After a beautiful last walk this morning in Rice Creek Chain of Lakes, we drove about 275 miles north and arrived at Voyageurs National Park. As I look out my window, we are totally surrounded by forest, staying in the (Chief) Woodenfrog State Forest Campground. Either this is a very secluded campsite or no one else is here.
Voyageurs National Park is in northern Minnesota, near the Canadian border. It is a water-based park, with 500+ islands and 655 miles of shoreline – in total around 218,000 acres. Named after voyageurs, the French-Canadian fur traders who were the first European settler in the area, the park is notable for its boating, fishing, and amazing scenery. The quiet of the waters, the green of the trees…. It brings a sense of peace.
Here, in Woodenfrog Campground, we have a chance to see exactly how self-contained the RV is, as there are no hookups here. (But there is Internet throughout the park!) The RV has two AGM batteries (in addition to the Dodge Promaster engine battery) that are powered by solar panels, a gasoline powered generator, and the alternator of the Promaster’s engine. We have a 2/3s-full fresh water tank and empty black and grey water tanks. We also have enough food for quite a few days. We are only here for a night or two, but it’s a good test, never-the-less, of our being self-sufficient.
We like to walk, but every 10 minutes it starts to rain, (yes, folks, it does rain – a lot – in the summer here). That’s why everything is so amazingly green. We took a chance and did take a walk in-between rain showers and ended up being very lucky. As soon as we returned, it started pouring again.
A quiet night, a cup of chamomile tea, a good book, the two of us. “I think I’m going to like it here” (Annie). FYI: sunset is at 9:20.
Day 2: After a great night’s sleep (I do sleep better here), we woke up to a sunny morning. After davening and breakfast, we took a walk to an indescribably beautiful lake, Kabetogama Lake, where we could see some of the islands that make up Voyageurs. It sounds like I keep repeating myself when I talk about beautiful scenery but the hits just keep coming, and, after all, that is why we’re here. When they wrote the song “America the Beautiful” they knew what they were talking about.
After some more exploration, we walked to an overlook and hiked to Beaver Pond (nobody home). We then decided to figure out where we wanted to be for Shabbat. The campgrounds here were too rustic for us to be comfortable, even the private ones. After calling around we found two options: a campground at Two Harbors, Minnesota on Lake Superior, which had full hookups and a cancellation for the weekend; and a 118-year-old modern orthodox shul in Duluth – the person Sima spoke with said we could park in the shul’s lot (no hookups) and join a congregational lunch on Shabbat. We decided on Duluth. More on that after we have the experience.
We have chosen to drive to Duluth via the Scenic Byway of the Superior National Forest; this will take us to the shores of Lake Superior, and we will then drive down the coast to Duluth. We drove today (Thursday) to the beginning of the Byway and found a campground. Here we will stay the night in a quiet, wooded area, again surrounded by trees and the sounds of nature.
For those who have asked, we will be posting more pictures and responding to your comments, as we can.
Bill and Sima
Yes! You are in the Groove now! ! So happy! Love the writing team.the photos are like picture post cards. Can smell the air after the rain! !! Something about quiet green forests. Ahhhhh.
Really enjoying reading your blogs! Shabbat shalom sue g
A little Minnesota lore from an ex-Frozen Chosener. I believe that shul in Duluth hosted the brit of Nobel prize winner Robert Zimmerman, a.k.a. Bob Dylan. In shulused to sit next to Shepsel Roberts a.k.a. The Minnesota Mohel and asked if he “did” Zimmerman/Dylan. After a bit of thought he remembered the brit having been in Duluth even though the famiy was from Hibbing. Ask the peopple in Shul for a confirmation.
FYI, back in the 19th and first half of the 20th century the small towns, like Hibbing, across the Northern Minnesota “Iron Range” used to house small Jewish communities with Duluth serving as the local “big city”. All that was mostly gone by the time that we lived in Minnesota. I’m surprised to hear that the modern Orthodox shul in Duluth still functions.