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Apostle Islands National Park, Bayfield, Wisconsin, Class, Interstate State Park, Minnesota, Little Sand Bay Campground, Bayfield, WI, Mushrooms, Wisconsin

Northern Mushroom Tour

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Tuesday, September 23, 2025 

L:61 H:64

Martha picked up a brochure in the Farmhouse Restaurant about an outdoor class on mushrooms. We have wanted to do this for some time, so she called and scheduled it. Our last hike piqued our interest. There were so many mushrooms of all sorts. All of this rain and fog has made perfect conditions for mushrooms. They were just sprouting up everywhere!

northernmushroomtours.com

715-209-4748

by MBW

We drove to our meeting place and were the first to arrive. We talked with a gentleman who drove up, then two ladies who came. Arne Martinson, our leader, came next. 

I have added and supplemented from other sources since I can’t remember all the important information Arne gave us. I would love to take this class over and over.

Dressed in hiking pants with an unusual camera setup around his neck, 28 years old, Arne (pronounced Arnie) said we would follow a popular trail. The two ladies were at least knowledgeable and Dana carried a field notebook. He had instructed us to bring a bag or basket to collect mushrooms.

He said the purpose would be to introduce us to a variety of mushrooms and to give us confidence to pick and eat several of the varieties. By the time we got to the trailhead, it was already evident this was going to be a fun day.

His enthusiasm, level of knowledge and teaching abilities are great. It took me 30 or 40 minutes to finally start recording him. In the middle the recording somehow stopped. 30 minutes later, I restarted it. The woods were chock full of mushrooms. He was spotting things right and left, and the information was coming fast. Arne has a way of slowing it down and hitting important points.

  • LBM, little brown mushroom
  • Coral mushrooms
  • Chanterelles
  • toothed mushrooms
  • Dorol mushroom
  • Black Trumpet
  • Black Trumpets
  • Black Trumpets
  • Shelf mushrooms
  • DNE – do not eat
  • Shrimp of the Woods
  • Chanterelles

First there were the LBM’s, little brown mushrooms. There was a discussion of all the varieties, probably thousands of them. It can be hard to specifically identify them, so the simple rule for beginners is to not eat any of these. The Galerina class has over 300 species, some of which can be toxic, even deadly. “So let’s just stay away from these.” 

Later he would summarize toxicity. Pick and eat what you are absolutely sure of. “Send me a picture any time of ones you are not sure of.” He got two or three of those calls or texts during the morning. He pointed out some mushrooms that are toxic, meaning you may have an upset stomach, or you might get sick, or you might wish you had never eaten that mushroom, but he doesn’t personally know of anyone who has died from eating mushrooms. Don’t eat them raw. Clean them well before cooking.

Then there were the shelf mushrooms. There are some edibles in this category like Chicken of the Woods. There were two interesting points about this group. He counted rings on one to judge its age. Like rings on a tree stump, he said this mushroom had been there for eight years.

Another was the hoof mushroom which can be prepared and carry an ember for a long time. The Ojibwe used this to carry a fire from one camp to another (my addition). The mushroom is the amadou mushroom (Fomes fomentarius).

https://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/401698

There were the gilled mushrooms, with gills on the underneath. Again, it is too difficult to identify for certain, so for beginners like us, don’t eat them. Some have skirts on the stem. One is toxic. It has a bulb at the base along with a skirt, called the Destroying Angel. So stay away from gilled mushrooms, especially ones with skirts and bulbs. 

The other deadly one is the Autumn Skullcap, which can cause liver and kidney failure. I think he said he has not seen either of these mushrooms in this area.

Interestingly, he said all animals in the forest eat mushrooms – bears, deer, squirrels, etc. “Everyone OK with going off-trail?” Then we are walking through the forest. Bending over to show us a pretty mushroom, he turns his head and gets very excited. Under a rotting log are tiny mushrooms attached to the log. 

