Northern Exposure--Day 49

Continuing in our quest to see all the lighthouses in the world we took a trip up the north shore of Lake Superior. The first stop was the city of Two Harbors. They have a neat old lighthouse that has been converted to a Bed & Breakfast. Most of the buildings are open to the public and have been fully restored. Although the main building, that originally housed the Light Keeper's residence, is now the Bed & Breakfast the light tower is still open to the public. Two Harbors is a very nice little town that at one time was a larger shipping port than the Twin Ports of Duluth and Superior. The second light at Two Harbors is at the end of the breakwater that was built to assist the shipping lanes. This one is more of a tower and a true lighthouse.

While in Two Harbors we sought out one of the sites listed on the RoadsideAmerica.com website. There is a big statue of the "Voyager" in a parking lot on the main drag. Since it's construction a motel name The Voyager has been added next door. He originally was holding a canoe paddle in his hand but it appears to be long gone. Also, no one seems to know why he is wearing leggings but no pants. Anyway, we have been able to mark off another of the odd and unusual tourist sites on our list.

From Two Harbors we headed on north to the Split Rock Lighthouse. This is listed as one of the most popular in the country. Split Rock was built in the early 1900's on a 147 foot cliff overlooking the lake. Since there were not roads into the area all the materials had to be brought in by boat and carried up to the building site. In addition to the lighthouse itself there are several other buildings. These include the fog signal building and three Light Keeper residences. One of the residences has been restored to the condition of when the light first opened. Another is currently used as the residence of the curator of the site, which is operated by the Minnesota Historical Society. There are some spectacular view from up where the lighthouse is located.

When we left Duluth this morning it was overcast and there was a heavy fog covering the harbor. Fortunately, as we drove north the weather cleared and we had a beautiful day. When we returned to the coach we experienced a heavy rain which did clear the air. Later I walked over to the Lift Bridge to take some pictures with it all lit up.