Life on the frozen tundra of South Dakota Life on the frozen tundra of South Dakota

Day 2 - 8/23/2015 - Duluth, MN To The Canadian Border And Back

Day 2 - 8/23/2015 - Duluth, MN To The Canadian Border And Back

The route we intended to ride on this day. Spoiler alert: we didn't ride it all.

Our original day two route.

I had drank quite a bit of water the previous evening at Subway, so I wound up using the restroom about three times during the night. I was so tired though that whenever I crawled back in bed I would immediately go back to sleep. Jon heard me once, but slept through the other two times I was up.

My alarm went off at 7. As compared to yesterday, today was going to be a shorter day of around 400 miles and we were just returning to the same hotel, so we didn’t feel the need to get up extra early. Most days I get up around 5:20 AM, so sleeping until 7 was a luxury. We figured we’d be on the road by 8 or so.

I crawled out of bed and began preparing for the day. Jon slept until 7:20 and I didn’t bother waking him. I thought maybe he slept through my alarm, but he reported that he did hear it and just made the choice to go back to sleep.

Once we were dressed, we got the bikes prepared. Because we were going to stay another night in Duluth there wasn’t any need to load up all of our luggage. We just guessed what we would need for the day and filled our saddlebags. Once loaded, we went in to the hotel lobby for some continental breakfast.

As I have mentioned several times, Jon is not much of a breakfast eater while I am a tremendous breakfast eater. I’m less of a lunch eater while he’s pretty hungry for lunch (probably due to the lack of breakfast.) So Jon sipped on some juice while I pigged out on waffles, a peanut butter sandwich, cereal, an apple and two cups of coffee. Even after sitting for 20 minutes the coffee was still molten lava hot so I had to get some ice out of the machine to cool it off enough to make it drinkable.

Jon’s forehead was feeling a bit raw from his helmet again. Last year by the end of the trip he had a giant blister right in the center of his forehead. It looked painful. Being a good friend I also considered it hilarious. I called it the "cyclops." In any event, he could feel the signs of it starting again so I recommended a product I’ve used in triathlons called "Body Glide" that you apply to certain areas and it reduces friction. He thought it was worth trying and requested that before we hit the road we return to Walgreens so he could purchase some.

Walgreens didn’t have "Body Glide" but they had what appeared to be the Gold Bond equivalent. He bought a stick and would apply it to his forehead at every stop for the rest of the trip. His forehead looked a little irritated, but never developed the blister from last year so it must have worked. Turned the inside front of his helmet white though.

Speaking of white, and I was, while Jon was checking out at Walgreens I decided to put some sunscreen on my face. I was in the middle of applying it when Jon came out and started laughing at me. I looked over at a guy sitting in a car parked next to us and he started laughing as well. I looked in my mirror and saw my entire face was white, like I had been applying makeup. I said, "I guess I’m turning myself into a clown!" The sunscreen I had brought was designed for babies. It was unusually thick, like I was rubbing toothpaste on myself. I went with the baby stuff because it said "non-stinging" and I was trying to avoid the sunscreen in my eyes situation that I’ve encountered several times on previous trips. It took a lot of rubbing but eventually I got it worked into my face so I no longer looked like Bozo's ugly brother.

The morning was feeling a little warm and humid. Jon questioned our need for a jacket, but I stated that I thought things might be a little cooler once we were moving so I was going to leave mine on at least until our first stop. Jon decided to leave his on as well. As it turned out, this was a good decision for both of us.

We were finally ready to hit the road around 8:40. A bit later than what we had planned, but that was no big deal. Today was a lower mileage day so there was no rush.

We got on I-35 headed north until the interstate ended, then got on highway 61 heading up the coast. North of town the highway split; there was a scenic route that was low speed along the shore, and a high speed four lane that was the expressway to Two Harbors. We weren’t in a hurry so we took a right and went the scenic route.

The scenic route on highway 61.

Scenic it was. There was some road construction so things were moving even slower than normal, but we putted along and really enjoyed the views.

The scenic route on highway 61.

At Two Harbors highway 61 re-converged. On the north side of town we made our first planned stop: the world famous Betty’s Pies.

The world famous Betty's Pies.

We both had heard of Betty’s Pies and heard that we needed to go there. It being 9:30 on a Sunday morning I thought maybe a pie place would be kind of quiet. I was wrong. There was a line of people waiting in the lobby. We were told it would be about 20 minutes so we put our name on the list. I went and used the restroom, then when I returned Jon went and did the same. While I was standing there waiting, I realized they had a "to go" register with no line. I was contemplating we get our slices of pie to go, then eat them in the parking lot. Why not? It was a beautiful day. I had made up my mind to suggest that idea to Jon when he returned from the restroom when suddenly the lady called my name and said she had two seats at the counter if we wanted them. I accepted, and intercepted Jon on the way to our seats.

