Minnesota Hwy 23

Hwy 23 runs SW to NE in Minnesota and conveniently goes right by Ruthton and takes us to Duluth which is where we want to go.  Another gorgeous morning as we bid farewell to sister Ronda.  NE of McCloud we take a northerly diversion to see another of those places that I’ve wondered about – Mille Lacs.  The locals pronounce it as one word with the accent on the ‘e’ in Mille.  This large glacier made lake is like a large belly button right in the center of the state.  It divides the fertile south from the woodsy north.  It’s about in this area that the deciduous trees start competing with farmland and the fall colors begin in earnest.  Northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan are a sea of color.  The roads are corridors through that color.  Even though the colors are redundant mile after mile we don’t get tired of looking at them.  It’s kind of like looking at the waves on the ocean or a fire – redundant, yes but continually enjoyable.

We camped at Moose Lake St. Park south of Duluth and enjoyed a hot shower for the price of the site.  Coming into Duluth we actually got in some hills.  These hills skirt the southern part of Lake Superior and are most apparent in places like Ironwood and Marquette, MI.  Entering Wisconsin at Superior we’re informed that St. Theresa is the saint of the day. She was a theologian of the contemplative life and writer of the Catholic Counter Reformation.  We took a very enjoyable side drive to the Apostle Island National Lakeshore.  This is a place you could spend several weeks, exploring all the islands.  The coastline is beautiful and the little town of Bayview is exquisite.  Great weather continues to we camp again at Van Riper State Park a half hour from Marquette with a real breakfast and an oil change when we get to town in the Wednesday morning. 

Pictures: Mille Lacs, Color, discarded boats on the shore of Lake Superior and more color