Northern Exposure--Day 47

Yesterday was a day of running errands in a heavy downpour of rain. Down here at the harbor it was overcast but dry. We headed up over the hill, which in my opinion should be called a mountain, and hit the rain as soon as we topped it. We needed to go to Roger's, Jo's brother, to drop off a birthday gift for his grandson, Zack. When we arrived Zack was there with his family. They had just returned from up north where they had been canoeing on the Boundary Waters near the Canadian border. Zack was able to enjoy his gift from us while we were there. We also needed to locate a post office to get a birthday present for our granddaughter Emma in the mail. She will be three this next week. Later we drove over to the nursing home and picked up Jo's Aunt Rose. We then proceeded to the home of Jo's Aunt Pat and Uncle Dennis for dinner. These two aunts were sisters to Jo's dad. Rose is the oldest of the kids and Pat is the youngest.

Today we gave in to our passion for exploring lighthouses. I've done some research on the Internet for lighthouses on Lake Superior. One is only the remains of an old lighthouse here on Park Point where we are parked. Park Point, as I mentioned in previous post, is a strip of land that goes south from Downtown Duluth. This strip separates Superior Bay and Lake Superior. The main street, Lake Avenue, goes down about three/fourths of the length of the point. At the end of the road is a municipal airport that services small planes and seaplanes. No cars are allowed past this airport. From there it is a 1 1/2 to 2 mile walk to the old lighthouse. When we parked the car it was not real obvious where the walk gate was to allow us to find the path down through the trees. We walked out to the shore of Lake Superior and started walking east along the beach. Buddy was with us and we would stop every so often to let him drink from the lake. He would not get close enough to the water for fear of getting his feet wet so Jo would scoop up water and let him drink from her hand. (Remember, he just went to the groomers this week and he is still strutting.) About three quarters of a mile down the beach, walking in deep sand we saw a break in the trees and ventured inland. We found the path we needed and proceeded on it. After walking a total of about two miles we found our destination. The old lighthouse is really in bad shape. There is a chain link fence around it but someone has cut the wire on one corner and opened it up so you can actually go in the lighthouse. A little farther past the lighthouse ruins is a large, concrete building that apparently served as a warehouse and housed a rescue boat in years past. It was obvious that when this place was in service it was only accessed via the water since it is so far from the developed area and there is no road available. After walking all the way down and getting our pictures we had to trek the two miles back to the car. Walking long distances is not something we do on a regular basis. This is even more true for Buddy. On the way back he kept seeking out shady areas and stopping. If the shade was off the path and in high grass that is where he would head. He was a good trooper because we knew he was really getting tired. When we returned to the coach he drank a lot of water and crashed on Jo's lap for a good afternoon nap. Actually, we all took an afternoon nap.