Betty’s Pies has a full menu, and being breakfast time there were a lot of people ordering breakfast food. We were here for the pie though. We stared at the list of available pies from the plaque on the wall. It was so hard to choose because they all looked good. I love pecan pie and was strongly leaning in that direction when the waitress delivered a slice of coconut turtle cream pie to the woman sitting next to me. It looked amazing, so I ordered the same for myself. Jon had heard good things about the caramel apple pie, so that’s what he ordered.

Our pies moments before we devoured them.

When the slices of pie arrived we dug in. They were very, very good. We traded bites and found them equally delicious. Five minutes later our pies were gone. I seriously considered ordering an additional slice of pecan pie, but my breakfast was large so I decided I’d better hold off.

We paid and hit the road again. There was a constant stream of cars entering the parking lot of Betty's Pies. Apparently they do great business.

A busy day at Betty's Pies.

It was now nearly 10:30 and we were less than 30 miles down the road with a long way to go on the day. Continuing north on highway 61 we went through the town of Castle Danger and passed by the Rustic Inn. On my Duluth eating guide it said that the pies at the Rustic Inn were even better than Betty’s. I really wanted to determine this for myself. Had it been earlier in the morning I probably would have pulled over and had another slice, but because we were running so late and had a long way to go we continued on up the road.

A scenic view along highway 61.

Just north of Castle Danger we reached the Gooseberry Falls state park. It looked like there was a lot of activity going on, so we pulled in to check it out. We parked in the lot and realized how warm it had gotten. We were comfortable while on the bikes, but when weren't moving it was pretty steamy outside. We both still had our jackets on while riding as while most of the weather was fairly warm, we would hit pockets of freezing cold air that were about 1/4 mile long. These pockets usually happened in areas where the lake was clearly visible from the road. In the areas where there was a tree line as a barrier, the temperature was quite a bit warmer. It was really strange to be riding and within a few seconds have the temp drop 20-30 degrees, then about the time you’d think, "Wow! It’s cold!" the temp would raise back up just as quickly.

Gooseberry Falls

At Gooseberry Falls we walked a few hundred yards back into the woods and saw the falls. There were numerous people swimming (dare I say frolicking?) in the river as the warm sun was beating down on us. We walked around and took some photos, then headed back to the bikes and continued north on highway 61.

Gooseberry Falls

Gooseberry Falls

Gooseberry Falls

The lake today was very foggy. The sky was clear and sunny on land, but 100 yards or so out on the lake you could see a wall of fog. It was pretty cool looking, but at the same time I would have like to have been able to see more of the lake.

Fog on Lake Superior.

We passed Split Rock Lighthouse state park. We could see the lighthouse from the road. Unfortunately there wasn’t a good pull-out where we could stop and get a picture. At home I have a Thomas Kinkade painting of this lighthouse.

A scenic pull-out along highway 61.

We had the town of Grand Marais in mind for lunch. There was a restaurant there called the "Angry Trout Cafe" that supposedly had good seafood. We pulled into town and began searching for the restaurant. I went down a side street that had lots of restaurants and shops, keeping my eye out for the Angry Trout. We didn’t find it on this street, but I did stop and snap a few photos.

Grand Marais, MN

Thinking perhaps the cafe was farther up highway 61, we continued north. Pretty soon we were out of town. Not long after that we realized that either the cafe doesn’t exist any longer (not likely) or we went by without seeing it (quite likely.) Unfortunately by the time we came to this conclusion we were far enough north of town that we didn’t want to head back and keep searching. We decided that we would just find an interesting place to eat in the next town.

Grand Marais, MN

That’s when we discovered there pretty much was no "next town" until we got to Grand Portage, and that was hardly large enough to be considered a town. Traffic had been pretty heavy all the way to Duluth to Grand Marais, but then became pretty sparse from there to the Canadian border. There was a hotel/casino at Grand Portage and we figured there had to be a restaurant in the casino where we could eat. When we pulled into the lot, however, much of the casino lay in shambles. It looked like it had been attacked by a wrecking ball. We decided that the casino must no longer be open, so we pulled out of the lot.

The Grand Portage Casino in shambles.

There was a gas station across the road, so we stopped and filled up our tanks. The gas station had a snack bar area that looked rather suspect. I was considering eating there but Jon suggested we ask the guy behind the counter if there was a nearby spot where we could get some lunch. The guy behind the counter was very nice, and said that there was a restaurant at the casino, and it was indeed open even though they were in the middle of renovations. He even told us how to walk through the casino to get to it, as the main entrance was closed.

