20030907

September 07, 2003
Sunday


Start:   Pither's Point Municpal CG, Fort Frances ON
End:     KOA, Hayward WI
Miles:   243
Hi Temp: 94.3
Lo Temp: 58.6


Well, we hooked up and left the park at the normal travel-day time of about 9:00am.  We wound our way through town to the bridge to the US.  We stopped at US customs and answered the questions the agent asked.  She liked all the answers but one (do you have any Canadian beef? the answer: yes), so we were directed around the corner to another agent.

He hopped into the trailer with me and we went through the freezer.  He appropriated a steak and two hamburgers while we talked about Alaska (he was stationed at Homer for a couple of years).  Then he let us go on our way.

We had a brief glimpse of International Falls, Minnesota as we went through it.  This place shows up as the coldest spot in the lower 48 several times a year.

We kept to US-53 toward Duluth.  We passed through Virginia and Eveleth, both towns in the Mesabi Iron Range that shipped so much ore in the heyday of american steel-making. There's still a little mining in the region, but nowhere near what it once was.

We shifted over to US-2 as we approached Duluth, on the rumor of construction on US-53.

As we approached Duluth, we ran into fog.  The heated air being blown over the cold lake onshore created enough fog to notice, but not enough to really hinder visibility.  As we crossed over the harbor into Superior, WI, we saw several Great Lakes freighters being loaded.  At least one of them was in the 1,000' length category.

We kept on US-2 going east to Brule River, Wisconsin.  That's in the Wisconsin boondocks next to an Indian reservation. There, we turned south on WI-27 to go to Hayward. This is the land of small family-run resorts that cater to fishermen in the summer and early fall, deer hunters in November, and snow-mobilers or cross-country skiers from December through March.  Then the owners close for a month to go to Florida and come back to begin the cycle again.

We came into Hayward and looked around.  We found the giant muskie (muskellunge (sp?), a pike relative and a great fighting game fish).  The giant muskie stands three stories high at the head and tail (head and tail arched upward in a gigantic flap to get loose) and is located behind the fishing hall of fame. You can enter the muskie and go up steps until you're on a platform located in his mouth, behind the teeth.  Then you wave to friends and relatives on the ground. Big doin's up here, I'll tell you.

We stopped at the grocery store complex. First, we bought non-perishables like wine and beer (Leinenkugels, the choice in this part of Wisconsin for years). Then we went next door to the grocery and bought foolish stuff like food, including steak and hamburger to replace our losses of the morning.

We took everything to the trailer, where we found chaos - the rough WI-27 had caused things to move all over the place. The seasonings fold-down chest under the cabinets had come open; the salt was found on the dinette cushions on the other side of the trailer. We put the perishables into the refrigerator, then went on to the KOA campground.

After checking in, we went to the site and pulled into it. Then I noticed it was very dry.  Lots of sand and dust and dead pine needles (the whole campground is in a field of pine planted several decades ago).

Then we went back into town in the truck.  We had a wall-eye dinner in the local restaurant; it was quite good. We came back to the campground and re-stowed the place. Once everything was where it should be, we relaxed with the Sunday Saint Paul Pioneer Press newspaper, straining to stay away from the political sections.

We'll go to Menomonie tomorrow and stay at one of the places on the Red Cedar River above town.  I called friends (Uncle Ed's neighbors, who now own the old farm) and chatted for a bit; we'll go see them tomorrow night.