More Water

We found more water in several spots during our tour of northern Wisconsin.  Though, with over 14000 lakes in Wisconsin, that effort is not difficult.

We found falling waters at Pattison State Park which lies south of Superior.  Here is found Manitou Falls.  At 165 feet, it is the highest waterfall in Wisconsin.  The falls, though, can be easily hidden.

A better view:

To get a better sense of scale, Donna can be seen in the upper left standing on an observation platform here:

 

 

The park also boasts Little Manitou Falls:

 



After a week in the Duluth/Superior area, we headed east on Highway 2 to Ashland.  Here we stayed at a great city park, Kreher RV Park.  The park is downtown directly on Lake Superior at the base of the ore dock.  We've camped here a couple times before and looked forward to returning.  We were fortunate to get a lake front site as they are the first to be taken.

And here we are with the old ore dock as background:

On Sunday when we arrived, the weather was absolutely beautiful.  However, by Monday the wind picked up off the lake and the temperatures plummeted.  We stayed for a very windy week.  It must have rained everyday--on some days it rained several times.  Temperatures fell at night into the mid 30s and rose barely to 50 for most of the week.  We've had better experiences.  Of course, when we left on the following Sunday, the weather turned beautiful once again.

While we were there, the ore dock was being torn down.  It has not been used for decades.  There is an effort by the city to take over the dock at the lower concrete level to make it into a fishing pier/tourist attraction.  The upper metal portion of the dock should be down by the end of 2013.

While in Ashland, we decided to escape the cold Superior wind and travel inland to Mellen, the home of Copper Falls State Park.  The park boasts a campground though smaller sites than at Pattison.  The falls are accessible by a well defined path which begins and ends at the shelter/concession stand.

The path includes a handicapped access to view Copper Falls:

We left Ashland behind on Sunday and stopped at the Clear Lake Campground in the state forest southeast of Woodruf on Highway 47.  This is a great campground though it has no electric nor water hook-ups.  Most of the sites are large and can accommodate large RVs with slides.  Generators are allowed to be run from 10 AM until 5 PM with a free permit from the Warden.  Clear Lake is used for fishing and water sports.  Our camp site sat just off the water.

 

 

Just beyond the clump of trees by the picnic table is an open beach area which borders the lake:

 



Other than a camp host, we were the only campers in this large campground.  We stayed two nights.

Duluth/Superior

For the most part the weather has been terrific for this time of year in the northwoods.  We've had sunny days and cool nights.  The autumn colors have starter to peak out.  It's a good time to be outside to enjoy the weather.

Next to our campground is what is classified a "multi-use" trail.  It is a trail used by hikers, bikers, ATV-ers, snowmobilers, horses, and perhaps pack elephants.  It is primarily a gravel road built upon an old railroad bed.  In Superior it becomes a dual surface--blacktop for bikes and gravel for others.  One afternoon we decided to explore the trail and so we donned our gear and head out for a wild adventure.

We ended our ride at Gronk's Bar and Grill in Superior.

We devoured one of those greasy hamburgers that one should eat only once a decade. It was worth it though. Great burger with fried onions and homemade french fries. Good beer also.   We did not burn enough calories on our bike tour to compensate for the meal!

On Saturday, we stumbled upon a small stree festival on the east side of Superior.  Food, rummage sales and a car show were running.  Here Donna tried to get service from Elvis' car hop:

 

Earlier in the week we ventured across the border to Duluth.  Downtown Duluth is well suited to gawkers from across the border.  They have developed an area along the lake for strollers, eaters and shoppers--Canal Park.  And the view of Lake Supeior is quite special:

 

 

The area is jam-packed with restaurants as well as some higher end shops.  But it also has it curiosities.  Here is a drinking fountain for person and their four legged pet.  The stainless steel bowl is attached to the fountain.

 



And here is a solar powered trash container:

 

 

Why solar powered?  It has a 12 volt battery which is solar charged.  When the receptacle needs emptying, it sends a message to the parks department:  "Come Empty Me."  I wonder if it really saves anybody any time.

 

We also came across this unusual ice cream stand:

 

 

 

Unfortunately, it was closed.

 

And here is structure which is part of a war memorial.  Perfect timing by the photographer, don't you think?

 

 



One of the best known and largest landmarks of Duluth is this interesting bridge.

This aerial lift bridge was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1973.  It is a vertical lift bridge and one of only two in the US.  In the pictured configuration, the bridge is open for vehicle traffic.  When a ship passes, the road deck is lifted vertically to the top of the span.  Though not my photo, here is how it would look when up for ship traffic:

 

 

In an Italian restaurant in downtown Superior Donna found the women's room highly decorated:

 



Cute.  Most restrooms aren't so photogenic.

 

Superior and Amnicon Falls

On Sunday we headed up Highway 53 from Trego to Superior. After much prior research we decided to stay at the Northland Camping and RV Park just northeast of the intersection of 53 with Highway 13.  Our intent is to explore the Duluth/Superior area but we found few campgrounds in the area.  This one was located just at the south edge of town and should provide us easy access to the area.

 Most sites are pull throughs and are level. Our cost for full hookups for a week is $186. Nightly camping is $31 (we saved $5 per night by opting for the weekly rate). The campground is about 2 miles south of Superior and is on a gravelled multi-use trail (ATV/snowmobile/bicycle/hike/etc). The trail is on an old rail bed.