We thanked him and rode back over to the casino. Sure enough, we followed his instructions to go through the casino entrance, then take a right and go down the hallway. At the end of the hall there was a restaurant. Apparently nobody else could find it either because at 1 PM on a Sunday the place was empty.

We were seated and the waitress brought us menus. One of the items on the menu was a walleye sandwich. You can’t visit Lake Superior without eating walleye, right? So we both ordered the sandwich with fries.

When the food arrived, it looked amazing. Then when we took a bite we were disappointed. It wasn’t bad tasting, but it really didn’t have any flavor at all. I don’t think Jon even finished his sandwich. I ate all of mine, but then again I’m a pig. The fries weren’t bad, at least compared to the fish. I paid my $18 bill for a bad sandwich and we walked back to our bikes. Only a few more miles to the Canadian border.

Just south of the border there was a scenic overlook, so we stopped and snapped some more pictures. Jon took the opportunity to make some more adjustments to his highway pegs. While I was waiting the sun was beating down on me. I still was wearing my jacket because of the pockets of cold air we were riding through. Even the warm parts of the road weren’t bad as long as we were moving, but once we stopped the jacket was just way too much in the 90 degree heat. About the time I felt like I was going to melt into a giant pile of goo Jon got his peg adjusted and we took off again.

Lake Superior.

Lake Superior.

Lake Superior.

Lake Superior.

It was at this point I looked down at my bike and noticed that the upper exhaust pipe was starting to come loose. It felt like it was still solidly attached, but was visibly slipping backwards leaving about a one inch gap between the header section and the back of the pipe. The gap wasn't big enough to allow exhaust to escape so the bike wasn't any louder than usual. I messed with it for a minute but realized it was going to take more work to re-attach it than I wanted to do at a rest stop near the Canadian border. I decided to just continue on and keep an eye on it. Thankfully, it never got worse during the remainder of the trip.

The exhaust on my bike coming loose.

After what seemed to be an eternity since we left that morning, we finally arrived at the Canadian border. I don’t have a passport so we couldn’t enter. There was a welcome area just to the south of the border crossing so we pulled in there to take some pictures.

The Canadian border.

If there was any doubt that we were extremely close to Canada, it was eliminated when Jon’s phone connected to a Canadian cell phone tower and he received a "complementary welcome to Canada" text informing him that he may be charged extra for international data rates.

The Grand Portage welcome center.

Minnesota's Northern Border historical marker.

Minnesota's Northern Border historical marker.

We gazed upon Canada for a couple minutes, but it looked just like northern Minnesota so we got back on the bikes and started to head south. We had traveled about 165 miles from Duluth to the border. The plan was to ride about 100 miles south back down highway 61 the same way we came to Illgen City, then head northwest on highway 1 up to Ely. From there we were going to go south on back roads back to Duluth. That was the plan.

Seeing as we had already seen all of the scenery of highway 61 on the way up, we were focused to just make good time on the way back down. We rode for what seemed an eternity just to get back to Grand Marais. Once again passing through town I kept an eye out for the Angry Trout Cafe, and this time spotted it on the south side of town. Sure enough we had ridden right by the thing. The fish I had in Grand Portage wasn’t sitting that well and I sure didn’t want to add another layer of fish on top of that one, so we kept riding.

Our bodies were getting very sore. We’d only ridden a couple hundred miles, but already it was feeling like another 500 mile day. I started to question my ability and desire to continue on with the loop up highway 1. This loop would probably add almost 100 miles to the day and at least a couple hours. Highway 1 looked scenic, but I was just running out of ambition and physically didn’t feel that great.

When we came to the Cross River in the town of Temperance, there was a little roadside parking area with a restroom and a picturesque waterfall. I needed a stretch break so I pulled over. It felt very good to get off the bike. We stretched, used the bathroom and took pictures of the waterfall.

At the rest stop in Temperance, MN.

At this point I admitted to Jon that I didn’t know if I had it in me to do the road up to Ely. He confided in me that he too was feeling pretty tired and wouldn’t mind just heading back to Duluth as well. We had about 80 miles to go to our hotel if we took the direct route, and that seemed like a big enough challenge without doubling that amount by sticking with our original plans. Cutting out the route up to Ely would get us back to the hotel early enough to relax a bit. Jon’s friend Matt (who gave us directions to Walgreens the previous night) wanted to meet us for supper as well, and we didn’t want to be eating at 9 PM again. So I conceded defeat in my mind and we dropped the Ely loop.

Our actual day two route.

So our route for the day turned into just an out-and-back from Duluth to Grand Portage. Short, but it seemed incredibly long.

A waterfall in Temperance, MN.

A waterfall in Temperance, MN.

Hitting the road again, I was just too hot to put my jacket back on. I no longer cared if I was cold during the brief pockets of chilled air, as I was roasting everywhere else. Jon wasn’t ready to brave the cold, so he left his jacket on.

