Part 4 - On to Duluth
Not being in a rush to get to Duluth, we stopped at the International Wolf Center, which "advances the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future."
Ebels to International Wolf Center by
P Bryan, on Flickr
They had exhibits on wolves (including a children's area), some presentations, and large viewing windows to hopefully view their wolves. To find out more:
http://www.wolf.orgTo lure the wolves toward the viewing windows, they put food nearby. As the wolves appeared, you can hear the awe in people's voices, "Wow! They're beautiful." I found the entire experience quite lame and wouldn't recommend the place.
DW wanted to attend a presentation on "The Wolves and Moose of Isle Royale" ahead of our visit there. Little one was not interested, so I took him to play in the children's play area, while the girls went with her. The previous program, "Ambassadors to the Wild" was pretty full, so it came as a surprise that they were the only three people that showed up, and they had a private interactive presentation. They discussed the reintroduction of wolves to Isle Royale that began last fall. Interestingly, the two "original" wolves left on Isle Royale, from before the reintroduction, were father-daughter as well as brother-sister. Although they did have a pup together, it did not survive its first year, as it was so inbred.
Photos taken at the International Wolf Center:
International Wolf Center, Ely Minnesota by
P Bryan, on Flickr
International Wolf Center, Ely Minnesota by
P Bryan, on Flickr
International Wolf Center, Ely Minnesota by
P Bryan, on Flickr
We then went to the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary, which I had read about, to see wild black bears. I'm not really sure what I was expecting to see, but I found the experience to be quite disappointing. The bears show up to baited feeding stations and you observe them from an elevated platform. I suppose some might find it interesting, but after seeing bears in the wild in Alaska, it wasn't all that interesting to me.
International Wolf Center to Vince Shutte Black Bear Refuge by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Upon arrival, DW and the kids refused to get out of the car. There were horse flies around, and having finally left them behind in Voyageurs National Park, they did not wish to become reacquainted. They gave me their blessings to go on my own, and off I went on their bus to the viewing platform.
Information about the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary can be found here:
https://www.americanbear.org/Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary, Orr Minnesota by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary, Orr Minnesota by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary, Orr Minnesota by
P Bryan, on Flickr
We then made our way to Duluth:
Vince Shutte to Duluth by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Finally we arrived at the hotel for our second weekend, the Marriott Residence Inn Duluth:
Marriott Residence Inn, Duluth, Minnesota by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Marriott Residence Inn, Duluth, Minnesota by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Part 5 - Wisconsin
Being right on the Minnesota-Wisconsin border without spending some time in Wisconsin would have been unacceptable to DW and the kids. The kids each have a map of the U.S., coloring each state they visit. In anticipation of visiting Wisconsin, my little one had already colored in Wisconsin on his map, so skipping it was not an option.
We got a late start and headed to Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (
http://www.nps.gov/apis). Along the way, there were numerous "Historical Marker" signs, and when we saw one referring to a windmill, we pulled over to check it out.
Davidson Windmill, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Davidson Windmill, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Continuing on, we arrived at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Visitor Center not too long before they closed, and DW and the girls went in to find out what to do in the area with the weather being overcast. They also got the Junior Ranger booklets, but did not have time to complete them, and will have to send them in to receive their badges. Although we were originally thinking of going kayaking among the sea caves, we got there too late, and besides, we were all kayaked out. Instead, we went to the Bayfield Maritime Museum, information about which can be found at:
https://www.bayfieldmaritimemuseum.org/This is a small, but nice museum, and we stayed until closing.
Bayfield Maritime Museum, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Bayfield Maritime Museum, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Bayfield Maritime Museum, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Bayfield Maritime Museum, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
In the immediate vicinity is the Frog Bay Tribal National Park, the country's first, and at this time only, tribal national park, so we decided to check it out.
http://redcliff-nsn.gov/divisions/TNRD/FBTNP.htmUpon arrival, and seeing an abundance of mosquitoes, the girls refused to get out of the car and decided to sit it out. Instead, DW took little one (both wearing head nets and bug juice) on what she thought was the Easy Trail to the beach. After a while, DW expected to see the beach but didn't so, getting concerned about the waning daylight, turned around and headed back. Turns out they took the Ravine Trail, which was twice as long.
