Part 9: Ohio to Minnesota

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The Trip

The Photos

The photos below are what we saw.

Who designs a freeway with a 35MPH turn?  The locals call Cleveland the "mistake on the lake".

Our path took us past Sandusky, OH and to the shores of the lake to visit the Marblehead Lighthouse.

The tower was built in 1821 and still is in good shape.



Marblehead Point was just north across a bay from a huge amusement park.  There were plenty of high-powered pleasure boats on the lake.



We spent the night in an Indiana state park and it was very nice.  Next day, we logged some miles so we could transit Chicago in favorable traffic.  I spotted this modified Freightliner 4x4 at a fuel stop.  He has very large, off-road tires, so I was interested if he was running Michelin XM-47s like I had on my 1300L.  I could not read the tire brand but did note that the offset on the front wheels was way, way wider than the rear.  I assume that the front axle had high-offset wheels so the tires don't rub the frame at full-rack on the steering wheel.

We spotted this unlucky chap on the north side of Chicago, circumstances unclear.

The traffic in the OTHER direction was brutal but on the north-bound side not so bad except for the construction.

We stayed in Illinois for one night on our way north toward Wisconsin.  We discovered that the Wisconsin state fair was in progress and decided stay a night there.  The fair was.....a fair.  Complete with pigs, chickens, cows and sheep.  It was interesting and we got stormed-upon but it was a hot, hot night.  The temperature was high due to a heat bubble over the midwest.  Our campsite was in an asphalt parking lot and had no shore power, so a/c was out.  We were happy to leave and headed north along the lake shore and found a nice state campground on the lake south of Sheboygan, WI.  The electric sites were parallel to one of the access roads.  Thor stopped traffic all day

We walked around the campsite and discovered that the trees had been logged and replanted.  Note the straight rows of trunks.

We continued north along the shore of Lake Superior.  Outside of Green Bay we encountered a large staging yard for material.

We stopped in Bayfield, WI for lunch at a restaurant on the wharf and spotted this ride.  Interesting vanity plate.

We headed north along the shore and finally came to a lakeshore fish market.  Kathleen was seeking white fish, which she found.  As soon as we parked, the locals came out to inspect Thor.  Thor, it seems, causes deep distress in some.

While Kathleen was buying fish, I walked to the shoreline and spotted this old fishing boat on the shore.

Later than afternoon we found a campsite on the Brule River in the state forest.  After a quiet night, we checked out the river.

Due to the proximity with the river, the campsite was a popular put-in site for the Brule River.

Further north past Duluth we followed the Lake Superior shoreline.  We came to Gooseberry Falls state park and decided to check it out.  This is the upper falls area.

This is the middle falls area.

The falls area was part of a bigger structure which was mostly dry due to the drought.



Kathleen asked me to get a photo of the tree roots.  These are gnarly structures worthy of a Harry Potter movie.












Every camping area was full, so we headed away from the coast to the west.  We came upon an open spot on Lux Lake.  The site they had was a tent site, but not very level.  Note the stack of orange blocks under Thor's wheels.  We used all our leveling blocks but never achieved level.  But, close enough.



I walked out on the dock and saw several party barges tethered up for tomorrow's activities.



We drove into Grand Marais to get lunch and do a supply stop.  We were lucky to find a place to park on the center of town.  We headed out on foot to find food.  Thor took it's full allocation of space.



We walked down to the hotel and discovered a nice pebble beach.



After lunch we continued north to the Canadian Border and then south again to Grand Portage where we spent the night.  The RV park was at the marina and we had a nice view of the water.



These fellows headed out into the lake from the marina.



The other part of the fillet.



On our return back from the border, we stopped at a view point that gave us a good view of the shoreline well into Canada.

Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2021, all rights reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.