June 12, 2011We left St. Paul at 8:30 AM. We stopped for lunch in
Two Harbors, and saw a
moose along the road near the Cascade River. We stopped at
Buck’s Hardware in
Grand Marais to buy minnows for bait. Then we drove 48 miles up the
Gunflint Trail to
Heston's Lodge where we checked into the White Pine cabin at about 3:30 PM. We went canoeing on
Gunflint Lake, which is divided down the center and half is in Minnesota and half is in Canada. I think we were slightly over into Canada when the wind came up, and we had to paddle hard to get back. After dinner we went fishing off the dock. We found the same radio station we listened to
last year;
105.3FM, the Giant.
June 13, 20100At 5:00 AM we went fishing from the dock. It was 5 degrees Celsius, or 40 degrees Fahrenheit. After we stopped to make breakfast burritos, we rented a boat and motor for four hours. Besides fishing until Noon, we also stopped at “Campers Island.” Our early and busy day, caused us to nap after we got back to the cabin. Then we fished from the dock and grilled chicken and potatoes for dinner. Incidentally, we were not having good luck fishing, but this day turned into a sunny, 70 degree Fahrenheit perfect day! Later in the evening, we walked down the road until the abundant and hungry
mosquitoes drove us back to the cabin.
June 14, 2011After breakfast we rented the boat again for four hours, and aside from fishing, we wore head nets and battled the mosquitoes as we hiked through the woods to
Bridal Falls. We were still not catching fish so after we got back we had lunch and then drove to the Cross River Bridge to fish some more. Later that evening, I looked at Canada (across the lake) through my binoculars.
June 15, 2011We drove to the public access for Loon Lake and hiked the Brice Breon Trail until we found a place to fish from shore. One of the highlights was when we found
Showy Lady Slippers in bloom along the trail! We fished from the dock in the afternoon and I got snagged on the same submerged tree branch twice and needed to get the canoe out twice to get free. Eventually I pulled the whole branch out of the lake! Later, being it was our last night at the cabin, we made a fire in the wood stove and watched a movie on the laptop.
June 16, 2011We packed up and left
Heston's Lodge at 10:00 AM. We drove to the
Chik-Wauk Museum. We toured the museum and also hiked the trails there. Then we had lunch at the
Trail's End Café. After lunch we walked to the end of the trail to view Seagull Lake. By then it was time to slowly drive back the entire length of the
Gunflint Trail. We saw a
moose and a
grouse along the way. Once we got back to
Grand Marais, we checked into Cabin 5 at
Nelson's Traveler's Rest. We shopped at Beth’s Fudge & Gifts, Ben Franklin and The Trading Post. Then we had dinner at the
Dockside Fish Market. Their fish is outstanding! After dinner we hiked out to
Artist’s Point before returning to the cabin.
June 17, 2011We left
Grand Marais in the morning and drove to the Heritage Center at
Grand Portage National Monument. We toured the recreation of the fur trading post and then drove to the USA/Canadian border to hike out to the
High Falls of the Pigeon River. The falls was another high point of the trip! It was about 1:30 PM when we stopped at the
Naniboujou Lodge for a very tasty lunch. Back in Grand Marais, we went shopping before taking a rest back in cabin 5. Later, we decided to walk to the
Dockside Fish Market for fish & chips. We stopped by a wooden boat show on the walk back to our cabin.
June 18, 2011We left
Nelson's Traveler's Rest about 9:30 AM and drove until we got to the
Grand Superior Lodge where we stopped for lunch. Once we got into the town of
Two Harbors, we stopped at
Pamida to do some shopping. Then we drove through a
big traffic mess in
Duluth that added an extra hour onto our long trip home. We arrived back in St. Paul at about 5:00 PM. The entire trip was 748.1 miles.
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White Pine Cabin
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Canada over Shoulder
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Lady Slipper
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Head Net
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Bridal Falls
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Gunflint Lake
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Artist's Point
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Naniboujou
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At Chik-Wauk
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Moose
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Grand Portage National Monument
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Grand Portage National Monument
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High Falls