On the other side of my yard the fog was much lower to the ground...
Anyway, it was pretty to see even if it wasn't the usual quiet.
]]>Today we welcomed American Century into the harbor.
You will notice that it looks like the ships are so tall they might not make it under the bridge, but they always do! They must then take a sharp left.
Zemia Lodzkaf
A perfect day for a lighthouse shot
The first thing I ran across was this old railroad trestle that is in the process of being dismantled down on the waterfront. While I was wandering down there the owner of the property came along and told me that in 2 years this spot will be a marina. There is a lot of work ahead of them to acomplish this but I can picture that it will be beautiful.
Meanwhile...they have their work cut out for them! They have to dimantle and haul away the old....
Before they can build anew. Meanwhile, there is a little bit of activity on the site and some interesting things to see.
There are abandoned rusty boats and this old pontoon...
And you never know where you will find a nice boat parked for the winter!
This vessel is still in the ater but not for long I bet...
And this old dredge that I haven't seen in action for years
I'm looking forward to watching the progress down there. There is never ending work as far as the eye can see!
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The first thing I noticed yesterday while crossing the bridge to Minnesota was how blue the water looked against the beautiful lighter blue sky. It's been like the weather is having a bad economy this season too, I can't remember a year with such consistently bad weather!
Anyway, the ship was on the horizon and the weather was beautiful and I unexpectedly found myself in one of my favorite places. Maybe the fact that my ship watching is always as surprise adds to the excitement of it all, who knows!
Mesabi Miner
Once the massive hunk of steel passed I figured I'd shoot some ship anchors...
And last but not least....as I was pulling photos for this post I ran across an older photo of Mesabi Miner that I took a few years ago! See what I mean...isn't the Miner a lovely vessel...
Anyway, it was pretty at the Falls yesterday.
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My new scooter came home just in time for me to be able to enjoy this late summer early fall season before I have to put it to bed for the winter and I've been going hell bent for election to get in all the time I can before the days of freezing arrive.
The transportation...
This is a 1986 250 Honda Helix scooter. It's a wildly fun bike and even has a stereo! The scooter belonged to my dad. Dad put 11,000 miles on it and I'm thinking it won't be long before I add another 11,000. This is more of a motorcycle than a scooter because of it's size, but it's got a scooter body which makes it more comfortable to ride than a motorcycle...
My travels take us along the nooks and crannies of northwestern Wisconsin and the very edge of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and areas in between. There is no such thing as a dull ride and I could do this for years and always find something new to see.
This day I started towards Ironwood Michigan, not really caring if I made it there or not but it gave me a direction in which to head.
Especially fun is the fall colors are starting to come out and every now and then there is a glimpse of nice color..
My first stop ended up to be a 30 mile round trip detour out of the way but as I was saying...the UP just gave me a direction to go in, never mind if I actually get there, right? I had never been to Copper Falls so I decided I wanted to go there first. The road to Mellen Wisconsin where Copper falls is, is beautiful and hilly and winds with sharp curves. This lends to a lot of interest over what could be around the next corner.
Copper Falls State Park is much bigger than I imagined so I'll have to go back and explore more of it..
There was a lot of bridges and stairs...
The second stairs here lead to a fire tower with what I'm sure are amazing vista's. I'll have to go back to climb those stairs when I'm driving my car as I don 't think it would be a good idea to do that AND ride the scooter!
We haven't had a lot of rain so the falls are pretty quiet.
After a little hike I decided to head back to the scooter and the road to Michigan.
I have been to Little Girls Point before, just across the border in the UP but it was during winter, and this is the first time I visited when it was still warm...
I wondered what the lodge was like but it must be private because the road was closed
There's a good size park and camping grounds at Little Girl's Point and it's not crowded...
Huge driftwood logs
A rock pickers paradise...
Lake Superior as far as the eye can see
I had spent a lot of time getting to the U.P. so I couldn't really stay that long but I was in a riding mood anyway since this was my first adventure on my new bike. I wanted to check out Superior Falls which is on the border of the U.P and Wisconsin.
The Montreal River. To the right is Wisconsin and to the left is Michigan.
Below this spot on the river is a huge dam and below the dam is Superior Falls. I hear it's best viewed in Spring and since we haven't had rain to speak of, I wasn't about to climb down this steep trail to have a look only to be possibly disappointed!
