Northern Minnesota started out looking a lot like the prairie of North Dakota and ended up looking a lot like Maine. We were soon out of the prairie, into small hardwood forests dotted with lakes, reminding us of Maine's Rangely area. We camped our first night alongside Crow Wing Lake in Brainerd, Minnesota. Warm, pleasant weather greeted us, our first hint of warmer weather in weeks. Along with it came a less pleasant reminder of Maine, mosquitoes. No matter, we had our bug spray and were happy to see a warm sun.
But our first day in Minnesota brought the first two real challenges of a long road trip: equipment failures. First we discovered what we thought was a serious leak of our DefBlue fluid. This was in late afternoon, about an hour from our campground. We were concerned because if the DefBlue runs out, the car stops. We envisioned stopping on the long country road and needing a tow to a Volkswagen dealer for repairs. Putting our trusty cell phones to the test ( automotive repair shops nearby) we came up with Perham Car Care Center in Brainerd, close to our our ultimate destination that night. We made it to Perham's with engine still running. They quickly had our car up on the lift and could find no leak. Apparently we had overfilled or overspilled a fill of the DefBlue tank- whew, that was a welcome result. However, as we drove into the lovely campsite at Crow Wing Lake fifteen minutes later, our bicycle rack failed, quite literally, causing Sally's bike to drag and wipe out her front tire.
A nice couple at the Campsite saw our predicament and recommended a trip the next morning to Muddy Bikes in Brainerd. Muddy Bikes proved worthy of the recommendation, not only getting Sally's bike back in shape but also fitting us with a new, much sturdier rack than the Thule rack we had purchased a few years before at L L Bean's.
With these difficulties behind us, we had a lovely drive to Duluth, found Spirit Mountain Campgound, and settled in with the Minnesota mosquitos for the night. Waking to a beautiful bluebird day, we breakfasted, then drove to discover both an excellent coffee shop in the heart of downtown, and a golf course overlooking the entire waterfront of Duluth (which, of course, called to us). From there we headed northeast along the edge of Lake Superior all the way to the Canadian Border at Pigeon River. This is a gorgeous drive through country quite reminiscent of the Maine Coast but with no islands. Lake Superior stretches away from the small rocky beaches that dot the shore as far as the eye can see. The Lake is vast, clear and cold,
We spent this morning at a lovely harbor in the small town of Grand Marais. There were a couple of views that could have come right out of Friendship, Maine.
We are now at a campground in Thunder Bay, Canada, reputed to have provided more professional hockey players per capita than any other city in Canada.
Коментарі