North Shore Snowshoe Weekend - Late January 2010

What an incredible weekend!  I had come down with a bad sinus infection/cold and at one point wasn't sure I should even go but I decided to.  We met at my house on Friday morning at 9, loaded up,

dropped Jack off at Grandma's house and headed to Cub for a few groceries.

Next stop:  Tobies in Hinckley.  No road trip to the North Shore is complete without it and Laura, who lives in Indiana, had never been there.  We sampled treats and bought caramel rolls for later. 

We had planned to stop at Grandma's in Duluth and we knew it was in Canal Park but Laura was using her GPS app anyway.  According to that we were still a block away but we saw the word "Grandma's" on a building so we parked and headed that way only to discover from some other ladies that they were closing for a coaches banquet.  We went to a nearby Mexican place instead, only to discover when we left that the "real" Grandma's WAS a block away...we were at the smaller sports garden or something.  Oh well....we had a nice lunch anyway.

We stopped in Beaver Bay at the "big chicken" and then for something to drink for me,

and to take pictures with the snow sculpture of the fishing bear.  He didn't have a line in his fishing pole but it was a very cute statue, with a nearby igloo. 

Then we stopped at the large Voyageur statue. I was the only one to get out for a picture and I very innocently tried to give him a hug.  (Laura's picture coming soon).

There is a pretty little lakeside park on the north end of Duluth so we stopped for a few pictures and then took the icy road to see where it went, which was to hook up with the "old" Hwy. 61.  

Gooseberry Falls was frozen and beautiful.

We stopped somewhere near Two Harbors to watch some Bald Eagles who had been feeding on a carcass next to the road, along with a dozen or more ravens.  The eagles stayed in a tree while we were stopped but we got some great pictures (not me, the others) and it's always cool to watch them.

We reached Bluefin at 3:56 p.m. for 4 p.m. check-in.  I've never stayed there, it's a very nice place...our condo was small but cozy, perfect for our group.  Kathy and Lynne had brought all the things for dinners and breakfasts and they made us delicious chili while we watched the moon rise over the lake.

Not Bad For A Picture Taken Through a Window!

It was the perfect night for a moonlight snowshoe jaunt, so we got our gear on and headed out.  I took the wrong road and ended up in someone's driveway attempting to turn around.  They had a cool dogsled sitting out and I was tempted to have us all take a picture with it but chickened out.  We found the right road and drove to the Britton Peak/Superior Hiking Trail trailhead.  It was pretty cold but the moon was high and gave us light.  We headed out on the trail to Britton Peak.  It goes up pretty steeply from the Superior Hiking Trail and it was very icy...we finally decided it might not be smart to continue.  We could have made it up, but coming down in the dark in snowshoes at that steep angle on very icy snow could have been dangerous.  We hiked an hour or so down the Superior Hiking Trail instead.  It was dark but the moonlight bathed the forest in just enough light to see vaguely up to maybe 50 yards away.  There were snow crystals up in the tree branches that looked like "fairy lights" with the moonlight reflecting on them.   It was magical...I can't find the words to describe it.  One of the best nights ever!

The next morning we woke to a beautiful sunrise over Lake Superior, with wisps of steam coming off the lake, which was warmer than the air temperature.

 Lynne and Kathy cooked a delicious breakfast and we headed out to climb Carlton Peak on snowshoes. 

Once again, it was a beautiful day with blue sky and hardly any clouds.  We met one couple on the trail who had been up to the peak and warned us about the "exposure" so I got a little worried.  We took our time, stopping frequently for pictures.  We found a beautiful snow/tree "tunnel" just below the summit. 

Kathy Directing a Group Photo (will be posted here soon)

Then we were on top and could see for miles.

Carlton Peak

The Only Way To Descend This Spot - Sit Down!

On our way down we saw the sign for the spur trail to Tofte Peak and decided we should do that too. 

No one had been on that trail since the previous weekend's snowfall, so it was "real" snowshoeing.  Very fun and very pretty.  There were some interesting tracks up there...not sure what from, I couldn't see them well enough.

Looking Up At Carlton Peak From Tofte Peak

Then it was back to the condo for sandwiches. Some of us took naps, and Kathy and Lynne went for a walk around Bluefin.  When we got up we decided that Laura needed to see Grand Marais so we drove up there but of course it was dark when we arrived and so there wasn't much to see...there was also a VERY cold wind blowing off the lake. 