I'm sure the vistas are breathtaking but this is another one of those "I want to arrive in a car" when I do it things. It's a LONG ways down...
By now I knew that I'd be in trouble if I didn't aim my bike towards home and still have a little time to lollygag along the way so I headed back to Wisconsin. I had one mroe stop I wanted to make which would make my day complete! Yes, I took the next two pics while driving my scooter and as you can see, the big windshield is very welcome on the bike!
I had to stop at Saxon Harbor to see what it looks like during summer. This is another spot I've only seen in the dead of winter...
Saxon Harbor is one of those places I could visit again and again, just to see the changes with the seasons. The last time I was here there were ice houses on the frozen tundra
The red cliffs in the backround are over by Superior Falls
I could watch this view all day
There's a little stockade like picnic spot at Saxon Harbor and this one little hut with a picnic table for when it rains
When I left Saxon Harbor I had to bee line it home in order to make it before dark. It hadn't occured to me to being clear glasses for night riding and I only had very dark sunglasses. Well, you saw my windshield! Not a good idea to ride with out eye protection and this meant high tail it home time for me!
I rode 264 miles that day!
Yesterday I took a 185 mile journey towards Bayfield and it's environs. Here it's past the middle of September and it's much warmer than what we had in July! Not to ignore opportunity when it comes knocking I set off on another adventure...
This time I headed along the Lake Superior Circle Tour route until I made it to Herbster which is about half way to Bayfield. At Herbster I headed into the Chequamegon-Nicollet National Forest for an amazingly beautiful ride. I ran out of pavement and since I had never been there before wasn't really sure how far it was back to solid road and didn't stop a whole lot but this spot intrigued me. I imagined an old farm house in the yard with people enjoying beautiful mountain vista's year round.
This was a high elevation already and I imagoned what it might be like to live here in winter. These people had a beautiful farm but they also had an airstrip!
I'd want a plane if I lived here too! There was literally miles in between residences, with a few seasonal cabins dotting the roadsice here and there...
It was a beautiful ride but I was ready to be back to pavement. Of course, with pavement comes civilization as we know it.
The reward for the miles of dirt road were rewarded with many miles of brand spanking new blacktop!
I came across this old vendor truck outside of Washburn and I recognized it right away. I've seen it on Madeline Island at Tom's Burned Down Bar. The truck is fully equipped and probably a steal at $5,000.00. I could see me touring around in it with my glass and beads and torch with a little trailer behind it for sleeping.
For the heck of it I headed up to mount Ashwabay...
And then down to Friendly Valley Beach
There was someone trying to learn to wind surf. She was having some problems but maybe it wa due to not much wind.
It's possible that the lack of a breeze was her problem but she dumped quite a bit. You need a wet suit for this activity on Lake Superior!
I aarrived in Bayfield to see a whole lot of other people had the same idea today as I did to go there so i didn't really stick around. The scarecrow contest is in full swing but I'll go enjoy it during the week when there aren't so many people.
I did take a couple of scarecrow pics though before I headed out of town...
I checked out one small marina and campground facility so I could pay my respects to the Apostle Islands. Just seeing the islands is satisfying but I'd sure love to go sailing around them again!
Crystal clear waters of Gitchee Gummi
And off towards home I went. My next and last stop was in Herbster down by the beach for a last look at the lake before I headed inland towards home...
evidence of the fact that just because you want a dock in Lake Superior, does not necessairly mean you will have one! I wonder how long this one stood before a wave took it. The breakwater was no help in this case!
And then it was time to head for home once again. This journey was only 185 miles and I found myself wondering how I did the 264 miles that day last week. I was ready for home...
Until next time...
As I travel I hope I leave beautiful footsteps behind me...
Stephanie
]]>Friday was cold and windy. I thought I was prepared and my only answer to that is "that'll teach me to think"! I wasn't prepared enough, for I didn't pack long underwear or a hat or gloves. No amount of clothing was going to help without the long underwear so I ended up leaving early.
On Saturday, I came prepared to do battle with the elements. I had half of my winter wardrobe in my car on this August afternoon, along with rain gear and an umbrella.
I headed out to the festival on Saturday through the fog that was created by wicked storms on Friday night...
The fog never did leave. It stayed throughout the day. By 2pm it was obvious nothing was going to changeand the layersI was already wearing were far from enough, so I ended up putting on the long underwear early.
