DULUTH TO CROOKSTON, MINNESOTA

We very rarely eat breakfast out, but I wanted to make our last morning in Duluth last as long as I could.  In this endeavor, Amazing Grace restaurant was the perfect accomplice – the service was so slow we considered leaving money to pay for our beverages on the table and walking out.  When it came, breakfast was mediocre, so our recommendation is to pass on meals here but purchase delicious bread from their bakery.  The muffins and scones in the bakery case looked yummy, too.

Finally released from the restaurant, we took our last walk on the shore of Lake Superior (sad face) and headed home.  Thirty minutes later we pulled out of the park, on to the main road – just as the alarm sounded on the Aerial Lift Bridge.  As the gates clanged down in front of us, we saw a big freighter far out in the lake chugging slowly toward the channel.  That means a minimum 20 minute stop, so Odel shut down the engine while I started the generator, turned on the air conditioners and started water heating in the electric teakettle to make a pitcher of iced tea for the day’s drive.  We had THE front row seat for one last freighter viewing.  :)

Twenty-five minutes later, the bridge span lowered, the arms went up, and we drove, drove, drove, 240 miles to Crookston, 30 miles shy of the MN/ND border.  For us, that’s a long driving day, 4 1/2 hours of sitting-still-in-our-seats time.  I know from other RV’ers blogs that we are wimps when it comes to travel – but I am so ready to get off my heinie after 4 hours!

By the time we pulled into little Central Park Campground (click here to read our review and see photos), I felt that Scoopy should be renamed the Grim Reaper.  Insects along Hwy 2, FEAR US!  Dragonflies.  Butterflies.  Bees.  Big, hard-shelled insects that sound like a rock but look like an egg yolk smashed on the windshield.  It was noisy, it was gross, and it was a BIG MESS when we arrived.

We had a pleasant walk through deserted Crookston this morning before we turned the key and headed out.  Half an hour later we crossed into North Dakota.  Tonight, Minot.  Yippee!  :)