“These are (some name I can’t remember) and they had never been found this far north until I reported finding them here. I wrote an article about it with a picture on the cover,” he said proudly. 

Like a professor, he is a member of the Mycological Society, going to meetings often, and goes to Colorado to explore and lecture. “I’m a total geek,” he said. His enthusiasm is contagious.

There were a number of mushrooms of interest that were unusual or pretty that he talked about, like coral mushrooms. Then he got excited. “Hey look at these! Black Trumpets!” I couldn’t see them. “They are everywhere!” Still couldn’t see them as he anxiously picked them, handing some to others, picking off the dirty bottom of the stem. “When you get them home, unfold them and wash them in a salad spinner just like you do lettuce. Keep them in a paper bag in the refrigerator. They should keep about a week and a half.”

I bent over to finally see them growing through the leaves. 2-4” in height, they did look like trumpets, and they are hard to see. Everyone was busy picking them. “Mushrooms are a living organism that lives underground and puts up shoots, or fruit above ground. It is the only animal or plant that you can harvest and not harm the organism itself.” You really are harvesting the fruit.

“Sauté them in a pan with nothing in it. You will be surprised how much water comes out. As it cooks down a bit, add butter and cook until crispy. Get a good Alfredo sauce and put it over pasta or rice. Dana said, “Makes a great risotto.” These are so unique, you really couldn’t mistake them.

Chanterelles were another group we found that everyone was collecting. https://foragerchef.com/chanterelle-mushrooms/

The Black Trumpets can sell for $140 a pound at farmer’s markets, We also found porcini mushrooms, another prized mushroom that Dana nicknamed the pancake mushroom. He encouraged such names as it can help you remember. Learning all the names can be difficult. The Porcini is an Italian name, meaning piglet. Cut them to see if there are bugs. How do you know if it is a Porcini? it is a Bolete. It feels like a spongy underside. It is called the King Porcini. It has a netting. There are no deadly Bolites in the world. Porcinis are easy to identify. They are red and brown, and the white stem and netting. Spongy. They are better dried with a dehydrator, or put in the oven at the lowest temperature possible, then vacuum-sealed.

He sliced the cap of a mushroom, which helps identify it. The first one bled blue, getting more intense with time. Dana pressed the cut piece on her notebook, and it printed a cool blue. Surprisingly, when it dried, it didn’t smear or spread. Others bleed other colors. Some ooze liquid with different flavors. I tasted one he said was spicy. It took a minute, but then the burn came like a hot pepper.

Lactifluus piperatus, commonly known as the blancaccio, is a basidiomycete fungus of the genus Lactifluus. The fruiting body is a creamy-white mushroom which is funnel-shaped when mature, with exceptionally crowded gills. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactifluus_piperatus)

As we got back on the trail, Arne turned around and said something like: You know humans have learned to conquer the world. We have cut down the trees, ruined the fisheries, and killed the game. Foraging for mushrooms takes you to quiet, peaceful places that help us become a part of nature, instead of a destroyer. Much like fishing or hunting, it takes you to beautiful places, helps you to see what is there. The nice thing about mushroom hunting is we are not killing anything, and we lose ourselves in the environment. 

It was a great class with a great teacher!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boletus_edulis

https://www.shroomer.com/porcini-mushrooms

https://www.shroomer.com/porcini-mushrooms/

inaturalist app was recommended, but not always reliable on edibles, although helpful in identification.

Apostle Islands National Park, Bayfield, WI, Bayfield, Wisconsin, Casper Trail, Madeline Island, WI, Little Sand Bay Campground, Bayfield, WI, Madeline Island Museum, WI, Myers Beach, Apostle Islands NP, Siskiwit Falls, Cornucopia, WI, Wisconsin

Madeline Island

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Saturday, September 20, 2025 

L:59 H 75

Martha loves a farmer’s market, so we went to Bayfield. It had been cloudy and a bit of rain, but by the time we got there, it was a sunny, beautiful day. It was a nice, little market with about 12 booths. Martha bought a couple of different mushrooms, a candle  and ……

  • Every week a different musician comes to play

We walked down to the water and sat on a little dock, admiring the view. We decided to take the ferry over to Madeline Island. It runs every hour on the hour, returning on the half hour. It is the only inhabited island of the 21 Apostle Islands, named by Jesuit priests for the 12 apostles. 