A waterfall in Temperance, MN.

A waterfall in Temperance, MN.

We continued south towards Duluth. After what seemed an eternity we finally reached the intersection where we would have taken highway 1 to Ely. I knew at that point we had made the right decision because I was in near agony. My butt hurt, my legs hurt, my head hurt and my stomach was still funny from the casino fish. I just wanted off the bike. I was starting to have doubts about the next day’s planned 500 mile ride across Wisconsin as well, but I put those thoughts out of my mind and focused on the task at hand.

Scenery along highway 61.

Back in Castle Danger we went by the Rustic Inn. The lure of pie was calling my name, but I resisted. Actually it may have been the lure of getting off my bike for a few minutes, but I resisted that as well.

Scenery along highway 61.

In Two Harbors Jon motioned that he needed to pull over and make some adjustments. There was a giant rooster in the parking lot, so I snapped a picture.

A giant rooster in Two Harbors, MN.

As mentioned, I had already removed my jacket. Except for the few cold pockets of air, I was at a comfortable temperature. At this stop Jon finally agreed that his jacket was too much and removed it. He also re-applied sunscreen. I didn't have anything better to do so I took a picture of him applying sunscreen.

Jon applying sunscreen.

Now about 30 miles from our hotel, we had ridden the scenic part of 61 earlier in the day. I would have ridden it again, but remembered the road construction. Instead we stayed on the expressway which would get us to Duluth faster.

After a figurative eternity we arrived back at our hotel a little after 5 PM. The air conditioning felt phenomenal, and laying on the bed felt even better.

Jon called his friend Matt and we made plans to meet at the Anchor Bar over in Superior, WI at 6:30. The Anchor Bar was on my list of recommended places to eat, so I was pleased. I looked up how to get there on Google maps. It turned out that it was about 5 minutes away from our hotel, which was a bonus. In fact, it was directly across the river from our hotel. Had there been a bridge we could have walked over.

We left the hotel about 6:15, which as it turns out was too early. We wound up standing outside the bar for about 15 minutes before Jon’s friend Matt arrived. We went inside to discover the place packed, but there was a table available out on the patio. It had turned into a pretty pleasant evening so we deemed the patio table acceptable.

Wisconsin is a little odd in that children under the age of 21 can legally drink in bars as long as their parents are with them. So there were kids at the bar having beer. It was a sight I wasn’t used to witnessing.

The burgers at the Anchor Bar are excellent, and they’re cheap to boot. My 1/3 pound burger with fries and a glass of water came to $6.25, tax included. And it was a tasty burger. I got mine topped with jalepenos and cream cheese. Thankfully my stomach had settled down from the fish I ate at lunch so I could enjoy my supper.

We sat and talked until nearly 8 PM, then departed to head back to the hotel. We stopped at a station across the street from the Super 8 to fill our gas tanks so we didn’t have to worry about it the next day. I reminded Jon about our plans to get ice cream. I was really in the mood for ice cream, but Jon was full from his burger and wasn’t interested. I eyed the ice cream freezer inside the convenience store, then in another fit of common sense decided that I just had a large burger with fries and that I really didn’t need ice cream on top of all that. Not sure where all this common sense was coming from.

Jon and I agreed that we’d push the ice cream off another night, and make sure we leave room for it after supper on Monday. I went one step further and half-jokingly suggested that we have the ice cream first so we were sure to have room.

Back at the hotel we showered and shaved and got ready for bed. I called my wife and son while Jon was in the shower.

Before bed, I remembered the trouble I had on Saturday following the Google maps instructions. I decided it was worth some time to go over the maps and directions for the upcoming legs of our journey and translate them into readable form. I brought up our route on my tablet and wrote down the turn-by-turn directions in a way that I could understand them. I also took this opportunity to re-evaluate the routes and I wound up making a few changes.

In one section of the planned path for Monday, Google maps had routed us down highway 55 for a while, then kept snaking us east and south into Green Bay. Looking at things, I decided it was less confusing if we just stayed on highway 55 all the way down to highway 29. It would eliminate a bunch of turns that I was sure to miss, and from what I could tell we would see the same scenery. I told Jon about my plans and he was fine with it. As we would discover the next day, that was the best decision I could have made. But more on that tomorrow.

Our alarm was set for 6 AM, and we were going to try to be rolling by 7 AM. I didn’t even try and read a bit before bed. Jon still had the lights and TV on while I was drifting off to sleep. In fact, I think he said something to me that I didn’t respond to because I was on the verge of becoming unconscious. The last thing I remember was him turning everything off, and listening to the hum of the air conditioner as I drifted off to sleep.

Continue on to day three...

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