4 Sep - Arrived at Superior WI; Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center, Lighthouses, Freighter

4 Sep

We departed Camp Ripley this morning at 0842 hrs.  Our GPS took us north and east through Brainerd around Mille Lacs Lake and then east to I-35.  We were not on Interstate for very long before we arrived at Duluth MN and then over the bridge to Superior WI.

A short drive into Wisconsin and we arrived at Northland Camping & RV Center just over three hours later at 1152 hrs.  152 miles total today.  We are here 4-10 Sep, six nights.

The campground

Heated pool, hot tub and sauna at our campground

Check-in was uneventful.  No credit card machine here so we paid with a check. Can't remember the last time I wrote a check for anything.  Glad we brought a few.  The campsites are wide and most are long.  We had no trouble getting our RV and truck in the same site.

Set-up went quickly.  You would almost think we had done this before..!!  Nice, lush green grass between the sites and Liberty loves that!  Overall the campground and office areas look "old and tired" and could use a refresh, but for the six nights we are going to be here, it will work just fine.

We had a late lunch and then we both went back up to the office to talk with the campground hostess about sites to see in the area.  She gave us some good ideas and a map to get us started.  We headed back to the RV prepared to watch the Chicago Cubs at the Pittsburgh Pirates game, but it was blacked out here and so we shifted gears and headed to the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor's Center.  It was my understanding we were going there just to get information about things to see while we are here, but I was sure wrong!

The Visitor Center is run by the Army Corps of Engineers.  It includes a museum with various maritime displays inside and outside.

A tugboat on display out front

Various anchors

A huge bronze propeller

Inside the building:

Beautiful!

The "skipper", for sure!

All ahead full, Captain!

A look from the pilot's position

Many maritime displays in the museum.

Commercial diving suit with a Mark V dive helmet.  The boots weighed 30 lbs.  These are not SCUBA divers.  They are some really tough dudes that wore these suits!

Air pump for commercial diver

Surveying and Cartography

History of the Corp,

A display commemorating the sinking of the Thomas Wilson.

Interesting relief of the Great Lakes depth

We finished up inside  and then went outside to check out the lighthouses.  There are three in this area.  The PA system announced the arrival of a freighter which means they would be raising the bridge not far from here, and we are here to see it!!

Duluth Inner Range Light

Duluth Outer Range Light

Windy and cold here!

Duluth North Pier Lighthouse

Off shore was the Roerborg, flying the Dutch flag and waiting to enter the harbor.  Before that happens they have to raise the bridge.  Several sailboats were also waiting for the bridge to be raised.

They display a schedule of arrivals and departures so visitors can plan to see them.  Notice the Roerborg scheduled departure tomorrow between  2100 and 2300 with a load of wheat.  This is the ship that is arriving today.

The pilot boat headed out to the Roerborg to place a pilot on-board and reconcile paperwork, and then the pilot boat returns.  The Roerborg then headed into the canal.  This was cool to watch!

Two sailboats and the pilot boat in the canal.

The pilot boat returning from a visit with the Roerborg.

Here she comes!

The ship is massive.  This is a grain hauler flying a Dutch flag.

Heading down the canal into the harbor.  Notice the bridge is raised

It did not look like it would clear, but of course it did!

The wheel house is way up there!

Doreen was amazed by the rescue vessel, just like we saw in the movie "Captain Phillips" with Tom Hanks

We are so glad we visited the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center today.  Luckily we were there to see the arrival of a freighter and the raising of the bridge.

Tomorrow we will venture out to see other sites around Duluth and Lake Superior.  It sounds like the weather might be bad so we may look at inside venues like the police and fire museum, the Veterans Museum, and other sites.