I love walking the docks, looking at the boats. As we walked the Bayfield docks, every boat was a winner. The Apostle Islands make for great sailing, so there were a lot of sailboats. Lots of people were scurrying around, loading coolers, some with music playing. Turns out there was a two-day regatta. 

  • Maritime Museum

We put our things in the truck, got a sandwich at a little shop and walked a few blocks to the ferry. Since they do this all day, every day, they were very efficient. It’s about a 15-minute ride across the bay. With a clear blue sky and sailboats headed for Hermit Island, it made for a pleasant ride. 

We had no idea what to do on Madeline Island, so we sat in a gazebo, ate our lunch and looked at the town map. I was surprised at all the cars and trucks on the ferry. There was also a group of bikers. Somehow I envisioned a more remote atmosphere. It’s a relatively large town with the usual things. We opted for the museum first. We could have rented bikes, but it’s a big island. This might be the occasion for an electric bike.

The museum was surprisingly good. A pretty, young lady and an Objibwe man greeted us. We asked for two senior tickets. She asked is we were veterans. Martha said I was, but I don’t carry a card. The young lady said, “That’s OK, we don’t check ID’s anyway.” My phone battery was about drained, so Martha asked if they had a charge cord. The man rummaged around in the back and found one. 

I charged it as we watched a fast paced movie of the history of the island. The Ojibwe people had some disagreement and the tribe split, half migrating west, ending up in these islands. They built their beautiful birchbark canoes, sliding through a great marsh while thrashing wild rice into the boats. Fishing and hunting were great.

The white men came, trading furs. The Jesuit priests came, and then the tourists came in summers. Like most museums, it’s hard to take it all in, but I was intrigued by the boats. There were tools, starting with the Ojibwe, then the early European settlers. I liked the coffee roaster. 

Walking back to the original museum, a man dressed in early settler attire, greeted us. This building was like an old cabin. Actually, the man said, it was three buildings combined – a cabin, the original jail, and something else that was brought in. 

I asked what the difference was between the Chippewa and Ojibwe. He said they are the same people, but the Chippewa had a different way of sewing their moccasins. Hanging on one room was a sleigh, older than ours, but very similar. It’s a great museum. We thanked them and put a 20 in the donation box. 

We walked a couple of blocks to the bike shop. A very large crowd gathered at a municipal building. It seemed like the whole town was there. A couple of doors down was another crowded place with a different atmosphere.

At the bike shop, mopeds and electric bikes were lined up outside, but the door was locked. Martha went next door to ask. They said there was a funeral that many people in town were attending. That accounted for one of the large gatherings we had seen. This seemed a great way to see the island. Perhaps another day.

The town map showed a trail across part of the island, so we walked up the main road with yellow lines down the middle and a fair amount of traffic. Heck, it was as large at the Trans-Canada highway! 

It took us 20 minutes to get to the Capser Trail, a well-maintained trail through a pretty forest. A couple of loops would make a longer hike, but we weren’t up for that. Early on, it went through a beautiful stand of big white birch trees, and later what I thought were black birch, but my plant identifier app said they were big quaking aspen.

We came out to another road and followed it to the ferry. Our timing was good. There was only a short wait. We sat next to a gregarious couple. They were celebrating his 80th birthday with their children, and had been to Tom’s Burned Down Cafe. Tom’s is apparently a famous place, but it burned down. After some time, Tom bought a trailer and opened back up, saying, “I ain’t done yet.”

