Experiencing the Gales of November...

Lyrice form Gordon Lightfoots, "The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"

"The Legend lives on from the Chippewa on down

of the big lake they call Glitch Gumee

Superior, they said, never gives up her dead

When the gales of November come early"

Rick and I got to experiance the "Gales of November" as we visited the North Shore a few weeks ago.

We happened to to be there on November 10th, the anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. 

 

 Lake Superior was angry, pounding the shore with a force I had never seem in all the times we have visited the North Shore. The sound of the giant waves crashing in the the rocks below our cabin was eerie, the best I can descibe it was like a loud boom. 

Some of the waves we saw coming in we guessed to be 10 -12 feet high.

A camera can not bring in the depth or magnificence of what we 

heard with our ears and saw with our eyes

I could have sat all day on our balcony and just watched... it was spectacular.

Away from the lake one afternoon, Rick and I did some hiking in  Gooseberry State Park

It was a beautiful afternoon to enjoy nature with this guy

A look from the back side of our cabin #4 . 

We love staying at Breezy Point Cabins on Superior,

It was our 4th time... Our Go-to place between Two Harbors and Duluth. 

A look northeast from our deck

Our get-away to the North Shore was relaxing and good for the soul. 

We left the day after we buried Dad...

There was a peace of mind in knowing Dad was now free of this world, and a weight lifted 

off my shoulders as I no longer had to watch him endure the wrath of Dementia. 

Winter/Spring get-away Part 2

Rick and I have been to Minnesota's North Shore many times and each time is just as wonderful. This time we decided to visit a few places we had yet to see.

The most spectacular was Iona's Beach. 

A secluded gem that I didn't know existed until I googled it. 

It was a bit of a hike to get to it and there were no clear markers.

It was a beautiful afternoon in the mid 50's so we brought our chairs to sit by the waters edge and relax in the sun. We thought perhaps this was Iona's beach, although I was very underwhelmed. There were a few pink rocks but nothing like the photo's I saw on the internet.

,

The shoes came off and I dunked my feet in ice cold Superior...refreshing.

Rick decided to explore a bit further around another corner 

up a rocky hill and through the trees further down the trail.

He came back with a great big smile on his face, he said

"your gonna want to see this".......

Iona's Beach,

there it was just as I imagined it to be.

It's just not the pink stones that make Iona's beach special, it's the sound they make (so I've read) as the water washes over them. When a wave crashes onto the beach, the rocks move against one another to create a bell or "tinkling" sound that's often referred to as "Singing". There were no waves the day we were there so we didn't get to experiance the sound....next time.

Iona Beach is one of the largest and pristine beaches in the area, so the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources made it an official Scientific and Nature area.

It's a no-no to take any of these rocks from the beach.

My very 1st Cairn, it's not as easy as it looks.

Happiness is a warm cup of coffee and a hike on the Gitche-Gami Trail.

Our 2nd venture was Agate Bay in Two Harbors

We walked the .4 mile to the end of the breaker to see the small light house.

I'm glad we brought our winter coats, the wind was brutal.

This is the big light house in Agate Bay

The Two Harbors Light Station is the oldest operating lighthouse in Minnesota

To read more about this Historic light house click here

Stay tuned for Part 3....yes there's more.

We like cabins and lakes....and winter get-aways!

It was just time for Rick and I to head out for a little R & R. 

It's a busy season of life for us right now but we saw a break in the action 

so we decided to run up to one of our favorite areas to visit....

Then North Shore on Lake Superior.

We didn't go to our usual place in Lutsen MN this time, instead we stopped well before that 

near Two Harbors, which is only about 20 minutes north of Duluth.

 We rented a two-bedroom cabin on the shore of (frozen) Lake Superior, 

 The resort is called "Breezy Point Cabins on the Lake".

A beautiful cabin which was tore down and rebuilt in 2018, everything was new and so nice!

The Camera will never do it justice, but this is the view from our king size bed.

We were told that the Lake is not always frozen in February, but this winter it is.

From the back. 

The window on the right is our bedroom, on the left is the living room.

We had plenty of time to just sit and be.

It might be hard to come home....

A look to the north of our cabin...so pretty!

On our way up we stopped just north of Duluth at Brighton Beach along the shore.

As you can see the lake freezes and then thaws causing these giant ice chunks along the shore.

Someone was hungry.
Lots of folks were out walking on the lake. Also not shown, were many ice houses.

We went on a few adventures during our 3 day stay.

We only drove by Split Rock Lighthouse

We hiked around the park at Gooseberry Falls, 

it felt good to be out in the crisp winter air.

The falls were froze, just a little area of open water at the base.

We did a little snow shoeing near Silver Bay.

I just love the Up North look and feel, rows of pine trees bordering the roads.

That's me trying to capture the sun rising over the lake. I did not go as far as setting up a tripod out on the lake like the guy you can see in the middle of the photo.

The view from the kitchen window.
The woods on one side the lake on the other.

 I snapped this shot of the sun rising this morning from our front window.

 We had about 6" of fresh snowfall last night, it's like a painting.

We may have found a new annual winter get away destination! 

It was nice to spend time in the quiet with this guy!