Northern Minnesota Overnight

There is something very satisfying about riding by yourself.  You have your own schedule, stopping when you want and eating when you want.  There isn't anyone to keep up with or wait for, just you and the road.  My trip to Northern Minnesota was just this sort of trip.

Northern Minnesota 2-Day Ride

As usual, my goal was to stay off of freeways, and I accomplished this.  My first day I rode 408 miles, then 368 miles the next with breakfast in another country.

I left around 9AM on May 9, 2012, heading up Highway 65 out of the cities.  I rode straight north, turning soon after Cambridge, MN, on Hwy 107, traveling north to Hinckley, joining Hwy 61.  This winds past Banning State Park as Hwy 23.  I've never been on this road and it's a great alternative the using the 35 Fwy to Duluth.  I made good time here, even throttling in up a bit to "see how she does".  I just have to say the aerodynamics at 100mph change quite a bit on my bike.  I stopped for a break at Wrenshall Scenic Overlook which was an unexpectedly nice view.

Wrenshall Scenic Overlook

From here I headed into Duluth from the south, heading to find the Aerostitch store.  I discovered it's just a warehouse/clothing factory with a small showroom.  There was a laser printed sign on the door and two flights of steps to get in.  I forgot to take a picture outside the factory.  It wasn't what I was expected, but also it was in a way.
After a quick Subway sandwich stop, I continued north along the North Shore of Lake Superior.  In Duluth it was 62C, perfect riding weather.  Once along the water, the temperature dropped to 52C.  I stopped at the vista for Split Rock Light House and walked around a bit taking the shot below.

Split Rock Lighthouse in the Background

My next big turn was west on Hwy 1 out of Illgen City.  This is the route we take when I go to the BWCA with a couple of friends.  We stay the night in Finland, MN, then head in early the next AM.  I'm told that back in 1951, the Finland Air Force Station was opened to help monitor the air for enemy planes from the north. It probably would have been fun to drive past there had I known it the base was there.

Just past Isabella, MN, the road gets really interesting.  In years past the roads weren't very good because of so much winter freezing and heaving going on.  The road was solid and winding, with only about 5 miles of gravel for new construction.  I passed through Ely, MN, which as a nice surprise.  This town should a destination on any ones list for "places to visit in Minnesota".  It had lots of "outfitter" shops for heading into the Boundary Waters and surrounding lakes. 

I continued west on Hwy 1, catching Hwy 53 north to International Falls.  I was traveling between 70-85 mph most of the time.  On Hwy 53, I came over a hill going only about 71 and got a flash of lights from the MN Highway Patrol.  Close one.  It was the only the second MHP I saw the whole trip.

I arrived in International Falls around 6:30, just slightly later than I'd wanted.  After setting up my tent Arnold's Campground & RV Park, I got a nice steak dinner with a few beers.  Got to bed around 9:45 and was probably waking the neighbors with snoring by 10:15pm.

It's so nice to wake up in a tent, snuggled in my mummy sleeping bag with about 45C in the air.  I woke up around 5:45AM, but got up around 6:15.  After waking a bit, folded up my tent and gear and I was on my way by 7am.  I decided to cross the border to get breakfast.  On the US side, it cost me $3 to cross to Canada (free to return).  Driving across was not very glamorous.  It was mostly navigating the warehouses for Boise Paper company, housed on both sides of the river passing through them.

I drove around Fort Francis, stopping for a few photo's.  I started chatted with a rider for about 30 minutes. He worked as a truck driver for Boise, making about $140K a year, working 21 days on and 14 off.  He travels on his off days since there isn't any family in the area.  He was really interested in how much I pay for motorcycle insurance.  I quoted paying about $300/yr in the US. He claimed his was $1500-$2000/yr.  I figured if you have (relatively) free health care and you participate in a risky activity, you need to cover the bills from your unfortunate happenings should they happen.  Since I pay for my own health insurance, I'm thinking I pay more.  Just sayin'.

I drove out the Trans-Canada Hwy, over the causeway the rider was quite proud of an snapped a few photo's.  I stopped for breakfast back in Fort Francis.  Nothing too fancy, but solid.  The night before, a guy at the RV park talked about heading out Hwy 11 from Int'l Falls.  It dead-ends into Rainy Lake Dove Island Wayside Park, 10 miles in.  It was a very nice ride. I stopped at the Park station and quizzed the Ranger about comparing the BWCA to Voyagers National Park.  Very educational.  Lots of boat house rentals and camp sites, plus even canoe rentals with camp site.

I headed out of the area about 10:30AM (a little late again), down Hwy 71, cutting to Hwy 6, then Co Rd 5  to Marcell, MN.  South of Marcell is the Edge of the Wilderness National Scenic Byway.  Wow!  Not only is it beautiful, is a motorcyclists dream.  South of Marcell is over 15 miles of hills and turns, 14 of it specifically pointed out.  This was a great ride.


After making this run, I stopped by a way side next to a lake to finish my Subway Sandwich from the day before.  Yea, I'm a risk taker.

