We spent a wonderful few hours in Duluth exploring the waterfront. They have a great museum that we spent time in that explains a lot about the ships and the shipping industry that comes and goes through the city. Time well spent as we waited for the John G Munson come into the docks. We walked along the boardwalk, climbed on rocks, ate some lunch and then headed back to the campsite to get ready for the long drive home the next day.
Today was mostly a driving day with a couple stops along the way. We leisurely packed up in the morning. We are going to try tumbling some of the rocks we found with Jeff’s rock tumbler has has from his childhood. Then display them in a vase or glass lamp base or something. We left on Highway 41 or course and had to snap a picture of the sign to Miami.
Our first stop was the Copper Peak Ski Jump. Jeff went up the ski lift and then took an elevator and then some stairs to get to the top. It was extremely windy but the view was amazing. The chairlift is the steepest chairlift in the United States.
Right down the road a bit was Rainbow Falls. We had hiked to this falls a couple times in college during the TKE weekends up at Indianhead Ski Lodge. It looks a lot different in summer, and we think we took a much longer hike this time, coming from Lake Superior for a mile or so through woods and lots of steps up. Great hike!
We made a quick stop to the Big Top Chautauqua blue tent which is home to a famous NPR concert series. It is not as big as we thought it would be. Literally a tent in the woods with a ticket booth in the driveway.
Did I mention how windy it was? The ferry to Madeline Island was a pretty choppy ride. We were in the front and waves splashed over the front as we made the crossing.
Storms were coming soon, so we set up in record time. Now that the kids are older and we have done this so many times, we can set up the camper in about 15 minutes if we need to hurry. The storm was intense, but over fairly soon and it was a peaceful night’s sleep.
The crossing from Madeline Island to the mainland was beautiful this time. Calm waters, warm but not hot, and a gentle breeze. Jeff and I went to the top deck to enjoy the view.
We arrived at Pattison State Park by early afternoon and got all set up quickly. Carson and I went off to explore the park. We went to the nature center which had an explanation of tree rings, and also a great display about the CCC that built a lot of the campground and buildings during the Great Depression. Then we went to find Big Manitou Falls, which is the biggest waterfall in Wisconsin at 165 feet tall. It was very impressive! There was a selfie station at “the best place to take a picture in Wisconsin” (according to the sign), so of course we had to take a selfie. The rest of the hike was beautiful too. It is on the North Country Trail, which we have kind of followed during our entire trip. As we hiked back to our campsite, there were a bunch of wet paint signs on the park benches along the way. Of course the first thing one wants to do when one sees that sign is touch the wet paint! Carson learned that it was indeed wet, so he had to wash his hands in the lake, LOL
Kline Road Trips 