By the Shores of Gitche Gumee

Lake Superior, a two-hour drive from our house

SONG OF HIAWATHA

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

'By the shores of Gitche Gumee, by the shining Big-Sea-Water,
Stood the wigwam of Nokomis, daughter of the Moon, Nokomis.
Dark behind it rose the forest, rose the black and gloomy pine-trees,
Rose the firs with cones upon them; bright before it beat the water,
Beat the clear and sunny water, beat the shining Big-Sea-Water...'

Cruisin' along Lake Superior
a little cruise boat, not to be confused with the monster international freighters  that come into the port of Duluth

 

Resident Gulls

Lake Superior is so huge that you can stand on one side and not see across to the other side (one of the things I love about it.) The surface area of Lake Superior is 37,100 square miles. It contains more water than all the other Great Lakes combined. There is enough water in Lake Superior to flood all of North and South America to a depth of one foot. Over 300 streams and rivers empty into this Great Lake. The average underwater visibility of Lake Superior is 27 feet, making it the clearest of all the Great Lakes. In some places, the underwater visibility reaches 100 feet! The lake is 350 miles long and 160 miles wide. Lake Superior would not be your best choice to go swimming; it's nearly freezing cold!  These facts, except for the first and last, were found online at the University of Missouri website. (??!)

It's like the ocean - without the salt.

Boardwalk parallels train tracks at the edge of Lake Superior at Duluth 

The Duluth Public Library (r)

Duluth Train Museum (l)

The library, an attempt to resemble a freighter

At the entrance to the Duluth Public Library.

Clever, huh.

The Duluth Train Museum
and Immigrant Museum

And inside the building, there are many more, including the huge snow plows and cow catchers.

I've been to the RR museum in Strasburg, PA. I think this one in Duluth is better.

My husband commented that years ago they called it progress when they could rip out those miserable old brick or cobblestone sidewalks and replace them with concrete. Now we call it progress to tear  out the concrete and replace it with brick or cobblestones.

St. Louis County Court House, Duluth

"The people's laws define usages * ordain rights and duties * secure public safety * defend liberty * teach reverence and obedience * and establish justice"

The skywalk, part of St. Mary's Hospital, Duluth

Along the boardwalk, facing the lake

Follow the pier to the right and you will find...

...the aerial lift bridge at Canal Park, Duluth

the largest, farthest-inland (2,432 mi) freshwater port

If you have nothing to do for the next five minutes, you might enjoy this YouTube video of one of those monster ships going through the canal at Duluth. They're quite spectacular.

And in case you're interested, there's a live video cam at the aerial lift bridge, so you can watch what's happening all the time.

For a schedule of arrivals and departures, go to www.duluthboats.com

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