Frog Bay Tribal National Park, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Frog Bay Tribal National Park, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Frog Bay Tribal National Park, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
When they returned, I headed out on the direct trail to the "beach," which could barely be called that.
Frog Bay Tribal National Park, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Frog Bay Tribal National Park, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Frog Bay Tribal National Park, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Frog Bay Tribal National Park, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
On the way to and from the Apostle Islands, we passed a tank at the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center and pulled over to take a photo of it. Here it is in its Independence Day colors:
Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
The next day was Friday, and after putting a well-traveled chicken in the crockpot, we headed back to Wisconsin to the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center to see the tank once more. We splurged on a guided tour - the Heavy Metal Tour - and our guide introduced himself, saying he was going to be a Sophomore next year at such-and-such school. It didn't hit us until later in the tour that the school he mentioned was not a college, but rather a high school, and he was in fact younger than our oldest.
It was a nice clear day, and we got some more photos of the tank, albeit without its red, white, and blue colors:
Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Inside the museum, its centerpiece was a World War II-era Lockheed P-38, around which the walls of the museum were built, that was restored to look like the one the museum's namesake flew.
Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
When Major Bong was killed test piloting an airplane in California, his death was front page news and was placed ahead of the news that the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan:
Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
On the way out we stopped at the gift shop. I was thinking to buy one of their World War II-era deactivated pineapple grenades, but it would not have been allowed on the flight home and I was too lazy to go and ship it.
Our next stop was the Old Firehouse & Police Museum, also in Superior, WI.
Old Firehouse and Police Museum, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Old Firehouse and Police Museum, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Old Firehouse and Police Museum, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Old Firehouse and Police Museum, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Old Firehouse and Police Museum, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Old Firehouse and Police Museum, Wisconsin by
P Bryan, on Flickr
From there we headed back to Duluth, to the Lake Superior Marine Museum, which is barely even worth a mention. Crowds, and not very interesting. Here is the only thing that we found to be of any interest, an A-frame steam engine.
Lake Superior Marine Museum by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Wanting to pick up some goodies for Shabbos, we searched for a Whole Foods in the area, and found one, but upon arrival, discovered that it was a "fake" Whole Foods. Despite being a "Whole Foods" in name only, they had some nice Pareve options, like natural gummy fish and natural ice pops. Plus they had some Chalav Yisroel chocolate wafers. After picking up some fresh challah at Chabad, we returned to the hotel to finish up Shabbos preparations. The nice thing about residence-type inns is that they provide you with a place to cook, and you feel absolutely no qualms about doing so. I made my usual Shabbos kugel on our camp stove in the barbecue area, and shared some with a couple I had been shmoozing with.
MVIMG_20190705_194638 by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Part 6 - Grand Portage
On Sunday, we drove from Duluth to Grand Portage, Minnesota, as we needed to be at the ferry to Isle Royale National Park bright and early the following morning:
Duluth to Grand Portage by
P Bryan, on Flickr
We made a quick detour to the Grand Portage National Monument Visitor Center (
http://www.nps.gov/grpo), where DW ran in to get Junior Ranger booklets, and we'll have to send those in as well. We spent Sunday night in Grand Portage, at the Hollow Rock Resort, in their "Fish Cabin." The cabin was large, comfortable, and right on Lake Superior:
Cabin in Grand Portage, Minnesota by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Cabin in Grand Portage, Minnesota by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Cabin in Grand Portage, Minnesota by
P Bryan, on Flickr
It was here that our phones started acting wonky, randomly switching back and forth between Eastern and Central time - the demarcation between Central and Eastern time zones runs between Grand Portage, Minnesota and Isle Royale, Michigan. This wasn't exactly conducive to making an early morning ferry, so I put my phone into airplane mode to lock the time.
