WISCONSIN and MINNESOTA

3 July 2012: We have arrived in Wisconsin. A very grand Visitors Center indeed. We let them know we had 24 hours in this upper part of Wisconsin and asked what we should see. They invited us to spend the day touring the Visitors Center. Yes, it would have taken that long, but we headed up the coast instead of cutting right across in order to see the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

Wisconsin Visitors Center, Hurley.

Red Cliff Indian Reservation, from where you can see the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

Lots of farms along the way.

And buttercups along the roadsides!

This dock seems like it is full of dirty water...

But we find that this part of Lake Superior has the same brown tinge.

We cross from Wisconsin into Minnesota.

MINNESOTA

Thom and Sheila with Duluth in the background. The St. Lawrence Seaway goes from Duluth to the Atlantic, a distance of 2,300 miles.

I'm afraid we had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to bring you something unique from the part of Minnesota we drove through. This is the Big Fish Restaurant just west of Bena.

We start to see the results of the previous night's storm in the areas it hit hardest.

As we get closer to Bemidji, our destination for the night, the damage is worst.

You can see why White Oaks campsite became vacant in time to receive us.

Bemidji had 80 mph straight line winds that took down hundreds of trees, either snapping them or tearing them out by the roots.

4 July 2012: We drove into Bemidji and saw a lot of damage; people were busy clearing up.

If you think these houses had a lucky break, look again...

Double lucky!!

Thom at the Mississippi River where it is narrow enough to get in a photo.

We saw lots of farms.

But as we go further west in Minnesota, BIG farming becomes more evident.