Hey all. I've been lurking here for a while and love the trip reports and stories. This passed June we took a trip to the Upper Peninsula in Mi. I want to try my hand at writing up a trip report. I have not done this before and kinda wish I would have with the various trips we've done already. I think its a good way for people to see whats out there as well as document the experience for myself. I'm also posting this report on UPOverland.Org. The people there were such a help when planning our route. Now I know this trip is not a huge around the world adventure like so many on here do (We soo want to). But it's a start for us. So, on to the report.
A while ago we were watching the Travel Channel. We talked about our travels and how we both felt we needed to get away from the world again. The last real trip we went on was a few years ago. We kinda stopped after our daughter was born. We felt it was time to start again. Our original plan was to drive around Lake superior from Duluth and back to Duluth. After spending some time here we decided to skip Canada and focus on Michigan.
Day 1-On June 18th at around 9am (after I worked from 5pm on the 17th to 3am that morning) we loaded up the Subie and headed to Duluth from Big Lake.
Our plan was to take as many back roads as possible and stay off major highways. We went from Big Lake up to Lake Milacs. We got lucky, the weather was great after having rained so much here. We stopped at a little side road by the lake so we could stretch and the Lil' Roamer could play for abit.
We then continued on more back roads to Duluth. We are somewhat familiar with Duluth as my wife has family there. Back in the day we would go there at least once a year but have not been there for a while and the Lil' Roamer has never been there. We drove up to the Rest stop/ Look out area just to the south of the city. Then drove Skyline Dr. into town. If you ever get to Duluth it's a good way to get views of the city, lake and river.
The lookout/rest stop just south of town. That road in the lower part of the photo is Skyline Dr.
This is a pic driving along skyline Dr. If your into twistie roads this is a fun one with several areas along it to pull over and get a good view.
After cruising Skyline Dr. into town, we went to the hotel to check in for the night. We used to start our endevors with the first night at a nice hotel before we rough it for several days.
We stayed at the South Pier Inn on the island side of the lift bridge. You can't get any closer than this. All the years we went to Duluth we talked about getting a room there so...We didn't get a water side room cause that was around $200 something. We got a parking lot side room on the second floor for $120. Even the parking lot side was cool.
The white building by the bridge was our hotel
Our room.
After checking in we were hungry so it was time for food. The hotel being where it is, all we needed to do was walk across the bridge and we were at the heart of the harbor area called Canal Park. There's Food, bars and stuff to check out. All with in walking distance. We left the hotel and realized the shorts and t-shirts we were wearing from Big Lake was bit "under dressed" for the weather. In Duluth, the sky was sunny and it looked warm. It would have been warm without the 1,000 MPH wind coming off the lake :lol: . It was pretty windy. The Lil'Roamer was laughing that she was going to blow away.
We trekked across the lift bridge and went to a place called Grandma's. The food was good and because it was a Wednesday it was rather quiet. The city was getting ready for the Grandmas Marathon so there was lots of "setting stuff up" activity.
You can walk across the bridge and get a neat view of the inlet. This was about 1/2 way across the bridge looking out to Superior.
An artsy shot of the bridge structure.
After lunch we walked around Canal Park down by the lake. As always it was fun to watch the waves crash up on rocks and the shore line. We walked along the north side "jetty" or pier thing out to the light house.
We then checked out a museum run by the Army Corps of Engineers. It's a cool place. They have some stuff on the ships that sail the great lakes and some historical stuff on the lift bridge and the Duluth/Superior area. They also have a mock freighter bridge set up.
Smoke stack insignias of the ships that sail the lakes.
The Capt. getting her cargo of taconite across the rough waters.
After the long day of driving and exploring, we headed back to our room to relax and enjoy a soft bed one more time. When we got back to our room we were hungry for dinner. Not wanting to go out again we decided we were going to order a pizza. We called up Dominos to get some grub. Well, it turned out Dominos doesn't deliver across the bridge. Bummer. So, we had a hotel vending machine dinner. :clap: T.V. on, Lights out. off to bed.
A while ago we were watching the Travel Channel. We talked about our travels and how we both felt we needed to get away from the world again. The last real trip we went on was a few years ago. We kinda stopped after our daughter was born. We felt it was time to start again. Our original plan was to drive around Lake superior from Duluth and back to Duluth. After spending some time here we decided to skip Canada and focus on Michigan.
Day 1-On June 18th at around 9am (after I worked from 5pm on the 17th to 3am that morning) we loaded up the Subie and headed to Duluth from Big Lake.
Our plan was to take as many back roads as possible and stay off major highways. We went from Big Lake up to Lake Milacs. We got lucky, the weather was great after having rained so much here. We stopped at a little side road by the lake so we could stretch and the Lil' Roamer could play for abit.
We then continued on more back roads to Duluth. We are somewhat familiar with Duluth as my wife has family there. Back in the day we would go there at least once a year but have not been there for a while and the Lil' Roamer has never been there. We drove up to the Rest stop/ Look out area just to the south of the city. Then drove Skyline Dr. into town. If you ever get to Duluth it's a good way to get views of the city, lake and river.
The lookout/rest stop just south of town. That road in the lower part of the photo is Skyline Dr.
This is a pic driving along skyline Dr. If your into twistie roads this is a fun one with several areas along it to pull over and get a good view.
After cruising Skyline Dr. into town, we went to the hotel to check in for the night. We used to start our endevors with the first night at a nice hotel before we rough it for several days.
We stayed at the South Pier Inn on the island side of the lift bridge. You can't get any closer than this. All the years we went to Duluth we talked about getting a room there so...We didn't get a water side room cause that was around $200 something. We got a parking lot side room on the second floor for $120. Even the parking lot side was cool.
The white building by the bridge was our hotel
Our room.
After checking in we were hungry so it was time for food. The hotel being where it is, all we needed to do was walk across the bridge and we were at the heart of the harbor area called Canal Park. There's Food, bars and stuff to check out. All with in walking distance. We left the hotel and realized the shorts and t-shirts we were wearing from Big Lake was bit "under dressed" for the weather. In Duluth, the sky was sunny and it looked warm. It would have been warm without the 1,000 MPH wind coming off the lake :lol: . It was pretty windy. The Lil'Roamer was laughing that she was going to blow away.
We trekked across the lift bridge and went to a place called Grandma's. The food was good and because it was a Wednesday it was rather quiet. The city was getting ready for the Grandmas Marathon so there was lots of "setting stuff up" activity.
You can walk across the bridge and get a neat view of the inlet. This was about 1/2 way across the bridge looking out to Superior.
An artsy shot of the bridge structure.
After lunch we walked around Canal Park down by the lake. As always it was fun to watch the waves crash up on rocks and the shore line. We walked along the north side "jetty" or pier thing out to the light house.
We then checked out a museum run by the Army Corps of Engineers. It's a cool place. They have some stuff on the ships that sail the great lakes and some historical stuff on the lift bridge and the Duluth/Superior area. They also have a mock freighter bridge set up.
Smoke stack insignias of the ships that sail the lakes.
The Capt. getting her cargo of taconite across the rough waters.
After the long day of driving and exploring, we headed back to our room to relax and enjoy a soft bed one more time. When we got back to our room we were hungry for dinner. Not wanting to go out again we decided we were going to order a pizza. We called up Dominos to get some grub. Well, it turned out Dominos doesn't deliver across the bridge. Bummer. So, we had a hotel vending machine dinner. :clap: T.V. on, Lights out. off to bed.
