It’s interesting to watch the fog roll in to Grand Portage
Bay from Lake Superior. The fog is so
dense at times that it appears there is no land in sight across the water. Here
are a few more photos of the bay, looking across to Grand Portage (or Pete’s)
Island.
Last week I neglected to provide a couple of photos from my
Mom’s: her clivia plant (one of two that
bloomed while we were there in June) and the apple tree in her yard that was in
full bloom. What fragrance! Obviously the cool weather had a lot to do with the
timing of the bloom. When we return to
her place in September I hope to harvest some for apple sauce, apple crisp,
apple cake, apple…
Sunday June 30 we had breakfast with my brother Ron and his
wife Debby before they headed home for Roseau, MN. Also joining us were my
brother Rich and his daughter MacKenzie (Karen, wife and mom, was working).
Tuesday was more of the same—fog, drizzle, etc. During a
break in the weather we went to the Lodge to catch up on emails, since (unlike
last year) we don’t have access to the Internet in the park. (No Internet, cell
or TV…kinda nice once you get used to it.) Dinner at the Lodge that night was steak
and shrimp for two at $20. Yum!
Wednesday was the next “sun-sighting,” following a hard rain
the night before, so we were able to ride our bikes around the park and enjoy
the outdoors again. With all the inclement weather, it’s a good thing I have
needlework projects to keep me busy;
we’re also getting a lot of reading done!
Thursday dawned bright and sunny-YEA, but we needed to get
to Grand Marais to return books and movies to the library, and take advantage
of their free WiFi. This has become a weekly trek for us, giving us an
opportunity to pick up any groceries we may need.
On the way back to Grand
Portage we stopped at Naniboujou Lodge to check out their Sunday brunch menu.
My Great Uncle Francis ("Cac") and Great Aunt Amy Hussey owned it years ago, so it was good
to see it again. We’ll be going to brunch there in August, so stay tuned for
more information on this most interesting place. (The 80’ long ceiling and walls in the dining
room are painted bright vibrant colors in an Indian motif.)
Grand Portage Community Center provides very nourishing and
inexpensive lunches for seniors (yes, we qualify!) Monday through Friday, so we
took advantage of it on Friday. They served baked salmon, potatoes, creamed
corn, pickled beets, fruit and beverages for $4 for the two of us (based on
age, mine was a bit more expensive at $2.50 than Dick’s). Even though it was a
very chilly 55 degrees at noon, we rode the motorcycle to lunch. Brrr! We were
glad to get back to the trailer to warm up, even though the Center was just a mile
or so away from our site.
After Friday night showers, Saturday didn’t disappoint—fog
and 53 degrees at 7:30 a.m. There was a break in the weather by noon so we
walked the short ¼ mile to the Grand Portage Heritage Center, which we visited
and reported on last year. Due to the cool weather and late Spring, the
wildflowers were in full bloom, creating visual splashes of color along the
way.
There are wild roses growing everywhere (their fragrance is heady!), along
with bluebells, orange hawkweed, bright yellow buttercups, purple pickleweed
and lupine, as well as 5’ high cow parsnip. As we passed the site where the old
Grand Portage Baptist Church stood we noticed a large bush of white roses, and
a bird’s nest setting in the middle of the grass (probably dropped by a crow
after stealing a baby bird from the nest).
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| Wild roses |
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| Buttercups |
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| Pickleweed |
Wild lupine
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| Cow parsnip |
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| Bluebells |
As we passed one of the trash dumpsters we noticed quite a
bit of trash spreading up the hill for a good 40 yards. Apparently a 400 lb.
bear has been sited there at night, gorging on campers’ left-overs. We’ll steer
clear of that area of the park in the evenings!
That afternoon Dick rode the motorcycle to Hovland, located
about half-way between Grand Marais and Grand Portage, along Lake Superior. He
came upon this marker for the dog sled mail carriers, which operated for almost
50 years bringing mail from Duluth to Grand Portage and beyond to Canada.
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Engraved on the plaque is the following: "In 1856 Post Offices were established in Grand Marais and Grand Portage on a mail route connecting Duluth, Minnesota and Fort William, Canada.
Since there were no roads, mail was carried by boat on Lake Superior; in winter dog sled teams and sleds were used by the mail carriers to tote the heavy packets through the wilderness over what was known as “The Old Dog Trail”, which ran along the north shore of the lake for more than 150 miles.
The mail was transported in those days by private carriers who contracted with the government for the job. Sam Zimmerman, a German, and the Beargrease brothers, who were Chippewa Indians, were among the earliest postmen on the trail. The trip they made took several days and necessitated a change of dogs en route.
In 1895 the trail was cleared for hauling logs, and horses could then be used along part of it. Later, further stretches were improved, and in 1920 it became Trunk Highway No. 1. Parts of the Trail are followed by present-day Highway 61 (North Shore Drive), which is now a part of the Great Circle Route around the lake. Parts of the pioneer mail route are still visible."
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Also in Hovland is the old Hovland Dock. Built in 1905, the
dock served as a hub for local transportation and to facilitate the commercial
and private handling of lake trout. It was the largest fishing enterprise on
the north shore of Lake Superior until lamprey entered the lake, decimating the
lake trout population. The dock area was neglected as commercial fishing
declined and the highway system became the dominant form of transportation. Great strides have been made to overcome this
unfortunate decline in fish, but the quantity of lake trout continue to fall
far short of what they once were. Word around here is that there are tentative
plans to rebuild/restore the dock that folks say will cost from $6,000 upwards
to $9 million. Due to the shifting and unstable lake bed where it’s located
there’s no guarantee that it will stay in one piece.
About ½ mile east of the dock is The Flute
Reed River, feeding Lake Superior from the north woods. We thought this photo
shows the peace and tranquility of this area.
Before returning to the park, Dick rode to the north side of
Mt. Josephine, here in Grand Portage, to take fog photos of the lake.
That’s all folks, for this week. Hope you’ve enjoyed the
blog. (It’s Monday, and as I write this
the lake and marina are again fogged in…crazy.) We pray for sun and warmer
weather during the remainder of our stay in Grand Portage.
Blessings,
Gail and Dick
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