Duluth

From Jose

Nothing great to report today. The trip is progressing well.

After my last entry we stopped in Bemidji, Minnesota.  It took me some time to be able to pronounce the name. I wonder what it sounds like with my accent. Anyway, the name derives from the language of the local tribe, meaning "lake that traverses another body of water".  Now it is a cute and eclectic little town with some cool restaurants.

From there we went to Deer River, Minnesota and spent the night at the White Oak Casino.  As you might recall, some casinos allow free overnight rv parking, others have limited hookups and charge a fee. But White Oak Casino had free electrical hookup. They were very friendly. There was a big tent on the parking lot and we heard a band warming up. I asked the doorlady and she said they were celebrating the 13th anniversary of the casino and they were having a party with free food and live music and we were invited. At first we stayed away from the party but when the band started playing we decided to go in the tent and enjoy the party. The band was 'Rick K and the Allnighters'. They played oldies rock and they were *great*. Free camping, free electricity, free food and free live music. What else can a guy want?

Next stop, Duluth. We got to see Lake Superior for the first time. It is just as impressive as they say.  Hard to believe it is a lake. We wanted to take it all in, so we drove up the North Shore Scenic Drive to Silver Bay, stopping at each and every scenic pullout, spent the night in Two Harbors, and returned to Duluth the next day after a quick stop at Gooseberry Falls.

In Duluth we stayed at the Lakehead Boat Basin, which is really a boat marina. There was a big metal structure not far away which I took to be some kind of an abandoned factory. Sometime later, as we were chilling in the rv, we were startled by a loud ship horn, a big ship and very close. We quickly unlocked our bikes and pedaled towards the big metal structure, which turned out to be the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge, in the up position for a big container ship going underneath.  It must be a big event, because many people were gathered near the base of the bridge to see. I took a little video of the ship going through and the bridge returning to the down position. You can watch it here.  It is about 5 minutes.

Today we are spending a couple of days near Escanaba, Michigan where we plan to do laundry, clean up the rv a little and rest from the road. Yes, having fun 24/7 is hard work, but we're managing okay.