North Shore Travels Sept 18-22

We survived the great wet north, after braving the rain for three days. We did have a break from it on Wednesday; but we huddled in the tent two out of the three nights in Tettegouche State Park, listening to the rain beat down on the tent. On Wednesday we hiked the park trails during the day while the weather was decent, and that night saw lows in the low 40s, the coldest night we spent in the park. Of course, the weather cleared on our departure day, only after pouring while we packed up the gear to cart it a half mile back to the car.

The trek was well worth it -- our site was right on Lake Superior, with a short slope to climb down to the shore, so we had our own little beach (or stretch of rocky shore, if you will). No nearby sites to speak of either. Jasper had a great time, too, getting spoiled with people food and cuddling in the sleeping bag with us.

On Thursday we drove up to Grand Portage, which is the last town before the Canadian border, and continued up to Thunder Bay, Ontario, to have prime rib at the Prospector Steak House in downtown. We then departed for Duluth on Friday to stay in Canal Park overnight for some well deserved showers and a bed. We spent Saturday on the Lake Superior shore somewhere just north of town on the scenic route of 61, before heading home the scenic way on Wisconsin state route 35.

My 30th birthday came and went quietly, and I don't feel any older or depressed about being older. I think the time away from civilization helped.

Here's a photojournal of the trip.



And the higher-quality photos are here. The slideshow option is there, just no Bobby D. to serenade you while you watch.