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| The Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge. 8/23/2021 dwm photo |
Before we got into Superior we took Moccasin Mike Road to the park and bay where the Wisconsin Point Lighthouse marks the entry into the harbor for Superior and Duluth. After an hour taking pictures, we grabbed lunch then crossed into Duluth.
Canal Park is a destination with hotels, restaurants, and attractions. The remains of the Minnesota Point light stand across the channel from the Wisconsin Point light; three other lights mark the entry into Duluth under the Aerial Lift Bridge.
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| The roadway lifts to allow a sailboat into the harbor. 8/23/21 (dwm) |
In 1929 the bridge was modified with an elevated roadway. (You can see the control room for bridge operations in the center of the bridge.)
At least for personal watercraft it seemed that boats were told when the bridge would ascend to allow their entry. For ocean-going vessels the bridge starts going up when the ship is 1-1/2 miles from entering the canal.
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| At the north end of the bridge 8/23/2021 (dwm) |
Before the bridge rises a horn sounds to alert cars and pedestrians. According to a sign on the bridge it takes 3 minutes for the bridge to lift to its highest point 135-feet above the water. For the sailboat and two small cruisers I saw it took approximately five minutes, for a large ship it takes fifteen.
The bridge lifts an average of 4,500 times a year.
South of the bridge the sandbar is mostly residential until you reach a small private airport. The lake facing side is a long private beach until you get to the airport where beach-goers can park.
North of the bridge is the iconic Grandma's Saloon & Grill. It's named for a woman who opened a boarding house in 1869 for sailors.
In 1976 her grandsons opened the restaurant in her honor. A local running group wanted to stage a marathon and got Grandma's to support it. Grandma's Marathon continues, 13th largest of the more than 300 staged each year in the USA.
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| The five-story Enger Observation Tower offers views from one of Duluth's highest points. 8/23/21 (dwm) |
This was the first time I spent more than part of a day in Duluth. While they will never be sister cities, the hills remind me of San Francisco. Lake Avenue runs from Canal Park straight up a bluff for nine blocks. While city crews are used to winter weather, it is hard to imagine being able to drive roads like this when it gets slippery.
It makes more sense to refer to the hills as a ridge or bluffs because once you climb you are a couple hundred feet above the great lake on level ground.
Those hills offer amazing views of the harbor and Lake Superior. City fathers planned for a park on Grand Hill in west Duluth as they laid out plans for the city. A century later we can be thankful they did.
A local furniture store owner donated funds to develop a park and left more money for the park in his estate. The money was used to build the Enger Tower (photo right).
The park is wooded, creating a peaceful area for walkers and picnickers.
I didn't have my camera with me when we visited the park Monday night so I planned a return trip at sunrise the next morning.
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| This is a half-hour after sunrise, Tuesday August 24, 2021. Smoke from wildfires 70 miles north of the city covered the city and much of the North Shore the entire morning. Notice the two pierhead lighthouses with their red and green lights where the canal extends into Lake Superior. 8/24/2021 dave mossner photo |
This wasn't the view I was expecting (neither was Thursday when I tried again for a clear shot), but note-worthy in capturing the impact of wildfires covering thousands of acres in north Minnesota, including the Boundary Waters.
We discovered there was more to Duluth than shoreline which is where most of the touristy stuff is located. On top of the bluffs we found a commercial district and the Americinn where we spent Monday and Wednesday nights.
There are more posts to come starting tomorrow with the Split Rock Lighthouse.
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