Duluth, Minnesota

The first thing you'll want to hear about was last evening. At our RV Park in Alma Center, Wisconsin I was using my computer when something caught my eye. I looked out the front window, sat back, and simply enjoyed the show. There were several Tanagers darting through the sky, diving, and playing together. Their play reminded me of hummingbirds but these Tanagers are closer in size to robins. It was nearing dusk so I couldn't identify them and wasn't 100% sure that they were red. This morning they were flying near our RV so I did get these two photos. The first is two Cardinals and the second is the only one I captured of the Scarlet Tanagers.

I spent the rest of the evening talking to the kids and Sandee. Can you believe they started school already? Yesterday was the first day so they all were excited and had much to talk about.

This morning, we journeyed on to our first planned destination of this trip, Duluth and Lake Superior. We crossed into Minnesota on the Richard Bong Memorial Bridge. The bridge is more than two miles long and curves gracefully along its path over the Saint Louis Bay that drains into Lake Superior.

After crossing the Bong Bridge we stopped at the Thompson Hill Rest Area and Welcome Center. Rich walked The Girls and I went in to pick up brochures.

The Rest Area is perched on a hill overlooking the Bridge and Saint Louis Bay which made a perfect spot for taking the photos above. The steel sculpture shown below, named The Gate, stands next to the Center. The sculptor was Schlegell and the text below is copied from the marker shown in my photo.

David von Schlegell (1920 – 1992)

The stainless steel sculpture functions as a metaphor, tying the horizontal lines of the land and Lake Superior, which are both very visible from this location, together at the point of intersection with the City of Duluth. The Gate serves to recognize the importance of Duluth, as not only a gateway to Minnesota's north shore, but also to the world through the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway that extends 3700 kilometers (2,300 miles) east to the Atlantic Ocean.

On the way from there to our RV Park, a deer crossed the road in front of us...lucky deer that we saw it in plenty of time for Rich to slow down!

While Rich was setting up the RV at our campground, I took this shot out the front window...what a view, huh?

We went to WalMart to pick up a few things because, even though I have spent two grueling days riding shotgun and photographing and surfing the web and uploading photos and reading a book and mostly watching the beautiful countryside passing by, I still insisted on cooking dinner for my man! teehee

As evening fell, this was the view from the curbside door of the RV...we have water all around.

It is very cool here tonight with a gentle breeze drifting through our open windows. Rich just went to bed and I'm quickly following...after I get my quilt out of the closet. It is so refreshing to feel a cool breeze after such a long hot spell.

Lovin' Life ~~ And Cool Nights