They had been drinking Bloody Marys, and although not drunk by any measure, he was talkative. They have been coming here from the St. Croix area for years. They had a sailboat and love sailing these islands. “Best place to sail in the world!” He pointed out a boat in the distance that they sailed yesterday. The boats were sailing against the wind now, moving slowly.

The wife asked us where we had been and where we were going. She suggested following the Mississippi River south. She said it is quite pretty, and there is a lot of history. I thanked her and said I would look into that. She also said to go to the little town of Cornucopia, just west of our campground.

Back on land, we walked back up through the busy, little town of Bayfield to the truck. It was only 2:30, so we drove to Cornucopia just to get a preview. There is a busy marina on the north side of the highway. We turned left to find a “town” composed of 5 buildings. the interesting one was a very large general store. I’m quite sure that would be interesting, but having gotten up this morning at 3:00, I was pretty tired.

We turned left at the stop sign to see the rest of the town, but there wasn’t any. We were getting ready to turn around when we saw a sign for Siskiwit Waterfall. We were the only ones in the parking lot, but as we walked down a pretty, little trail, we saw people on the other side on another trail. 

It was a very unique cascading waterfall over solid rock. I don’t know how far this goes, but we followed it for 300 yards. A sign posted limits for trout and salmon. The river was crystal clear and depth would be measured in inches.  Looking up the name later, I would find a site for “18 Waterfall Hikes Near Cornucopia!”

Heading back to camp, we stopped at Myer’s Beach in Apostle Islands National Park. Cars had filled the parking lot and spilled out along the entrance road. It was Saturday, sunny and warm, but hardly swimming weather. A large sign warned of the dangers of kayaking here. If you turn over, you have limited time to get upright. In 30 minutes your hands and feet will get numb. In an hour you will lose consciousness. Martha read another warning  for the current lake water temperature. It was 47 degrees!

But another part of the sign showed the attraction, and a large part of the attraction of the Apostle Islands – sea caves, arches and tunnels. Several kayaks were returning from their trip. The beach is very long and pretty.

The drive back to camp didn’t seem so long, and we saw 6 more turkeys. Now I was very tired. Martha made a very nice dinner of pork chops and cooked the mushrooms with peas in butter. Yum!

Apostle Islands National Park, Apostle Islands National Park, Bayfield, Wisconsin, Little Sand Bay Campground, Bayfield, WI, Maritime Museum, Bayfield, WI

A Rainy Day In Little Sand Bay

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Friday, September 19, 2025

L:58 H:63

It was a rainy, gray morning, which was nice to catch up on a few things – emails, a little news, the blog, etc. Since the Apostle Islands Cruise was cancelled yesterday due to high winds, we had scheduled for today. However, it wasn’t looking so good for today either, so we rescheduled for Sunday. 

We kept looking at our schedule. we might not even see this national park at this rate. We are supposed to leave on Wednesday for St. Croix National Scenic River. We considered cancelling that to give us more time here.

After lunch, we decided on two things we could do in the rain – the Maritime Museum and driving “The Fruit Loop.” Parking in Bayfield is a trick, but we are getting the hang of it. In front of the museum a man was building a small boat. A volunteer, he was very polite in telling us what he was doing, and he loves working with wood. It was like a boat museum in Newfoundland where volunteers built a boat every year, then auctioning it to raise money for the museum. The Bayfield volunteer said they haven’t caught onto that yet. 

It was very cool inside, with displays of big and small ships and fishing boats. There was a display of the shipwrecks around Apostle Islands. I was fascinated by the display of sailboat rigging. Around the corner Martha worked on a hands-on display of knot tying. We might have stayed there for an hour, but others wanted to try it. 

There were engine displays, both big and small. The one that intrigued me was an old Indian recording of how he built birchbark canoes. A real birchbark canoe was standing against the wall. I would like to listen to that again. He looked for a special birch tree and told how he stripped the bark, sealing the seams with pine pitch. The frame was made from a special northern white cedar. He said he only cut three of them down in his life.