Grand Marais Sunset

So we drove back to the condo for another delicious dinner (thanks again, Lynne and Kathy, for doing all the cooking!).   We had a mellow evening just hanging out, talking, reading.

Thanks Rose - we love our socks!

We were packed up and on the road by 10 on Sunday morning. 

Rocks and Ice On Shore

What a great weekend!  We're already planning on doing it again next February for the full moon!

Tuesday, January 5 - Sad Departure (and home to a bomb scare!)

The motel was nice for being $49, but the glass doors are definitely not sound-proof. I went to sleep at 10 and was woken up repeatedly between 11 and 3 by people talking, headed to and from the hot tub, etc.  I tried the bathroom fan and it was really noisy, not "white noise", so I turned it off. It was also noisy from 5 am on with people opening and closing doors. I had planned on sleeping in, but gave up and got up at 7:30 and watched tv and read my book.  I'll stay here again but will ask for a big fan to block out the noise, or get a room on a higher floor.

I took my time eating breakfast and checked out at 11.  My first stop, of course, was an antique store.  I had been saying in November that I needed to go to Montana to get an antique spoon for my cool Polish Pottery sugar bowl.  And I got one...an antique silver baby spoon with a cool curved handle. So now I have a Montana connection every time I put sugar in my coffee.  It's the little things...right?

I also bought an antique Glacier Park little circular copper thing...I want to start collecting old things from Glacier and Yellowstone but there apparently aren't many around...they're bought up as quickly as they become available.  I then went to the Sportsman's store to return my bear spray that hadn't even been taken out of the package since I didn't spend time snowshoeing by myself  in the areas where there could be cougars.  Then I headed to the airport.  It was snowing in every direction and I couldn't even see the mountains. In hindsight, I could have driven over to Willow Creek for lunch  at the saloon (it plays a central role in one of my favorite books,( Blind Your Ponies by Stanley Gordon West) but there wasn't enough time by the time I thought of it. I shouldn't have taken my time at the hotel.

I returned my car easily (so fast at this airport!) and then while checking my bags discovered they were heavier than when I arrived...I forgot I was taking lots of my unused food home.  But I shuffled things from one bag to another and still had two free bags.  Then I went through security.  They asked to search my purse and wanted to know if I had a tape measure or candle in it, which I did not.  But I told him I didn't mind, search away...I am VERY happy they are being so careful.  It turned out it was my little copper Glacier thing that looked suspicious.  They tested my purse for explosive residue and then put the Glacier thing through the scanner again.  It was fine, of course, so I went to find the restaurant.  The restaurant was OUTSIDE of the secure area, I discovered.  So I had to let the nice security guys let me out.  I had lunch and had to go back through security but at I got the Glacier thing out right away and didn't have any other problems.  They were searching people very thoroughly, I was glad to see.

While waiting to board   the plane I thought I saw one of my fellow confirmation leaders from St. Andrews but it's someone I've never met and I wasn't sure it was him so I didn't say anything.  (Note:  I discovered at church the next night that yes, it  WAS him). 

As we took off into the clouds I tried not to cry but couldn't keep tears from rolling down my face. I know it may sound silly and ridiculous but leaving the mountains is really, really hard for me.

The flight was very smooth...as usual, I counted to 60 at takeoff and then relaxed a little although I really didn't like going up through all the snow clouds.  But at least I didn't clutch a teddy bear the whole time, like the woman sitting next to Matt on his flight to Amsterdam yesterday.

I called Marc when we landed and were taxiing, as we were 40 minutes early.  He told me there had been a bomb scare at the airport that afternoon.  That is NOT what you want to hear.  It was a false alarm, but still scary.  There seemed to still be a lot of law enforcement people around, and some media crews were still there as well.

It was a short but very sweet trip...not exactly what I had planned since I didn't get much exercise in (snowshoeing)  but that's ok, the wildlife-watching was phenomenal and I can snowshoe here in Minnesota anytime, but I can't see wolves, elk and bison.  I have to say I am now wanting to move West even more than before....I cry when I arrive there (happy tears) , cry more when I leave....I think I need to be there.  Now if I can just convince my kids....Logan has basically "dared" me to find a job out there.  Stay tuned...
© 2010 Tara Morrison