On Monday we took a 4 mile trip south to Amnicon Falls State Park. It was a spectacular day with clear skies and temperatures in the low 70s. The park is named for the Amnicon (derived from the Ojibway word for "where fish spawn") River which falls 180 feet in less than 2 miles within the park. The river flows into Lake Superior from its origins to the south in Douglas County. Inside the park the river splits into 3 streams and descends over 3 waterfalls.

Once the last glaciers melted forming Lake Superior, Mastodons were hunted here by native peoples over 9000 years ago. Old Copper Culture Native Americans walked this area from 5000 BC to 500 AD. Woodland Native Americans followed. When the Europeans explored the area, the Ojibway made their homes here. Civilization "Up North" has gone downhill ever since.

For you budding rock hounds, the park has a very interesting geology. A short walk through the park reveals a billion years of geologic activity. About a half billion years ago a great earthquake struck here resulting in what is known as the much studied Douglas Fault. Basalt from ancient lava flows is evident as well as Lake Superior sandstone. Millions of years ago great oceans covered Wisconsin including this area. Now we have billboards and tourist traps.

Also of interest in the park is the Horton Bridge.

 The covered bridge is 55 feet long and spans the Amnicon at the Lower Falls. It is an historically significant bow-string bridge which uses arched beams secured with hooks and clips rather than the traditional rivets and bolts. Only 5 other such Horton bridges (named after the designer, Charles Horton) exit. The bridge was moved from a local road to the park in 1930 and a roof was added in 1939 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The bridge was once lit and used for dances. Today the bridge is still popular for weddings.

The park includes a 36 unit primitive campground. A few of the sites can handle large RVs. Electricity is not available at any site.

There will be a written test to follow!

Trego Wisconsin

Trego lies about halfway between Eau Claire and Duluth/Superior on Highway 53.   Highway 53 is a very good 4-lane road which connects Eau Claire to Superior.

Old timers categorized anything north of Highway 29 as the "north woods."  Being 80 miles north of 29, Trego lies in the north woods along the Namekagon River and within the 252 mile river corridor of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway.  A century ago this area of north-western Wisconsin was dotted with logging camps and the river was used to convey logs south to saw mills.  Now the area is again wooded and a water sport haven for canoes, inner tubes and kayaks.  Nearby trails offer biking,  hiking, ATV and snowmobile sports.
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This municipal park has 50 sites for both tents and RVs.  Most sites have water and electric hookups.  Sites are fairly roomy with level parking on grass.   Each site has a table, fire ring and 30/50 amp service. 

The park has a dump station, flush toilets and showers, several park shelters and a boat landing.  The rest room building is dated, but we found it to be remarkably clean.  Hot showers cost 50 cents for 6 minutes.   Most of the occupied sites were taken by seasonal campers. 

We found the park to be a bit expensive at $25 plus $5 for electricity per night.  We stayed three nights.  But our time there was marred by several rain events day and night.  Once the rain broke we hiked to the boat dock:

The park is conveniently located near Spooner and Hayward.  We would stay here again.

Green Bay and a Packer Game

Like most areas of the Midwest, this summer has been dry and hot.  Consequently, we didn't do as much as we anticipated.  We primarily stayed put at the KOA with one a one week "vacation" to the Wisconsin Dells with family.  Mirror Lake State Park was great and we all had a good time.

Our son, Erik, got us some tickets at the last minute to see the Packer's last preseason game at Lambeau.  It was to be our first game though we had been to Lambeau Field before.   We stole packer jerseys from Erik and Becky and hit the road.

We decided to stay in a hotel even though rooms were scarce.  We did find a room at a Quality (in name only) downtown Green Bay.  It was just across the street from the Fox River and a 13+ river walkway through the city.

 

The river is a major water way linking the city to Green Bay and then out to Lake Michigan.  Here the  630 foot long bulk carrier Manitowoc passes us by:

 



 





A stroll through downtown revealed many "Lombardi slept here" moments.  The coach and Curly Lambeau are everywhere in Green Bay.

And we even found one of these relics of the 1960s on the now closed Northland Hotel building:

Our hotel offered the standard fare free breakfast each morning.  We opted to be a little less boring and walked three blocks to Al's Hamburger Shop for breakfast.

In operation since 1934, it was closed last year due to a fire which gutted the place.  Now reopened, it has a modern interior (a counter and 3 booths) and has kept the same exterior. Al Was the current owners father.  George is now the man behind the counter.  Though they serve hamburgers all day, I opted for the corned beef hash which George says he makes fresh daily.  It was by far the best such hash I have ever eaten. 

The city of Green Bay bus company offers free shuttle service to and from Lambeau Field on game day.  The pick up point was across the street from our hotel so we opted to ride it in lieu of the parking hassles and expense at the stadium.  Our hotel was about 3 miles as the crow flies from the stadium. 

We arrived at the stadium early enough (3.5 hours prior to game time) to have lunch and watch practice.  Lunch of bratwurst and a fully dressed hamburger was at Curly's Pub on the second level  of the stadium.  Remarkably, it was very good and reasonably priced.  Even the Curly's ale was right on.    The Miller beer in the stands, however, were a little pricey at $8 for an aluminum bottle.

We had a good time anyway watching the 3rd and 4th string players beat up on the chiefs: