Man, it’s been almost a week since I posted last, which has to be a record for me. Since then, we:
- stayed overnight in a rest area near the Canadian border, which had its pros (a pond we sat by for happy hour) and cons (trucks moving in and out all night);
- crossed the border into Minnesota easily: just a few questions and no searching of the trailer, which we’d heard is common;
- stopped at a brewery in Grand Marais on a travel day, which was super welcome seeing as how we had driven more than five hours two days in a row, which is a lot when you’re towing your home behind you.
The bottom line: We made it back into the U.S. after two months of being away! One of the first things we did was buy corn tortillas, which do not exist in Canada. Not that we hold that against them.
Back on Lake Superior
During our first summer on the road, we spent a lot of time on and near Lake Superior, and I fell in love. One campsite right on the lake (it was listed as ”premium”) was such a special spot that we extended our one-week stay to three, and I posted something like ten posts from there. I always think of Washburn, WI, as “Premium on Superior.”
Tettegouche
Right now, we’re way north of where I’ve even been on the lake: at Tettegouche State Park, near Silver Bay, which is an hour north of Duluth. I had forgotten how much I love this lake.
This is a tiny, one-loop campground in the woods, with walking trails to view Baptism River as it flows dramatically into the lake.
We’ll be here for a whopping 13 days, partly because it was hard to find a spot for upcoming Labor Day weekend, and partly because I was ready to not be moving so often. The irony is that we don’t have a sewer hook-up, so we’ll have to hitch up and drive to a dump station in the middle of the stay, then park again in our spot. At least we can keep all our outside stuff in place the whole time we’re here!
So far we’ve walked out from the campsite to some falls, and we’ve driven to hiking trails around the lake. This park is well developed, with boardwalks through the woods and lots of overlooks, keeping the many tourists safe from the rocky cliffs and protecting the environment. There’s actually a six-foot-tall wire fence surrounding our campsite to keep deer from eating the white pine saplings.
It’s a quiet, secluded space in the midst of a very popular area, and I’m grateful to be here.
Duluth
It’s also a fine feeling to be within an hour’s drive of a major city again. We’ve already been in to Duluth once to restock on groceries (and 11 million other errands), ending the day at Ursa Minor Brewery: good beer, large outdoor area, pizza with wild-rice sausage, and sunshine for Banjo.
The next day: another brewery, which means three in four days! That’s not anywhere near a record for us in the before-times, but now that we’re traveling it’s a special treat.
Danger Castle Brewery is north of Duluth, and they were celebrating their 11th anniversary with a line-up of local bands. I looked on Facebook to read about the music, and up popped a post from Tracy eight years ago on this day at this brewery while he was on one of his kayak trips. Wild!
For the remainder of our time at Tettegouche, we’ve got a list of hikes we want to go on, local food we want to cook (well, that I want Tracy to cook), and special errands in Wisconsin that we’re planning. I also have a ”commissioned” Tiny House I’m working on to deliver in Wisconsin (Hey Patti!), so we’re going to have plenty to do over this 13-day respite. Feels like a new chapter. A different kind of premium.