At the dock the next morning, we unloaded our four duffel bags, large cooler, two carry-on bags, and assorted other stuff. We were taking the Voyageur II, a ship intended for those overnighting on the island, almost all backpackers. Clearly we were not among that group. Here's the Voyageur II with the Sea Hunter III, the day trip boat, in the background:
Voyageur II - Ferry to Isle Royale National Park by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Trip to Isle Royale:
Grand Portage to Windigo, Isle Royale NP by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Lake Superior is, by at least one measure, the largest lake in the world. (Ryan Island on Isle Royale's Siskiwit Lake is sometimes referred to as "the largest island on the largest lake on the largest island on the largest lake in the world.")
Lake Superior (DSC_5811) by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Part 7 - Isle Royale National Park
Upon our arrival at Windigo after the two hour boatride, we had the standard Leave No Trace talk and checked into our cabin. This is easier said than done, as the cabin is up a hill and is more than 150 feet higher in elevation than the dock. Although we carried up some of our bags, this part of Isle Royale is actually frontcountry, and they were able to deliver our duffel bags to our cabin (named Radisson) by Club Car. Facilities at the cabin: a drinking fountain/water spigot with potable water and an outhouse. Although we almost never used the outhouse, choosing to use the comfort station at the bottom of the hill instead, as soon as we'd come up to the cabin, Little Guy needed to "rest," and back down the hill we'd go.
MVIMG_20190708_102559 by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Cabin at Windigo, Isle Royale National Park by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Water spigot near our cabin in Windigo, Isle Royale National Park by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Inside, the cabin had three rooms: a main room with a futon, small table/desk, and two chairs; and two smaller rooms each with a bunk bed. In total, this tiny cabin had 20 outlets. Not sure what exactly we could've used them for...2 cell phones, camera battery chargers, laptop?
Cabin at Windigo, Isle Royale National Park by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Cabin at Windigo, Isle Royale National Park by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Cabin at Windigo, Isle Royale National Park by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Cooking on the camp stove:
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA by
P Bryan, on Flickr
One of the locals paying us a visit:
One of the locals at Isle Royale National Park by
P Bryan, on Flickr
While we brought most of our food along with us, the Windigo Store was well stocked, even carrying Pas Yisroel bagels and fresh eggs. If you could catch your own fish, you wouldn't need to bring any food with you. However, catching our own fish didn't quite work out for us, so it was good that we had backup. I purchased a cheap $20 fishing rod and reel on the way up to Grand Portage (wished we had it in Voyageurs NP) and we spent lots of time on the dock casting, but to no avail.
Fishing at Windigo, Isle Royale National Park by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Fishing at Windigo, Isle Royale National Park by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Fishing at Windigo, Isle Royale National Park by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Fishing at Windigo, Isle Royale National Park by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Fishing at Isle Royale National Park by
P Bryan, on Flickr
An eight year old boy, Dylan, was at the dock when we came down to fish, and he handed each of us some "real pirate treasure" that his father clarified was from the SS Amazon. Dylan was there with his parents on their 40-foot sailboat, and they graciously offered us a tour of the below decks area, which was quite interesting to us landlubbers. I was able to get some nice night shots of their boat as well as another 37-foot sailboat on the one clear night we had:
Isle Royale National Park (DSC_6029) by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Isle Royale National Park (DSC_6038) by
P Bryan, on Flickr
We planned to rent kayaks and head out to Beaver Island in Washington Harbor for a picnic, but they only had two tandem kayaks, not enough for the family, and renting the small motorboat didn't work out. Instead, Dylan took all the kiddos for a little ride in their dinghy rowboat.