On our way out, Martha put $20 in the contribution box. The man working the front thanked us with a smile and said, “Ring the bell.” After looking around, I pulled the string beside the door, ringing the bell. Outside was a big bell from a boat, so I gave that a ring too. 

We walked over to the fish store. Most things had been sold because the weather had limited fishing. They did have some whitefish liver, which we had seen on the menu at Manypenny Bistro. The young lady behind the counter said she had never had it, but reports are that it is similar to chicken livers. “It’s a thing here.”

This area is big for fruit farms, and there is a drive that takes you past some of the farms that have shops, stores or roadside stands. Apples are big, but also blueberries, raspberries, grapes and more. It was raining pretty hard when we stopped at the first one, Apple Hill Orchards.

I thought he had an Aussie accent, but he was from England. A soccer player, he had traveled to many places, but he always liked this area the best, so he and his wife started this orchard. We bought a bag of Courtland apples on his recommendation, a candy apple and an apple crisp. He was a nice chap, and we enjoyed talking to him. We were going to the farmer’s market tomorrow, so there was no sense in stopping by more farms.

Missing one of our turns, we ended up driving by a lot of the farms, wondering what was being grown. We saw 24 turkeys on our 30-minute drive, plus a beautiful red fox dashing full speed across the road. Later I looked up what turkeys eat, since they seem to proliferate here. Acorns are a staple of a lot of wildlife, but turkeys are omnivores. They eat insects for protein, acorns, and they love fruit. They will eat apples on the ground and berries from bushes, but also clover, grass and other soft greens. No wonder they do well here.

We stopped at a tiny log house with a sign. We have passed it a number of times, but had other things to do. Interesting story.

Back at camp, we drove around a bit and found the closed visitor’s center had WIFI, but it is only strong at the building. I took my computer over and loaded pictures for the blog, We can get one bar of cell service in the Airstream, but our cell booster gives us one more. That’s enough to get messages and emails, but not enough to upload pictures, and surely not videos. Moving my phone around the trailer, I get one bar sitting at the table, two bars in the cabinet above the refrigerator and three bars up against the booster. I’ll try to find a way to hang the phone there.

Martha made a fine dinner of pork chops and mushrooms from the farmer’s market, cooked in butter with peas – very good.

Apostle Islands National Park, Bayfield, Wisconsin, GMC diesel, GMC Sierra diesel check engine light, Little Sand Bay Campground, Bayfield, WI, Manypenny Bistro, Bayfield, WI, Turkeys, wild, Wisconsin

A Day to Remember

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Thursday, September 18, 2025 

Walkie told us to return in the morning so he could install a new air filter and clean the sensors. He called in an order for the filter yesterday, saying it would be delivered about 9:00. We arrived at 9:45. I wondered how he could get reliable deliveries in his remote location on Fire Tower Road.

It was a little cooler this morning – about 60 degrees. His garage door was closed, so I walked around to the side door admiring an old Ford truck parked beside it. The shop was warm and soft music was playing. Two trucks were parked inside and Walkie slid out from under the one on the right. I told him to finish what he was doing, but he said, “I got the filter. Let’s go put it in.” 

I asked why he doesn’t have a lift or two. “I can’t because the floor is heated. Besides I like working on the floor. Keeps me limber.” He grabbed the filter and an old, wire milk grate to which he had neatly attached a board. He used that as his step stool. 

Outside I popped the hood. He went to work loosening the cover as he explained what he was doing. “Big engine like this needs air, a lot of air. Restrict the air and she won’t burn right. We’ll clean the sensors. They can get dirty too.” I asked if we could just take all this stuff off. “Sure, we do it all the time. The military trucks don’t have it. Many state and police trucks don’t have it. Imagine a military truck in combat and it suddenly gets throttled back like yours because a sensor was dusty.” 

