Back to the "Lower 48"

Sunday night while camping outside Thunder Bay, we were awakened by rain, then thunder and lightening (appropriate that the first thunderstorm since our first night of camping was near Thunder Bay). For the first time in a very long time, we had left the windows and vents open because it was warm enough, so I crawled out of bed to close up everything. Later when it had stopped raining, Ernie opened one of the vents and turned on the fan. Of course the rain wasn't finished and started up with a vengeance when we were too sound asleep to realize what was happening. By the time I got up, turned off the fan, and closed the vent, the floor, countertops, and I were all soaked! The next morning Ernie had to spend lots of time cleaning up everything we'd left outside (chairs, ladder, etc.) because they were all mud-splattered--verification again that camping in the rain is just not fun!

We drove through Thunder Bay, got an oil change, and headed south. This was the fourth oil change of the trip--we hit 13,000 miles Monday!

A few miles outside Thunder Bay, Ernie spotted this little guy digging in the bank alongside the road. I didn't have time to get the camera set correctly, so lighting is bad, but he was really cute! Ernie has some good video of him. No sign of Mama Bear.

His head down inside the hole he was digging--probably digging for bugs

Border crossing back into the "Lower 48" in Minnesota

Lake Superior

Lake Superior in Grand Marais, where we stopped for lunch

We drove along the coast of Lake Superior, but the view was limited since there were so many trees between the lake and the road, not to mention lots of clouds and fog over the lake. We drove as far as Two Harbors and stopped for the night, since Ernie was exhausted. After the experience of the night before and the forecast of more storms, we opted for a hotel again. We decided to stay until Wednesday, since the forecast is for thunderstorms Tuesday and Tuesday night, but sunny Wednesday. Delaying a day will also give Ernie a much-needed chance to rest a little more--the 13,000 miles is beginning to take its toll! Not sure of our schedule after tomorrow--depends partially on the weather, but we'll head to Wisconsin from Duluth.