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| Two Harbors Lighthouse Two Harbors, MN 8/24/2021 dwm photo |
That's because the local Historical Society which owns and operates the lighthouse and its outbuildings, uses it as a Bed and Breakfast.
The only night available three months earlier was a Tuesday, so that's why we arrived in Two Harbors mid-afternoon to check in.
The society rents the actual lighthouse as a single unit with three bedrooms sleeping six people. It also rents the Skiff House which was originally built for a electric generator then converted to hold a small boat or skiff.
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| Two Harbors, also known as the Agate Bay Lighthouse. The assistant keeper's house is in back to the right. 8/24/2021 (dwm) |
The man and two partners formed the Minnesota Iron Company, built a railroad line to Agate Bay and were loading ships with iron ore in 1884 from the first of what eventually became six ore docks in the small bay.
One interesting feature of this lighthouse is that while it looks like one building, the tower is independent of the house built around it.
Ore is still loaded on ships today, using the two remaining docks. We just missed watching the transfer and seeing the large boat back out and head to open water.
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| The fog horn (notice the horns in the cupola) building on left and skiff house on the right. 8/24/2021 dwm photo |
I saw a fishing boat Wednesday morning. but it was running a small outboard motor steered by a single fisherman.
The other piece of history is docked opposite the lighthouse. It's the Edna G, the last coal-fired, steam engine tug boat on the Great Lakes when she was retired in 1981.
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| The Edna G docked near an Ore dock in Two Harbors. 8/25/2021 (dwm) |
Our night in the Skiff House was fairly comfortable. The former generator barn is so small you can't get up on the wrong side of the bed because there is only one side.
For the night's lodging, we were hoping to see the interior of the lighthouse. It was rented out, so we couldn't go inside. I was allowed to climb the tower, but the door to access the walk around the lantern was locked. I saw people walking around it earlier, presumably those renting the beds in the lighthouse.
We did see the assistant keeper's house and checked out the pilot house which was pulled off the Frontenac when it ran aground (photo below).
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| The Frontenac's pilot house looks over Lake Superior. 8/25/2021 (dwm) |
Wednesday morning didn't offer a spectacular sunrise, but I did see two pairs of doe and fawn in different places around the bay. The second time I was close enough to get a picture.
The clouds and haze from wildfires to our west made it dark enough to keep the lights on in the breakwater light and main lighthouse. It's always a treat to get a picture when the light is on (below).
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| The 10-ton bronze propeller off the 600-foot ore hauler, Eugene W Pargny. Notice the ore dock upper left. 8/25/2021 (dwm) |
Covid-19 didn't have a big impact on our trip except in Two Harbors. The two local diners where the B & B sends guests for breakfast were closed because of the pandemic.
Spending one night on the grounds of a lighthouse isn't the same as living in one for a week (see our experience at the Mission Point Lighthouse), but it's something you can't do everyday. While it didn't live up to expectations, I'm glad we stayed.
The extra hours walking the shore, breakwater, and around the bay made for a wonderfully immersive lighthouse experience on Agate Bay.
The light is on at the Two Harbors Lighthouse. 8/25/2021 dwm photo
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