NORTH SHORE -- LAKE SUPERIOR - Land of blue skies, blue waters, lush green trees, and gray granite

Good times need to be shared. I've got one for you.  I have just 

spent five days vacationing in Duluth, Minnesota, with two 

Writer House friends. First of all, in leaving Houston, the whole 

world changed (may be exaggerating a little bit) but going 

from our August 100 degree murky hot to a marvelous
79 degrees cool in Duluth is nothing to sneeze about.  

Blue sky, blue lakes, granite rocks, and  masses of 

green trees--August is the time to visit northern Minnesota!

One of my companions' sister lives in Duluth (and on a lake) 

which gave us an opportunity for a rare, trouble free adventure.  

Carole knew the places worth visiting and the way (and back!) 

getting there.  I'll let the pictures below take you with me as 

we visited  Gooseberry Falls, Glensheen Manor, Split Rock 

Lighthouse, Duluth  Rose gardens, the Canal Bridge from 

Lake Superior, Jay Cooke State Park and Richard Bong military 

museum.  The marvels of pontoon boating follow.

 

Gooseberry Falls 

We'd never have an August evening fire in Houston.

Glensheen Manor 

Duluth Rose Garden

Who doesn't dream of floating on a lake with a cool breeze,

fantastic shore scenery, good company and a glass of wine?

Thanks to Ted Sexton, dreams can become true and with
an encore.  The first cruise was a  pontoon tour around
the lake with all the oo's and ah's I could muster. Loons
scattered ahead of us. Thoughts of my childhood family
fishing trips to Minnesota caught up with me.  In the reeds
I wondered if there were bass or a stray northern pike
waiting to be caught.  I saw a couple of points where
walleyes would haunt.  I could see myself casting into
the reeds with a red and white spoon lure and have 

the thrill of a strike.

The encore was even more special.  The families that live 

along the shore once a year tie their pontoons together in 

the middle of the lake and party.  We were in luck, the party was

scheduled for the Saturday we were there.   Picture yourself 

here and wish you were with us. 

No Caption Needed

Getting Ready to Party

Whee

Most special for the trip was meeting and getting to 

know the Sextons.  They took us in as family and 

we met their children and grandchildren giving us

a glimpse of northern family life.  It had been a 

long time since I stood around a piano and with
others harmonized church hymns, How Great Thou
 Art and Abide With Me..  A severe storm two
weeks before our arrival had obliterated a great
many trees--the Sextons losing twenty four on their 

property.  Despite the devastation, Carole's porch 

flowers were vigorous and beautiful and chipmunks 

and birds frequented the bird feeder, sometimes 

tormented by hummingbirds. 

No story can give justice to the pleasure we had 

visiting the north shore of Lake Superior.  A

special thanks to Ted, Carole, Erin, and Angie 

Sexton (and their families) and to my fellow
travelers Meg Lelvis and Connie Gillen.   

Frame Graphics:  Rose Nuernberger 
Pictures:  Meg Lelvis