Two Harbors, Waterfalls and Lighthouses

Sometimes as I slip into sleep, I play with similes to contemplate how I feel about my life as a full time RVer.

Last night I thought of each day being like an agate from the beaches of Lake Superior. No two are the same. Some days are filled with a multitude of interesting experiences, while others just slip smoothly by. When we were young, events and feelings may have had sharp edges, but with age they are tumbled, and memories of each become treasures. It's impossible to pick the best. In my old mind there is no order.

This week we drove east along the North Shore of Lake Superior to Two Harbors. We stayed at the city-owned Burlington Bay Campground. 

The view of the lake from our spot was magical. The light on the water was ever changing. At times it seemed there was no lake there at all, as it reflected the soft white foggy haze.  At sunset it became a smooth pink blanket, and at another time it was a deep grayish purple reflection of the storm clouds above.

Near our campground, there was a small stony beach where we put our toes into the icy water of the lake.

I can't believe people actually swim in it, but I remember when I was a teenager, my mother and I came up to the lake on a road trip, I waded in to my waist. I seem to recall not being able to feel my lower half after a few minutes!



While there, we did what everyone coming through Two Harbors seems to do: 

We went to see the waterfalls and lighthouses.

The Gooseberry Falls State Park is a few miles northeast of town.

The tannin-rich waters rush over a series of waterfalls and rapids.

I sometimes wonder what it is about a waterfall that people, including us, enjoy seeing them so much. Perhaps it is the untamed power of nature. 

Lighthouses also seem to draw visitors. 

The Splitrock Lighthouse is about seven miles from the falls, and when we went there I noticed several of the same people we had seen earlier in the day. 

The tour of the lighthouse and grounds was one of the best we have taken. We learned about a terrible 1905 storm that sunk 29 ships and killed many men. It was after this storm that the lighthouse was built. 

During construction, it was inaccessible by land and all building materials and supplies were brought in by boat and hoisted up the cliff. Although there were homes for the three keepers and their families, the wives and children only lived there in the summer months. In 1924 the road was extended past the light station and it became a popular tourist stop.

We climbed the spiral staircase to get a peek at the Fresnel Lens.

The exhibits made it feel like everyone left it one day in the 1920s. Craig loved this old Oliver typewriter, in which the keys swung in from the sides rather than up from below.

We also went to see the lighthouse in the town of Two Harbors. It was quite different in style.

As full time RVers, we always have to plan ahead to get our mail when we are traveling. 

I knew I wanted to get a package of mail from our forwarding service in Sioux Falls before we crossed the Canadian border. 

Sometimes we get it delivered to the campground where we are staying, and sometimes we pick it up at a post office via General Delivery. After checking out the parking situation on Google Earth,  I arranged for our mail to be sent to General Delivery in Grand Marais. There was a generous shoulder across from the post office on which to park the Alfa, while I went to pick up the mail.

I wanted the mail so I could get the latest shirt I had ordered from a fun company called 6dollarshirts.com. 

Craig and I enjoy it because it indicates my level of interest in sports.















Our next stop is Thunder Bay, Ontario.