Friday, August 17, 2007

Day 31
















Today I left Grand Rapids, MN and headed toward Duluth, MN and eventually to Joyce Bohjanen’s home in Oskar, MI just north of Houghton, MI in the UP. Joyce is my mother-in-law and has a beautiful 40 acre homestead way out in the north woods. All the way through Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Upper Michigan I was struck by the beauty and similarity of these three states. With their abundant forests and the beautiful lakes I felt like I was really home again. It felt good to be back in familiar territory. What a wonderful change over the prairies in North Dakota and eastern Montana.

On my way down US-2 toward Duluth I was on the lookout for a large steam locomotive that a friend of mine wanted me to take a picture of. He is a truck driver that made a lot of runs through Duluth and was always captivated by the size of this locomotive. He was never able to get a picture of it because there was no place for him to stop with his 18 wheeler. Before heading out toward Duluth I did some research on the computer to see if I could locate where it was. I was not able to find it online but I did find a Railroad Museum in Duluth so I programmed that into my GPS. I figured if nothing else, I could go there and someone would know were it was. I recall as I rode through town of Proctor, just outside of Duluth, my attention was drawn to an Air Force Jet that was poised on a pedestal on the side of the highway. I thought about stopping there to get a picture of it because it was quite neat, but I was going just a little too fast to stop so I just kept heading toward the museum. Shortly after that I saw a turnout for a rest area and tourist information site which I also thought about stopping at but I decided against it at the last minute. After rounding a curve and cresting a hill, I got my first view of Duluth and the harbor on Lake Superior. It was absolutely gorgeous. At that point it was too late to stop to get a picture but I decided that after visiting the museum I would probably go back to that information rest area because it was on an even higher hill overlooking the city and would allow me to get some good pictures.

Upon arriving at the Museum I parked my bike on the street and took both cameras with me to try to get some pictures in the museum. The building that housed the museums (there were actually four museums in this building) was a beautiful old train station. From the road outside I took my 35 mm camera out to take a picture of the building. I noticed that I did not have my memory card in it because I left it in the computer. I thought for a moment that it would be okay because I still had my camcorder with me and it takes pretty good still pictures along with videos; but since I was only a half a block away from my bike I decided to go back and get the memory card. I was so glad I did because when I finally got in the place and tried to take some video I discovered that the battery was dead on the camcorder.

Upon entering the museum, I asked the person at the ticket counter if he knew of a train located along US-2 somewhere. He told me it was right along side the highway in the town of Proctor and you can’t miss it as you drive through. Well Proctor is the town I had just come through and I did miss it. I guess eyesight is the first thing to go when you get old; or is it the second? He told me that if I head back to Proctor, just after passing the first red light, I will crest a hill and the train will be on my left. I thanked him and went about the business of visiting the Railroad Museum. I was impressed by the number of restored old trains that they had on display inside the building. I took a lot of pictures, some of which you can see above. While I was there I also got a short ride on and old restored electric trolley. This trolley was actually built in South America and was used in Duluth for many years. There is a sister trolley that is still in use in Alaska but it has been converted to diesel.

After leaving the museum, I headed back to Proctor to find the locomotive that I somehow missed on my first pass through. As I came to the first red light, I could not see it yet but as I crested the hill I discovered why I did not see it the first time. It was right next to the Air Force Jet that is also on display next to the highway. Anyway, I stopped and got some pictures of the jet and the train and headed into Proctor to get some lunch. At the restaurant I found out that the engine and tender car for this locomotive was 127 feet long and the engine was the most powerful engine in the world at the time.
After eating I then head back onto US-2 to make a stop at the tourist information center to get some pictures of Duluth and the harbor. The view from that hill was breathtaking and I was extremely glad that I came back that way to see it and get some pictures. While I was there I met a nice couple from Boston who had been vacationing in Minnesota and were driving back through Upper Michigan, then Canada, and back to the US in the Thousand Island area on the St. Lawrence Seaway. In our discussion I discovered that he had actually been born in Ann Arbor, MI. They asked for my recommendation on what to see as they passed through the UP. I recommended Pictured Rocks and Tahquamenon Falls. They wrote both things down and said they would definitely stop at each.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi, Jerry...
Glad you are back on line. Missed you the past two days. Must admit I will be a little sorry your trip will be over soon. Your pictures have been fantastic and your travelogue is the next best thing to being there in person. Safe trip home and happy retirement!!!
Marie H. :-)