I realized that I'm starting to get pretty tired by now. My throttle hand was cramping deep inside.  I needed more stops.  It also helps me remember that I need to get my cruise control working again.

South of Grand Rapids, I jumped on the The Great River Road heading south.  Another great ride with glimpses of the Mississippi on occasion.  It was still pretty early, but I needed more stops at this point.  I'm still building for the long distance riding adventures.  At 480th Street in Palisade, MN, I headed east to pick up Hwy 65 to go south to home.  I stopped again in Cambridge for dinner, then finished up the ride about 7:20PM back at home.

I've talked with a friend about doing some longer rides.  His wife rides too.  The Edge of the Wilderness ride was worth heading back up for, and the ride east of Ely.  On my almost 800 mile trip, I saw so many campgrounds, many of them city parks.  So many options.

It's sad in a way. So many miles of beauty, so little time to cover it all.

Ride safe!
DRZ

Northern Minnesota Trip

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Attached is my plan for my trip.
http://g.co/maps/rysjs
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I am planning an overnight trip to northern Minnesota.  It's been a while since I did an overnight so I'm looking forward to the challenge.  I believe I am looking at around 689 miles (14+ hours) by the time I get home.  Not all at one time though.

I'll be traveling north on Hwy 65 (Central) out of the cities.  Around Banning State Park, I cross the 35 Freeway a few times, then I'm heading to Duluth via state Hwy 23.  It might get too slow, but we'll see.  This comes in to Duluth from the south, along the river and bay.

Aerostich in Duluth is a premier motorcycle rider's outfitter.  I'm going to try on a jacket or two and see what the excitement is all about.  I'm hoping to be here by noon.

From Duluth, I'll continue north along Lake Superior on Highway 61.  Cutting in at Illgen City / Crystal Bay I'll head west on Highway 1 to Finland, MN and on Ely MN, still on Hwy 1.  From Ely, there is a route that heads south a bit, but then back north to International Falls.

I'm plannig on spending the night in International Falls, then continue back south the next day.  From International Falls to Big Falls, then cutting in on Hwy 6 and through Big Fork.

I've found a few interesting routes, some of it along the Mississippi on the Great River Road.

Once past Grand Rapids, I can pick up Hwy 65 again and straight down to home.

Dan

Trip in Review

Apparently Central and South American countries have a great deal of Nationalism. I discovered this on our Royal Caribbean cruise on the Grandeur of the Seas out of Colon, Panama. Each time there was a big gathering on the ship, they MC would ask what countries people were from, naming Central or South American country names. Great applause and cheers went up when a group's country was mentioned.

We had a great time, visiting Cartagena, Columbia, the islands of Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba. We were traveling with another family that are also good friends. They have a son the same age as our own and they are best buds. How can we not have fun?

On this particular cruise, English speakers are a minority on the boat. The ship had around 4200 travelers on board, of which about 1% were English speaking. Most of these were Canadian as far as I could tell. I was a bit disappointed with Royal Caribbean at first. There was no indication on the website about being mostly Spanish on this ship. For that matter, RC cruises don't show mostly English either.

I like venturing to new destinations, discovering different cultures and living the life style when abroad.  I speak just enough Spanish to order a meal or ask where something is. I've been to Mexico or Baja California over 20 times in my life. However, on a cruise ship what does this mean? All the ship announcements are done in Spanish, then English. Shows and events were all MC'd in Spanish, sprinkled with English for the rest. As a result, we didn't attend many of the shows. My 13 year old son and his buddy were quite dejected the first night when they visited the Teen Club and couldn't communicate with the other kids.

How do we cope? Quite frankly I probably wouldn't make too many new friends on a cruise. On a cruise, I like going to dinner or the hot tub and chatting with others about what makes their life interesting. On this cruise we already had good friends to hang with and we met a few to chat with. Our son's had a good time too. Our boys are taking some Spanish classes in middle school, and likewise, the Latino kids take English classes. Both nationalities just needed to overcome the shyness of speaking in a foreign tongue. Some of the kids were even from Miami. Our kids ended up having a great time.

I'm hoping to write more of an observation for other potential travelers, rather than complain.  I probably should have surfed the web to look into what was the primary language of the ship, but never thought to do that.  I'll note this for next time.

On board

I'm traveling with my wife and son on a cruise through the southern Caribbean. The ship started out of Colon, Panama. We are on the Grandeur of the Seas.  It's about 99% latino. It's interesting to be a minority.

Tomorrow is a sailing day, so the band is still going on the top deck at 12:15 am.  Very loud latin rythums pound. Quite a different experience.

Today I participated in a belly flop contest. Fun for the kids to watch, and I have plenty of belly to flop. The host of the event mentioned he wouldn't announce nationality so we'd all get a fair shake. Another member of our group played a team game and won. When the host announced "give a hand for our winner from the US", dead silence. You could argue they wanted to clap for the winner from their country, our at least a complimentary clap, but it's hard to come up with reasons why. Perhaps the US's place in the world isn't quite as appreciated as it once was.

Sent from my Android :)