He replaced the filter and tore off the label from the box and handed it to me. “You should do this regularly.” He went inside to get a can of spray sensor cleaner. I should have videoed the whole thing. He was talking while he removed three or four sensors and sprayed them all. “These things get dust and dirt in them and should be cleaned every time you change the filter.” I took the old filter and the box inside and put them in the trash in the back of the shop. There were cans of Stella Artois in the bottom.

I had wondered if changing a air filter could solve my problem, but Walkie was changing my mind. He said, “These things add up. Could be several things that lead to the overall problem. We’ll test it and see if the codes come back. If not, we’ll have to run the exhaust clean program. I hate to do it, because it runs the engine so hard.”

He hooks up his computer to the truck and starts it. “Using a computer to talk to the truck’s computer! Crazy isn’t it?” He deleted the codes. Although I was standing right next to him, I couldn’t read the screen, but the computer reads the codes and gives suggestions for treatment. Every time he deleted them, the codes came back.

Throttling back power. 

Check engine light. 

Door open. 

Hood up.

“Well we are going to have to do a regen. If that doesn’t solve it, you will have to take it to a dealer.” “OK, I said. As he started it, I told him they did that after they installed the catalytic converter. “Oh,” he said. The regeneration runs the engine, building to 2600 rpm’s. He went around back to check the exhaust. “Sometimes smoke will come pouring out.” 

This was about a 20-minute procedure as Walkie thumbed through the computer looking for readings for exhaust carbon content, but couldn’t find it. “GMC won’t give people like me the software. I can use generic software, but it doesn’t tell me everything. Ford gives us all the software. Dodge doesn’t give us the software either. I like Ford. They have their problems too, but at least I have access to all the tools.”

As we sat waiting, I asked him about the Ford truck next to the door. Sometimes a truck passes the beaten-up look and goes into a level of respect just because you know it has endured a lot. “That’s my truck,” he said. “It’s an ’03. It has 400,000 miles on it. That rust is what all the salt does to it. I drive it every day – use it for plowing snow too.” It too was a diesel. 

I asked how he learned all this stuff. So many mechanics come from dealers. “My dad was a mechanic, had a shop. I learned from him and many of the old timers.” He’s a very neat mechanic. His yard is clean and neat. The shop is clean. His work on the bench and under the hoods is neat and clean.

Finally the regen was complete, and he cleared all the codes. “Take it for a drive and see if they come back. He shoved the computer on the dash and went in the shop. I hesitated backing up, wondering if he was coming with me. I started to back out when he came out of the shop and got into the passenger seat. 

“Let’s go down through Bayfield and back up the other side. There’s a steep hill over there.” Apple orchards were on both sides of the road. “You don’t want to be here during the Apple Harvest Festival. Way too many people.” As we passed by the little town, he said, “Look at all the people. Wonder what’s going on.” We went up the steep hill with ease, no engine light, no throttling back. I told him we had seen 9 turkeys this morning. “We have lots of turkeys, and more every year.” 

“Turn at the trash can. That’s my road.” I was grinning as we pulled up to the shop, giving him a fist bump. “Well, it could come back, but you’ll be here for a few days. Just come back if the problem continues.” I asked how much I could pay him. “I’ll just charge one hour – $150,” he said. “Well, that’s not enough,” I replied. “That’s enough.” 

It was now 11:30 or so. That’s four and a half hours including yesterday, not to mention letting me watch while he was teaching like a college professor! I had given Martha all the cash I had. She had been sitting comfortable in the back of the shop the whole time. She said it was in the truck. so I went out to get $300, adding another $40 from my wallet. I grabbed the two six-packs of Stella Artois and went back in.

I didn’t see Walkie, but Martha said he went out back to open the dumpster. He has had a bear getting into it, so he put a bar across it. I gave him the cash and Stella, thanking him profusely. Looking at the Stella, he said, “Maybe I’ll start on it now.” I waived and smiled as we left. I felt like I was walking away from a good friend. 

