It is time for Tony and me to do our
annual get-away. Neither of us had much time or inclination to
travel far distances, so we thought we might head up to Duluth. I've
never spent much time there even though it is only a few hours away
from where I live. I guess it is time to maybe start exploring my
own back yard rather than always be looking to the horizon for the
next best place.
Of course I am such a commitment phobe
that I waited until the last minute to try to find a camping place.
Bad idea – Minnesota has such a limited camping season that
everybody tries to take advantage of the few days we have by going
camping. My preferred campgrounds are the state parks – more
rustic, more scenic, generally speaking and you aren't on top of your
neighbors. No luck there, even in the middle of the week. So, I
guess I am stuck going to a private RV park. Yuck. But wait,
faithful readers – I lucked out. We ended up in Indian Point
Campground, just a few miles west of Duluth on a point jutting into
the St. Louis River. Yes, we were very close to our neighbors, but
we had greenery and if you peeked through some of the greenery, you
actually could see the river. There was also a great walking trail
that went along the edge of the river so Miko could be happy also.
It was an expensive campground at $41 for water and electricity but
non-planners cannot be choosy.
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| Indian Point Campground - the river is right behind the trees in back of our site |
First on our list of touristy things to
do was to tour the Glensheen(also known as the Congdon) mansion which
I had never been to. It is right on Lake Superior and has 39 rooms.
This house was built in 1908 and is built in the Jacobean
architectural tradition, inspired by the Beaux-Arts styles of the
era. It is a nice example of how the other half lived around the
turn of the last century.
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| The back of the house overlooking the Formal Gardens |
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| Tony tempting the waves at Glensheen's boat dock |
Every time I go to Duluth, I have to
drive by the Crosby mansion. It is the house that my
great-grandfather built in 1904. It is sort of like passing by my
family's old homestead although I have never ever lived in a house
this grand. It is not as big and ostentatious as Glensheen but it is a mansion
complete with a buzzer under the dining room table that would call
the butler in the butler's pantry if you needed anything. As it
happens, there had been a big wind storm that came through Duluth
several weeks earlier and Duluth lost many many trees. This was true
on the Crosby property and as we drove by, there was a woman in the
front yard trying to get some of the branches off the lawn and flower
beds. I stopped the car and introduced myself as a Crosby
great-grandaughter. Jean was so gracious and asked me if I would
like to come inside and see the house. Would I ever!!!! I have not
been in this house since I was little in the sixties. This was
absolutely thrilling.
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| Front of the House - you can see all the trees down on the front lawn |
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| The Library |
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| The Music Room |
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| The ceiling on the third floor stairway going to the ballroom |
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| Leaded glass in the dining room |
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| More leaded glass |
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| Went to visit my people in the cemetery - this is the Crosby stone - trees down everyplace |
We also went waterfall hunting but it
was sort of a gloomy day and since I now drive a stick shift car,
let's just say the hills of Duluth pretty much did me in. So even
though we only got to one creek to check out waterfalls, well, let's
just say I am now pretty much an expert on manual shifting on very
steep hills. I wonder how these Duluthians survive winter in this
city with such steep hills.
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| Miko really does not like her picture taken |
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| One of the waterfalls on Miller Creek |
One of the highlights for me on this
trip was going out to Park Point. It is a little spit of sand that
you have to cross the Duluth Lift Bridge to get to. Most of it is
only wide enough for one of two houses on each side of the road. It
sort of has the feel of a beach community. When you get out to the
end of the point, it is just like being on the ocean with giant waves but there is no
salt.
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| Mighty Lake Superior |
