My Favorite Place

The Chippewa used to called this lake Gitche Gumee, We call it Lake Superior. The North Shore of this lake is my favorite place. There is so much beauty , it takes Your breath away.We used to go there every year, it was Mine and Skips little get away place alone. We`d take one weekend during the summer, or fall, and as late as November, It did`nt matter when, it`s beauty was year round. It has been several years since we have been there, and i really do think it is time to make that little trip again soon.


The North Shore begins in Duluth, MN. My favorite place in Duluth is Canal Park. This light house is at Canal Park, it is a great place to stand and watch the ships and boats come in. Canal Park has wonderful shops, great dining places, a maritime museum, a boardwalk along the shore, and hundreds of seagulls. it is a very fun place to visit.

But the most interesting thing it has, is this lift bridge. This bridge was built during 1929-1930, it`s purpose was to connect Park Point to Canal Park, Park Point being a residential neighborhood, but a regular bridge would not do, because ships and boats had to be able to pass under it to get into the harbor. So C.P. Turner and Thomas F. McGilvry designed a lift bridge. The bridges maximum height is 227 feet, it`s length is 386 feet. This is the bridge when it is in the down position.

Below is the bridge lifting to allow a boat to pass under, the bridge does`nt always rise to it`s full height, it only lifts to the height needed to allow a peticular boat to pass. It is operated manually. Look closely and you can see a small boat passing under. When the bridge lifts, traffic from both directions stop and wait. This is Duluths biggest attraction.

After the stop at Canal Park, which never gets boring, it is off to the North Shore of this huge beautiful lake. Lake Superior is the coldest, deepest and highest in elevation of the Great Lakes, it is 350 miles long, and 160 mile wide, and has 2,980 miles of shoreline. There is alot to explore along this lake!

Speaking of cold, one unusually hot summer, we packed the kids in the car and headed for Lake Superior to go swimming. We are 90 miles from the lake, and the promise of cooler weather was too hard to resist. When we got to the lake, we all joined hands so we would not lose the kids, and tip toed into the lake, oh my gosh! Immediately our legs began to sting from the cold, and we could not stay in there longer than a couple minutes, as we were rushing out of the lake, mind you , we were still holding hands, a passerby looked at us and said, " you all look like a suicide pact!" I swear i heard him mumble " tourists!" It was the quickest dip we`d ever taken. Since then, we stay on the shore or rocks when we visit. Is`nt it beautiful?!
See those stones below? This is how the rocks wash up on shore, all rounded smooth, and flat. miles and miles of these stones. It is a great place for a rock hound.

Below is the Temperance River Gorge, it is stunning. But do not step too closely to the edge, it is dangerous, if you fall in, you will not come out alive. The water in this gorge is so forcefull it will spit you into the lake in a matter of minutes.

This pretty waterfall is the Cascade River Falls, everywhere you go along the North Shore is pictureque, for miles and miles.

Below is an Ore Boat, this is a common site on Lake Superior, these boats haul the ore that comes out of the Taconite Mines on the Iron Range in Northeaster Minnesota. The lake is filled with these boats.

And this spectacular site is The Split Rock Light House. One of several that can be found along the North Shore. These rocky cliff shores are plentiful, we once stayed a night in a cabin that was built right on the edge of a similar cliff. It was an amazing view.

These are just a few of the sites that keep bringing me back again and again. Everytime i go there, something new is discovered. If you ever get the opportunity, go there, see it, you won`t be dissapointed.