wall outside the rear of the
cabin. Everyone was frozen except those inside. Some people had on flip
flops, shorts and flimsy shirts which was really not smart. We were
wearing coats, jeans and closed shoes so I can’t imagine how uncomfortable the
others were. We would still have been frozen if we’d had our winter
parkas on and been rolled in blankets like sausages. Coming back they
loaded the boat in reverse order so we got to sit inside in comfort. It
was a great trip, the memories of which have already outlasted the pain. (Jim just now told me my lips were blue when we decided to stand up in the
back.)
Our transportation to and from Isle Royale. An
all-metal boat in 37 degree water (per the park ranger) is akin to riding in a
refrigerator. With wind.
Isle Royale is a beautiful wilderness island, 45 miles long
and 9 miles wide, with lots of hiking trails, two visitor centers with docks
and one historic hotel which is being operated by a park service
concessionaire. The only way to the island is by boat or sea plane.
Its claim to fame is wolves and moose, neither of which we saw, although we saw
lots of evidence of moose snacking on balsam firs. Moose are cold-weather
animals who start overheating when temperatures go over 55 degrees. They
swim in the lake to get cool. We were hoping to see one in the water but
it wasn’t to be.
The park service has ongoing studies of both populations,
flying over the island repeatedly in the winter to count wolf and moose
individuals. The two populations go up and down depending on conditions
and they are never both high at the same time. Right now there are about
1250 moose and only 3 wolves so it’s time for the pendulum to reverse
directions. We attended three very interesting ranger programs….one hike
and two talks about the island and its history.
Rocky coastline of Isle Royale, named “Royal Island” by the
French to honor King Louis. 4
Docking area for the Windigo Visitor Center. A windigo
is a half-beast creature featured in the legends of the Algonquian Native
Americans of which the Ojibwe are one tribe.
Little Spirit Cedar Tree, a 500 year old tree growing right
out of the rocks. It is sacred to the Ojibwe people. They believed
the tree was home to evil spirits which endangered canoes hence the nickname
“Witch Tree”. They left offerings to the Great Spirit at its base in
return for safe travels.
The Rock of Ages Lighthouse, in continuous operation since
it was built in 1908. At 117 feet it’s the highest lighthouse on Lake
Superior. The rocks at the base were covered with cormorants and gulls
which are too small to be visible in the picture.
Fog bank forming on the lake. As the air temperature
heats up over the cold lake it creates fog banks. We didn’t get an
explanation of why the banks were close to shore and not out where we were.
Fog from the lake being pulled up and over a gap in the
mountains. This part of the coast is bordered by mountains. The
highest one I’ve found reference to is 1300-ft Mt. Josephine near Grand Marais,
34 miles south. We’ll learn more about the topography and history tomorrow
and Friday when we go to Grand Portage National Monument and Grand Portage
State Park, both of which we’ve been advised not to miss.
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