Enjoying Lake Superior

Last night as it was getting dark a white pickup came into the parking lot and a woman in a high-visibility vest got out and knocked on our door.  She appeared to be a state park employee and told us politely that there was a possibility of a Department of Transportation person coming by and asking us to leave.  She told us that the Gooseberry Falls parking lot  back a few miles allowed ten-hour stays although we had seen a sign there that limited stays to two hours.  When I pointed out that there were no signs in this parking area, she expressed frustration at the inconsistencies of the DOT signage and just warned us that this may happen.

Now what?  All the campgrounds were full and we were not aware of any parking areas within a reasonable distance that allowed overnight parking.  Meanwhile, I had held the door open while talking to the woman and eventually realized that I was being swarmed with mosquitoes.  After she left, we spent the next half hour swatting at about a billion mosquitoes, leaving their little carcasses all over the floor.  Some of them swatted red, requiring clean-up of the swatted surface.

In the midst of the war on mosquitoes, we discussed what to do.  In the end, we decided to bed down and risk it, as there seemed to be no other option.  If someone asked us to leave, we’ll just move on to the next parking area.

We were not disturbed.  But Deb laid awake most of the night, anticipating the knock at the door. Last minute planning has its advantages, but also has its problems, especially on a weekend in a very popular area in high season.

A few miles down the road, we found a perfect parking spot, in Silver Bay.  Northshore Mining, a large iron ore mining company, has a small parking lot up on a hill behind one of their facilities.  Five RV-sized spaces, level, overnight parking, quiet, and right next to a cell tower, so very strong signal.  And there’s a dump station nearby.  Perfect.  And it was empty.  We made a note of it for next time.

Next to this parking lot is an overlook, offering a commanding view of the company facilities and of the town of Silver Bay.

A few miles north of this is Tettegouche State Park, where we spent a good deal of the day.  A short hike will bring you to Shovel Point Overlook, which has spectacular views of the Lake Superior coastline. This is one of the reasons for the popularity of this area: the views are incredible.

This particular point is also a favorite for climbers with its moderate cliffs offering roped and free climbing.  We thought about launching the kayaks to explore some of the sea caves here but there’s just not enough time.

After lunch in the parking lot, we hiked to High Falls, a 1.5-mile hike to a beautiful falls on the Baptism River.  Lots of stairs on this hike, but the nearly perfect temperature made it a great hike.  The thing to do here is to bring swim gear along and jump in the pool under the falls.  There were a lot of people here who took the hike to swim in the pool.  Remember this for next time also.

Another ten miles or so up the road was a wayside with a trail to another waterfall.  Caribou Falls is about a half-mile hike from the parking lot, and is a lot less busy than the falls at the state parks.  We saw a couple wet people returning from this falls also and when we reached it, I waded in, despite not having swim gear.  It seems to be the thing to do.

I managed to get in all the way up to my neck, but didn’t stay in long as the water was rather cold.  Refreshing, and it brought down my core temperature as I was starting to feel a bit warm from the hike.  I slogged all the way back in wet shorts.

Temperance River State Park, another dozen miles up the road, was our destination for today.  We managed to make reservations here as there was a single campsite available for tonight.  With the weekend ending, things are opening up a little bit.

Temperance River flows down a rather impressive gorge before emptying out into the dramatic coastline of Lake Superior.  The campground is right next to this gorge, making it an easy walk to see it.

We took advantage of the shower facilities here.  A long hot shower felt good after a week of taking showers in a stall half the size of a telephone booth.

Dinner consisted of sweet corn picked up from a roadside stand, smoked brisket, and watermelon.  We do eat well on these journeys, but there is a lot of preparation ahead of time to do so.  The brisket was smoked several months ago and some of it was put in serving size portions in Ziploc bags and frozen flat.  We have a lot of meals in Ziploc bags frozen this way.  They fit efficiently in our tiny freezer and meal preparation is a simple matter of thawing it the day before and then warming it in the microwave just before eating it.  Meal prep takes about ten minutes.  Perfect for on-the-road meals.

After dinner we walked the beach for a bit, enjoying the rocky lakeshore.  Then back to the RV for some writing, emailing, and communicating.  We will sleep well tonight.  No worrying about someone knocking at the door.

All this and only 40 miles driven today.