The Road Home – Treats & Tricks

Our Summer exploring Michigan and the western coast of Lake Superior has come to an end. We begin our journey home with an unexpected treat and end it with a nasty trick.

Due to expected weather we decide to leave Grand Portage, MN a day early. This also cuts our original planned drive day in half by driving 164 miles to stop just southwest of Duluth, MN for the night. This was a last minute decision; but we get lucky and manage to find a campsite in Jay Cooke State Park. We know nothing about the park other than it’s in the right area and has an open site.

Jay Cooke State Park

As we drive toward the State Park we begin to see the beautiful St. Louis River along the road. This continues until we reach the visitor’s center parking area to check into our campsite. Here we see a sign for a swinging bridge. We’re intrigued; but have already decided to drive to the southern most tip of Lake Superior for the afternoon since we bypassed it previously on our way up the east coast of Minnesota.

We quickly find our site, set up camp, have lunch, and we’re off.

Thompson Dam and Flowage

On the way out of the park we cross the Thompson Dam Bridge and see the Dam and the flowage created from the release of water into the St. Louis River.

Bong Bridge

Next we cross the Bong Bridge over the St. Louis Bay from Minnesota into Wisconsin. This strange curved bridge is 120 feet tall, 11,811 feet long; and unfortunately, I was not able to get a picture of it.

Wisconsin Point

Once we’re across the bridge we proceed to Wisconsin Point; which lies between Allouez Bay and Lake Superior. Here we discover, beaches, hiking trails, a history of The Superior Entry, and the Superior Entry South Breakwater Lighthouse; which was built in 1913 to help guide mariners through the Superior Entry.

Superior Entry South Breakwater Lighthouse 08/06/23

The lighthouse is not in good shape; but it’s very easy to see why it’s needed as the dramatic change in the color of the water shows clear delineation in the water depth. There’s also a large freighter coming in just behind the lighthouse.

The Superior Entry is the planet’s largest natural freshwater baymouth bar formed between the Minnesota and Wisconsin Points. It was formed thousands of years ago by sediment carried in from the St. Louis River and has seen everything from native canoes, to today’s 1,000 foot ore freighters.

Duluth, MN

Next, we head back to Minnesota to see the Minnesota Point. As we pull into Canal Park we realize that this area has been revitalized and has become a destination in itself. It’s packed with hotels, shops, restaurants, and the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center. There appears to be an event going on as there are people, cars, food vendors, etc. everywhere. So, we scrap our plans of crossing the Aerial Lift Bridge and heading down to the Point. Instead he drops me off to take a look around and get a few pictures while he circles the block a few times.

Since our visit here has been cut short, we head back to camp to find out more about the State Park and what is has to offer.

The Swinging Bridge in Jay Cooke State Park

After dinner, we head out for a walk around camp and of course are naturally drawn down to the river where we get our first look at the swinging bridge.

Swinging Bridge at Jay Cooke SP

Originally constructed in 1924, the bridge has been damaged by flood four times. This bridge is the fifth iteration built in 2013 after the last one was severely damaged during a 2012 flood. The sun is going down rapidly and the shadows are getting longer; but we decide to cross the bridge for a quick view to see if it’s worth coming back in the morning before we leave. The bridge does swing as we cross it and we very quickly decide we’ll be back in the morning for a walk and a better view of the river.

The next morning…

What a wonderful treat to begin our journey home. We’ve definitely added this to our list of places we’d like to explore further.

Owatonna, MN

After a wonderful start to our day, we hop in the truck and drive 199 miles to our stop in Owatonna, MN. Here we have an overnight on private land with a wonderful and very gracious family. The night is uneventful and after a quick breakfast we’re off to our next destination.

Love’s Travel Stop – Kimball, SD

We’ve been hearing about Love’s Travel Stop’s new RV parking and decided to give it a try. With full hookups, in a fenced area, behind a locked gate, and other amenities, we figure there’s no reason not to. So, we drive 315 miles to Kimball, SD only to realize when we get there that this Love’s version of RV parking consists of 5 long, wide, parking places in the front corner of their lot with access to electricity and wifi. There are cars and semi trucks going by us constantly and the noise and smells are horrible. What a dirty trick!

We discuss going elsewhere, but there’s nothing available that’s close and it’s already been a very long day. Since we have access to electricity, we decide to shut the camper up, draw the blinds, and run the A/C all night. We’re not worried about safety as we’re front and center with security lights, security cameras, and workers with eyes on us all night long.

Our compromise shuts out all the smells and most of the noise so that we actually sleep surprisingly well. I’m not sure we’ll be trying this again; and if we do, it’ll be a last resort with a call to find out exactly what they’re offering.

Next stop… we picked up a last minute cancellation for three nights in Wind Cave National Park.

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1 Response

  1. Bob Clayton says:

    Enjoyed the photos and the write-up. Remarkable part of the USA.