Thursday, July 25, 2013

and the reason we came back to Duluth so soon.... the Tall Ships








Today was opening day for the weekends festivities centering around the arrival of the tall ships.  There are 12 ships that are taking part and today they had a regatta where they all lined up outside of the harbour and then sailed under the lift bridge and into the Duluth Harbour.

We had planned on going down to Canal Park to get a close up view but they are expecting 250,000 visitors to the city this weekend for this event and we heard parking and crowds would be a challenge soooo... we just sat on our deck with Bob and Judy (Julies dad and mom) and enjoyed the parade from high over the town.

A lovely day, great scenery, good company again.. and d'accord... Life is Good.

a short trip to Wisconsin... nice nice state!








On monday, we drove down from Duluth to Milwaukee to visit Julie's big boy Josh and his lovely wife Jill.  Had a very nice time with them - lots of excitement in their home with the recent announcement of twins to be born in early Feb... Couldn't happen to a nicer couple and we're very happy for them.

We took a side trip to Cederberg - a cute little city about 30 miles north.  It's known for it's old buildings and a creek that runs through the town with a series of falls that generated electrical power for the local businesses over the years.  Took a few pics here for posting.  We stopped in Bayfield to visit Mary Lynch on the way back and spent last nite with her.

Such a lovely trip.. nice people.. great scenery, and several new Wisconsin IPA's....

Life is Good.

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Three Hikes today! So Nice!







Today we drove up the North Shore and turned inland just past Silver Bay.  Drove in to Isabella and found two hikes that were quite different from those we have been taking.  Both involved a hike around a lake.. one called Eighteen Lake and the other was Divide Lake.  Each hike was about 2.5 miles and it was a gorgeous day.  Temp around 70F and the only bad part was the hungry mosquiteos.

After we finished our second hike, we drove back to the North Shore and hiked into Shovel Point  which is just south of Beaver Bay.  This was very interesting as the point goes about a mile out into Lake Superior and offers beautiful views on either side.. Total trip around 2 miles so today's total was about 7 miles of great scenery and wonderful company!

Tomorrow, we're off to Milwaukee to visit Jill and Josh.. a couple of days there and then into Bayfield on Wednesday to see Mary.  Then back to Duluth for the weekend.. the folks visiting from Peeequot and the tall ships weekend in Duluth.

Life is Good.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Yesterday's Hike.. most scenic yet!











Yesterday was HOT... 90F in Duluth so we decided to head out to Gooseberry Falls for a hike.  Neither of us have been out to the furthest point (fifth falls) before so we decided it was a good time to hike the 3 mile loop.. and what a wonderful day it was.. we were literally on the edge of several fast flowing falls.. able to cross the river in several places on the rocks to get a better look and enjoy the elements up close.  I took 87 photos and they all were nice.. hard to pick a few to post here but I have to say that this was one of our nicest hikes yet.

Life is Good.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

hiking to Ely Peak.. a Great Day!











It was a lovely day.  Overcast but warm and we decided on the way to Chester to change course and head up Spirit Mountain to hike to the Ely Peak.  We turned a 6.5 mile hike into about 8.5 miles by missing the trailhead and coping with a washed out bridge but that was just fine.

One interesting aspect of the hike was the varieties of mushrooms growing out there.  We found several  "Chicken of the Woods" mushrooms that grow on the sides of old logs.. orange in color and very pretty.  We picked a few and Annie cooked them up with a bit of garlic and they were delicious.

All in all, a nice day... Life is Good.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

a bit late.. but a few July 4th pics..






We had a lovely July 4th celebration - on a rare occasion we had Julie and her brothers together and other than a few nicks and bruises, everyone survived.  The weather co-operated and was lovely and we had a nice couple of days touring around Duluth and some quiet time at the lake.

Life is Good.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Happy Canada Day...






So, after a hot summer weekend curling in a bonspiel in Blaine MN, I'm back to Duluth and we're getting ready for company this week when Tab and Annie will be visiting.

The curling was fun and we did pretty good.  There were some high profile teams there with both the men's and ladies Olympic curlers taking part.  We made it to the semi finals in the "B" event before bowing out of the action.

Anyways... home again... Life is Good and Happy Canada Day to everyone.