9/12/08 - Pigeon River Canada, & Lodge Grand Marais Minnesota

Captain’s Blog

Well, today it’s official we will be crossing the border back to the states via Minnesota. There is a hike along Pigeon River at the Canadian Visitor Center 500 feet from the border crossing which we took and viewed a very pretty but quiet Pigeon River.

The border crossing was uneventful and the first order of business was a stop at the nearest and cheapest gas station. The fuel light came on just as we arrived at the visitor center. Luckily (we had 75 miles worth of gas) the gas station was ¼ mile from the border and at $3.69 per gallon and $1.09 per liter it was a bargain. The people from Canada cross the border to get gas in the USA – the difference is 49 cents per liter.
The fill up was less painful and about what we had budgeted.

We are traveling highway 61 along the coast of Lake Superior in Minnesota. It is very beautiful with many scenic stops. We stopped at a very unique resort and restaurant that was originally financed by some of the rich and famous in the 1920’s one of which was Babe Ruth. The resort was built then went bankrupt one year later when the stock market crashed. It stayed vacant for many years then was revived and is now a thriving location. The building is unique and the restaurant very brightly painted in a vivid array of colors. Normally we would think the colors gaudy but it seems to work and is actually pretty. We planned to eat dinner there but somehow that didn’t happen.
We stayed at Marias RV Park in Marias along the banks of Superior just 14 miles down the road. The town is quaint and pretty with not much to do.

We walked out to a lighthouse via a walkway behind the Coast Guard Homeland Defense Building. No one was there defending the homeland and the sign adjacent to the walk warned that one enters at their on risk. Of course we entered and enjoyed the jaunt along the rocks out to the lighthouse.
Later that evening we walked out to the beach adjacent to the campground. It was dusk and the moon was high in the sky casting its light onto the waves of Superior. The skies were pink and quite amazing. We sat on the bench on the beach and were amazed at how surreal it all appeared to us. What a great way to end a great day.