Author Archives: Dr. Karen E. Vigmostad

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Minnesota’s North Shore Preview

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Here’s a lick and a promise of several posts to come on the amazing north shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota. This post is about after the north shore.

I drove from Gooseberry Falls State Park stopping a couple times (details to follow). I landed in Duluth at noon so that Dean O’Brien could discover then rewire a 12-volt outlet that had been wired in backwards by an Indiana RV mechanic last fall. Grrr. Thank you, Dean (I met his son, Jordan, and Jordan’s cute black pug, Connie, too).

I headed next to Ashland, WI, to see Northland College and visit with folks at the Chequamegon Food Co-op. Nice! More murals and two blocks from Lake Superior.

It was very early and I thought I’d find a campground further down Hwy. 2, but Megan, the Co-op marketing and member services manager, told me about Ashland’s Kreher Park right on Lake Superior. That sounded just right and I headed over. Because it was so early, they had quite a few campsites. So I took site #3 with view of lake and near the showers.

I did import and label all of the day’s photos from my iPhone and Nikon onto my laptop, but that’s as far as I got yesterday on this blog :).

I spent the rest of day reading outside with Henry, having leftovers for dinner in my RV, catching up on email and Facebook, and later walking Henry along the lakeshore in the setting sun. Oh and took many more photos:). but that’s a given.

Heading to Rapid River, MI, soon! Below is view from my RV at Kreher Park.
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Enjoyed Grand Portage Reservation and National Monument

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Grand Portage reservation in taupe and monument in green

Henry and I had a quiet, restful night staying at the campground on the Grand Portage Reservation.  It is very close to the Canadian border and we were surrounded by many Canadian RVs.  From the time you see the sign for the Grand Portage settlement you drive 12 miles in this large reservation.  On the map, the campground, marina, and casino are on Grand Portage Bay.

I bought a small ceramic heater at the Grand Portage and had it going all night to help dry the carpeting.  No more new water so the new freshwater tank did the trick.  But the carpeting throughout and pad underneath will take some time to dry.

Slept so well and was glad I pushed to get this far.  I let my soul have its way and decided to head back south and not do the Canadian portion of the Lake Superior Circle Tour.  The delay and expense of a new freshwater tank meant I would have to rush and just not have the experience I want.  So after feelings of sadness, I came to deep acceptance and then happily moved on.

Stops today included views of islands, Grand Marais, huge Cleveland Cliffs facility in Silver Bay, and Split Rock Lighthouse.  I thought I might go all the way to Duluth, but I’m at Gooseberry Falls State Park in their visitor center charging my iPhone and Macbook Air.  I took a chance because I really wanted to stay here, but they didn’t have any reservable sites.  So we got here around 5 and they had one site left!  I’ll take it!  I used the $25 Minnesota State Parks gift certificate from my son and daughter-in-law, which was the exact cost.  So all good.  No hook-ups though, which is fine because I have water in my brand-new tank, plenty of food to eat (way too much, as a matter of fact), and I can bundle up under covers to stay warm.  So this is a brief posting before Henry and I get settled in for the night.

This is the view of Grand Portage Island that I enjoyed this morning before heading south. Pretty nice, eh?  I’ll post more about yesterday and today hopefully tomorrow.

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Up the North Shore to Grand Portage

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New tank tested fine so I unhooked and disengaged and headed out before 10 am. Returned unneeded items to Menards, got gas, and headed north on M-61.

I pretty much kept going, passed on Grand Marais after black/fly attack upon just opening my door, and kept going to Grand Portage where we are now.

Henry likes it here, and more and more he is enjoying our vagabond life on wheels. He makes new friends wherever we go and gets lots of pets.

I’ll try to post this. My Mifi is working just fine, but connection must be very weak. I’m on the Grand Portage reservation right near Canadian border.

I’ll decide tonight which way to head. I suspect backwards again.

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Layover

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Out with the old gross leaky freshwater tank and in with the new. Huge job done expertly by Dean O’Brien. Felt he treated my RV as his own, and he was excited as each reconnected hose, fitting, and pipe was secure and tested.

I am doing this on my iPhone and hope the photo of some of what had to come out looks like. Note the mold in tank.

Tomorrow some local errands then to Grand Marais for the night. I hope to catch up here then. Also need to decide whether to continue or head home after the big expense and slight delay and do north shore in 2013.

But now time for a good night’s sleep.

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When the via point becomes the destination

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Yes, it’s true.  Today’s via point of Duluth became the destination.  So Henry Boy and I are in the waiting mode.

Good news is we think we know the source of the water on my floor.  Bad news is Ecovision needs a new freshwater tank.  And that might not be the entire cause.

Good news is the tank was locally available.  Bad news it probably will come tomorrow afternoon necessitating not just one, but two nights in Duluth.

Good news is the mechanic used his shop vac to suck alot of moisture out of the carpet.  Bad news is that is the entire length of the carpeting is still is sopping wet.

I did have a few fun things happen today that I’ll write up tomorrow with a few photos.  Lots of kindnesses took place.  And expenses. But I’m beat and we are heading to bed right now.