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Activity-wise, we hiked a bit:
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA (DSC_5884) by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA (DSC_5894) by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA (DSC_5882) by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA (DSC_5987) by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA (DSC_5898) by
P Bryan, on Flickr
DSC_5842 by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Beavers at work:
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA (DSC_5878) by
P Bryan, on Flickr
We saw lots of moose prints but no moose (except that I saw two bull moose fighting across the bay once):
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA (DSC_5990) by
P Bryan, on Flickr
And we saw an abundance of beautiful wildflowers and butterflies:
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Isle Royale National Park (DSC_5837) by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA (DSC_5917) by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA (DSC_5935) by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA (DSC_5947) by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA (DSC_5950) by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA (DSC_5962) by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA (DSC_5967) by
P Bryan, on Flickr
The company that runs the store and cabins at Windigo also owns a WW II era Willys Jeep, which I was told still runs but needs some parts:
WW II era Willys at Windigo, Isle Royale NP, Michigan, USA (DSC_5945) by
P Bryan, on Flickr
WW II era Willys Jeep, Windigo, Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA (DSC_5924) by
P Bryan, on Flickr
The one activity we did the most of was hang out on the dock. Dylan's family set up a "living room" on the dock and we got to know them some. They were happy to take our pillows when we left, and we were happy we didn't have to bring them back. I later found out that they passed them along to the park rangers.
Speaking of park rangers, on Monday and Tuesday there was just one ranger program, in the evening. We missed that first night, but on Tuesday, Ranger Jenna personally invited us, so DW and Co. went and and they all earned their Junior Ranger badges. The Sea Hunter III arrives on all the other days of the week, so they schedule more ranger programs on those days, and we attended another one with Ranger Jenna.
On Tuesday night, just after 6 p.m., we saw one of the rangers walk away with the flag that she had just taken down. Little one was interested in seeing how that worked, so the next evening we made sure to be near the flagpole at 6, and he had his own private ceremony. In case you were wondering, yup, it was Ranger Jenna's turn to do the honors.
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, USA by
P Bryan, on Flickr
After spending three nights at Isle Royale, on Thursday, in the early afternoon, we took the Voyageur II back to Grand Portage, passing the wreck of the SS America, which could be seen below the water, at the mouth of Washington Harbor:
Wreck of the SS America near Isle Royale National Park (DSC_6052) by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Part 8 - Back to Minneapolis
Upon arrival in Grand Portage, we loaded up the car, and made the five and a half hour drive to Minneapolis.
Grand Portage to Minneapolis by
P Bryan, on Flickr
During the drive, we ordered dinner from the Prime Deli. I decided to try something a bit different, and got their walleye tacos, which were pretty good, and the burger from the kids menu. I liked this burger better than their regular burger.
Upon checking back in to the Home2Suites, we were given the same room as we had two weeks earlier. Opening the refrigerator, we found the light off - we had forgotten to remove the tape that covered the switch for Shabbos and no one had done it in the interim. Although we intended to remove it after Shabbos, we forgot once more.
The next day, while trying to figure out what to do, and after looking through the trip reports of
@saw50st8 and
@Dan, we decided to go to the Sculpture Park.
Sculpture Park, Minneapolis by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Sculpture Park, Minneapolis by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Sorry guys, but I thought the place was completely lame.
After walking a round a bit, some of us needed a restroom and, not being able to find one, we asked someone who responded that the nearest one was "probably at the Walker." We had no idea what the Walker was, but headed over. I walked ahead with my son, with DW just behind with the girls, but on her way in, someone stopped her and asked if she had a pass. When she said no, the woman handed her a pass, telling her she needed it but the kids were free. Still not knowing what kind of place the Walker was, she accepted the pass and headed to the restroom. Who knew that asking for a pass to the bathroom was the secret code word for getting free museum admission. Afterward, figuring she already had a pass, she wandered off with the girls to figure out where they were. From DW - turns out it was the sort of art museum where you say "huh?" a lot.
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis by
P Bryan, on Flickr
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis by
P Bryan, on Flickr
They enjoyed it - middle daughter asked to go to more museums like it; I was happy to sit this one out.
We then went to the Breadsmith on Minnetonka to get some goodies for Shabbos, and shared the very tasty margherita focaccia for lunch. This Breadsmith also had complimentary coffee.
Sunday we packed out of the hotel and went to the Minnesota Streetcar Museum. Little one enjoyed the street car ride, but don't expect an actual museum. From there, we went to the third and final Breadsmith in the area and then headed to the airport for our flight home.
Total miles driven: 1622
Thanks for reading and we hope you enjoyed this trip report.