And rain gear to help keep out the wind and preserve body heat.
I wasn't the only one who dressed like this. Sans a few tourists, pretty much everyone was bundled up!
But we're a hearty bunch up here and hard core blues fans! Besides, Los Lobo's was the headliner for Saturday so we stayed.
We did end up leaving a little early though, lightning and a downpour was the straw that broke the camel's back, or in this case...the dragons!
I've got to unload my car of warm clothes for today's finale. It's supposed to be 80 with high humidity! Only in Duluth...
Added monday Aug 10...
Sunday proved to be perfect, and the music was all good. The Legendary Blues Revue with Tommy Castro Bernard Allison and Magic Dick made the conditions we suffered the first two days of the festival but a memory. It was quite the send off for this year!
Until next time...I can hardly wait for 2010 Bayfront Blues!
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Have you ever wondered what it is like on the site of the Extreme makeover show? Well, I have...and since it's right in my neighborhood I had to swing by there this afternoon and this is what I saw...
This is more exciting than the county fair, sans the rides!
The family has some very nice looking gardens going, and this man was tenderly tending to them...
Yesterday an old dilapidated home was sitting in this spot. Portions were dismantled for recycling, and then the fire department used the shell for practice. By this afternoon they were saying they were 12 hours ahead of schedule and asking the building volunteers to come at 7pm tonight instead of 7am tomorrow morning!
Landscaping is already taking place
They were filming something to do with this canoe. I guess we'll have to wait until the show to find out!
This crew was doing the hand portion of back filling the slab that they will set the home on...
last week they started building wall portions for the new home, and they're just to go up tonight!
I doubt this dilapidated old garage will be standing much longer
And I bet this old building next to another garden is going to be a goner as well...
The rules for volunteering. The general volunteer quota was met during the first 24 hours after the announcement and they've had to turn people away. The other news is that the amount of business volunteers have now become the most in the show's history. This speaks volumes about the area where I live, awesome people live here.
Some volunteers before starting their shift
And for now...I'll leave you with this sign. I will be back to see the place but not sure if it will be before the construction is finished early next week. I think it would be awesome to be there tonight but I have a lot of work to do and I doubt I'll make it back over there...
What fun! I'm so happy for the family. I cannot even imagine their excitement as they are thousands of miles away and wondering what is going on in their yard!
Congrats Huber family! I can hardly wait for your welcome home!
I'll be back with an update and add it to this post when I do!
]]>The gulls haven't noticed though!
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Until we got a little further. My driveway is over a city block long, and we live at the end of a dead end dirt road so no cars to worry about.
Paris was still clean at this point, and having the time of her life playing with Rosebud the Dobergir
l
I just love to watch the two of them play...
OH OH...do you see what I see?
Paris was a muddy mess underneath and on her legs. Silly me, I thought maybe I could just get away with giving her body a bath and not washing the mane hair.
That hour and a half I spent re-doing Paris's hair bands on Friday was now a complete waste of time
Dry dry brush brush. Yes there is a dog under the hair!
But, we can't leave it like that because it goes in her face and she can't see and it will matt.
How about we put your ears in a pony tail?
Nah...we can't leave it like that, it would kill your ears.
back to banding. And no more running in the yard till mud season is over with!
THE END
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About the movie Sun Dogs...
From the sun-kissed beaches and tropical paradise of Jamaica comes a story of second chances. Rescued from the mean streets and animal shelters of Kingston, 12 stray dogs are trained to be the stars of Jamaica’s first dog sled racing team. The crew, spearheaded by pop superstar Jimmy Buffett, brings the unlikely meeting of a traditionally snow-bound sport to the sand and surf.
But it is not just the dogs that are given a second chance. The team’s dog mushers are given the opportunity of a lifetime as they cultivate their love of animals while receiving an education and traveling the world.
Together this motley, mutt-ley crew is winning hearts AND winning races.
Mush Mon!
Part of the proceeds from the Sun Dogs video are donated by the team to support the JSPCA.
Here is a link to the website Sun Dogs page! http://www.jamaicadogsled.com/sundogs.htm
And another link to the teams blog. I mean, if you are reading this... chances are you like blogs. Well you will LOVE this one, especially if you love Jamaica and dogs...
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