We drove into Bayfield, thinking we could make the 12:00 cruise, but the wind was so bad, they were cancelling. Very nice people in there. I especially liked the guy for his understated humor. I asked if Captain Gilligan was going out tomorrow. That was not the captain’s name, just what he called that cruise because it was an old boat, taking twice the time to do the cruise. I asked him for a lunch recommendation. Never looking up from the computer work he was doing, he said Manypenny Bistro, “because they have a variety of things.”

Oddly, we had parked right beside it. After much deliberation, we ordered a 10” pizza, called “The Works”, a beer and coffee. Martha asked the young waiter if it would be enough. “Oh yes.” Perhaps he thought it was just for Martha. Best pizza I have ever had….. well, there was a deep dish pizza in Chicago years ago. It had pepperoni, Italian sausage, onion, mushrooms, green olives and mozzarella. Then he put down a nicely-organized box of condiments. Martha put red pepper on hers, while I used parmesan. 

Across the street, we looked around a cute little shop, buying a candle, a card and chewing gum.

Raven has stolen someone’s keys

We were relieved to be through with this truck problem. Of course it could come back, but I doubt it. Really, I got a little choked up thinking about it. What a special guy he was! How did we stumble onto him? Martha said, “Well we might as well go get the oil changed.” Walkie had recommended Quick Lube or Walmart. He couldn’t do it because he didn’t have a lift. “Also stop at Ron’s Auto Repair, but he’s busy.

We came to Ron’s first. There was a graveyard of ancient vehicles scattered around a yard that was very cool. Going up one more driveway, we came to the shop. There was a whole lineup of all sorts of vehicles. I knew we had no chance. As we walked toward the garage, Ron met us. “Can I help you?” I asked if he could do an oil change, and he said, “Come on in and let’s see.” 

A man sat in a line of chairs, and a lady in a separate room looked up. I greeted both as Ron thumbed through his scheduling book, sighing. “Can you come on the 30th?” We said we would only be here three days. He thumbed and sighed some more. We said we understand, and did he have a suggestion, telling him Walkie had sent us here along with his other suggestions. He smiled at the name and said to try “Superior” first. 

He walked us back out. I stared at a nice, little sailboat beside the shop. “A guy dropped that here, leaving a note to fix the brakes on the trailer. Didn’t matter when we got to it. A lady left that golf cart. She’s an attorney. I told her we don’t work on golf carts, but she said ‘you will mine.’”

In Ashland we drove main street, looking for Superior Auto, but only found it on the second pass. Mike greeted us, asking how he could help. I asked if they could do an oil change on this diesel truck. He looked quite perplexed, finally saying, “Well I won’t be able to put it on the lift with that kayak on top.” I told him that was no problem, we can take it off. “OK, pull it around back.” I drove around back. Before I could get out of the truck a young man was on the back loosening the straps. I took the other one off and he picked up the kayak and handed it to me. Martha and I both grabbed it and set it down. He hopped down and set the ties on the ground. 

Another man, Greg, came out to drive onto the lift. I said Hi Greg and said that’s why he’s such a handsome guy. “Liar,” he smiled. Before I knew it, the truck was on the rack, so we walked through the 3-bay shop to the office. “What kind of oil have they been putting in,” he asked. “I don’t know.” I asked him to put the best stuff in. He suggested a synthetic that would last 10,000 miles, and I agreed. Staring at windshield wipers on the wall, I asked him to put those on. He grabbed two and took them to his workers. 

Several people came in for work or to schedule work. Everyone seemed to know Mike, and he knew them. Several packages came, a receipt exchanged, and they were gone. Mike likes to fish, putting in on several bays. He said it was quiet, peaceful out there on the water, cruising between the islands. He catches lake trout, brown trout and salmon, though not many salmon, and they’re not too bit, maybe 30”! The brown trout can be 30” or more and taste as good as the small ones. He also catches large brook trout, “Coasters, you know.”

In short order they were done. I thanked Mike very much, paid the bill and walked through the shop. The kid had already put the kayak on the rack. We talked as I tightened the back strap. He is a duck hunter. The mostly shoot wood ducks and geese. “We have a lot of geese….and swans. Can’t shoot the swans though.” I turned around and he had gone back to work. 

