Gribblenation

Minnesota 61 along the North Shore of Lake Superior is an amazing drive .  From Duluth to Grand Portage, the North Shore Scenic Drive offers spectacular views and countless recreational activities.  One of the most popular spots along Minnesota 61 is Gooseberry Falls State Park . Upper Falls - Gooseberry State Park The centerpiece of Gooseberry Falls State Park are the Upper, Middle, and Lower Falls.  All three falls are rather close together and very accessible from the Gateway Plaza Visitors Center.  The Upper Falls sit north of the MN 61 bridge over the Gooseberry River.  Both Middle and Lower Falls sit below the bridge.  There are many vantage points for each of the falls and they make for impressive viewing. Geologists date the falls to two events .  The basalt rock found at the falls were a result of a long inactive rift zone from 1.1 billion years ago.  Further, the retreat of glaciers from the Great Ice Age over 10,000 years ago carved ou...

The Aerial Lift Bridge is one of Duluth's most famous and well known landmarks.   The 115 year old vertical lift bridge spans across the Duluth Ship Canal and connects the mainland with Minnesota Point. The Aerial Lift Ferry in 1908 (Library of Congress) Overall, the superstructure of the bridge has remained the same from when it opened in 1905.  However, the original bridge used a gondola to carry passengers, freight, wagons, and even cars over the canal.  Called the Aerial Transfer Bridge or Aerial Ferry Bridge , the gondola like car was suspended over the bridge via cables from the top truss structure.  The crossing took about a minute. Some detail of the decorative iron work on the bridge. As the popularity of automobiles grew, the gondola ferry system of the bridge grew obsolete.   In 1929, a bridge deck was built to carry automobiles and allow pedestrians to cross while the top span was lifted higher in order to allow large ships through th...

Back in August 2006, I visited Duluth, Minnesota on a work trip .  I blogged about it, but I never created any features or really shared the photos from it.  The next series of posts will make up for it. The Duluth Lakewalk approaching the Aerial Lift Bridge The first feature is the Duluth Lakewalk .  This seven and a half mile multi-use recreational trail along the shores of Lake Superior is one of Duluth's top attractions.  I stayed along the shores of Lake Superior and the Lakewalk for two nights.  The afternoon of the first day - we had some free time to ourselves so I spent time along the trail.  The time spent along the Lakewalk that afternoon started out overcast but cleared up by the time we would all meet for dinner. The Duluth Lakewalk connects to and showcases various parts of the city.  Below: As the skies began to clear, Lake Superior's scenic coastline came to life. The trail starts at the Aerial Lift Bridge and ends at University Park in...

The character of my trip changed a ton on day 9.  For the most part I was traveling on two lane highways in some rural parts of the Great Lakes but that changed on the journey to southbound to Chicago.  I started out by US 53 to reach I-535 off of Miller Hill.  US 53 is a partial freeway approaching I-535 and has a weird traffic light/left entrance interchange with I-35/I-535. I-535 is only about 2.8 miles long from I-35 in Duluth across the St. Louis River to Superior.  The Interstate is completely multiplexed with US 53 through the duration of the alignment.  I-535 uses the Blatnik Bridge which was opened in 1961 which replaced a prior swing bridge which carried car and rail traffic.  I-535 was part of the 1957 Interstate system but wasn't officially designated until 1971 when the ramps with I-35 were completed.  I-535 ends at the interchange with WI 35/US 2, I stayed on US 53. I took US 53 all the way south to I-94 in Ea...

After finishing MN 1 I turned south on MN 61 towards Duluth.  Given that MN 61 is along the shore of Lake Superior I made several stops, the first being the Split Rock Lighthouse.  The Split Rock Lighthouse was completed in 1910 on top of a 130 feet sheer cliff above Lake Superior.  The Split Rock Lighthouse is 54 feet tall and was in operation until 1969.  The lighthouse is now part of a State Park of the same name which includes a rocky beach below the cliffs and the ruins of a tramway. Next on southbound MN 61 was Gooseberry Falls State Park.  Gooseberry Falls refers to series three falls; the upper, middle, and lower falls which run under MN 61 along the Gooseberry River before it empties into Lake Superior. I did manage to get the MN 61 "END" sign as I-35 was beginning in Duluth.  Odd to think that US 61 was really truncated with the huge coastal highway heading north to Thunder Bay in Ontario. Before...