On Sunday, Route 61 took us along the western shore of Lake Superior from Thunder Bay to Duluth, Minnesota. Seeing a poster of Bob Dylan in Duluth, we had an ”aha!” moment as to the context of his 1965 “Highway 61…” album name. It also reminded us that Minnesota is indeed the state that produced Mr. Dylan (aka Robert Zimmerman), as well as the diverse likes of Garrison Keillor, Judy Garland, Walter Mondale, Hubert Humphrey, and Michele Bachmann.
Just south of the U.S.- Canada border, we visited Grand Portage National Monument (http://www.nps.gov/grpo/index.htm), the site of a footpath used by traders from Lake Superior to the Pigeon River back in the 17th-18th centuries. Faintly visible from the shore was Isle Royale National Park (http://www.nps.gov/isro/index.htm), a set of islands off the coast of Minnesota but belonging to Michigan.
To us, northern Minnesota has long been known for logging, but we didn’t realize that mining has played a large role in settling the area as well. The town of Twin Harbors, north of Duluth, is still a shipping port of iron ore from mines further north and west.
Duluth, with a population of 87,000, is less populous than Hartford, but is one of the worlds’ largest sea ports. What surprised us most about the city were its steep hills – for a state whose highest point is only 2300 feet, our climb from the ports and out of the city led us up some San Francisco- like streets to an elevation of 1400’ in a very short span.
Just south of the U.S.- Canada border, we visited Grand Portage National Monument (http://www.nps.gov/grpo/index.htm), the site of a footpath used by traders from Lake Superior to the Pigeon River back in the 17th-18th centuries. Faintly visible from the shore was Isle Royale National Park (http://www.nps.gov/isro/index.htm), a set of islands off the coast of Minnesota but belonging to Michigan.
To us, northern Minnesota has long been known for logging, but we didn’t realize that mining has played a large role in settling the area as well. The town of Twin Harbors, north of Duluth, is still a shipping port of iron ore from mines further north and west.
Duluth, with a population of 87,000, is less populous than Hartford, but is one of the worlds’ largest sea ports. What surprised us most about the city were its steep hills – for a state whose highest point is only 2300 feet, our climb from the ports and out of the city led us up some San Francisco- like streets to an elevation of 1400’ in a very short span.
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