My goodness, I thought as we drove back in a truck that was running great and oil that was good for 10,000 miles. My GMC dealer has me back every 5,000 miles. We passed a national wildlife preserve and stopped at a historic marker about Madeline Island and how it was named. We took a “wrong turn”, driving “The Fruit Loop,” with apple orchards, blueberry farms, cherry farms and wineries, seeing another 9 turkeys. What a great day it was!

Duluth, MN, Grandma's, Duluth, MN, Spirit Lake Marine and RV Park

The Lift Bridge

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September 16, 2025

Low 58 deg, high 80

We are staying southwest of Duluth in Spirit Lake Marina and RV Park. It’s a great spot really, backed up to the water with electric water and WIFI. It has good showers and a great store. It has antiques, boat supplies, RV supplies, coolers, fishing gear, nets and just cool stuff. 

Driving into the city, there is a great road system, except there are orange barrels everywhere, but very people working. Trying to get to the William A. Irvin Ore Museum was nearly impossible. Roads right at the museum were blocked. First we parked on a downtown street, but the meter only allowed one hour parking, then we had to walk back over the railroad tracks, down a hill where we could see a large outside parking lot. 

Walking back to the truck, we carefully made four turns to get to that parking lot, which was mostly empty. A pretty, young lady greeted us, asking where we were going. We said the Ore Museum, since we forgot the man’s name who dedicated it. She said we could turn around, drive down the street and park for free. Not wanting to get lost again and getting to a parking garage we couldn’t get into in a truck with a kayak on top, we paid the $10 fee. She said, “OK, then go into the lot, turn left, go around the something building, turn left and you will be close to the museum.” We thanked her and tried to remember what she said.

We parked in front of a movie theater, and in front of us was a huge freight ship. I said, “I think that’s the museum.” Well it was closed and not to reopen until a ghost tour in October. GEEZ! 

I’m not a fan of cities in the first place, but this one seemed to be putting up obstacles to keep people out. The other main attraction is the Lift Bridge, which is pretty cool. Instead of a drawbridge that opens to let ships through, it goes straight up. Duluth is a shipping port, and the freight ships are huge, so the bridge needs to go up high. 

By now it was lunchtime. Martha’s friend, Kasia, has a sister-in-law who lives here. A text soon came in suggesting we go to Grandma’s because they have a chicken tetrazzini special on Tuesdays that is great. Unfortunately, the outside deck overlooking the bridge was closed, so we sat inside. 

We ordered the special. Martha ordered hers with pasta, while I ordered mine on a bed of wild rice. It’s a pretty cool place with all kinds of old pictures and objects hanging on the walls and ceiling. Our meals came. which were big enough for four people. We would have leftovers for two nights. 

Walking outside we heard a bell ringing. “The bridge is opening,” Martha said. Three or four fishing boats and two sailboats were lined up on the other side as the bridge began to raise. Whoever controlled it must have known how tall those masts were, rising enough to give adequate clearance, but not a lot more. Then it came gently down and back into place. 

Across the bay we could see a freighter being loaded beside huge silos with 8-10 chutes. I would have loved to see that ship come under the bridge, but we had other things to do.

I was sorry to miss the Ore Museum. I have read a little about shipping on the Great Lakes and the Taconite Man statue in Silver Bay. The land around the west end of Lake Superior were huge iron deposits. Most of the high grade ore has been mined, but taconite is a low grade ore that is still mined and processed for making steel. 

Then I looked for where the top steel mills are. From Google AI: Gary, Indiana is one, and is on the shores of Lake Michigan. I was surprised to see Mississippi County in Arkansas, considered a leader in low-carbon steel. Middletown Works and Cleveland-Cliffs are in Ohio. Mon Valley Works near Pittsburgh, including the Irvin Plant. Other areas are Alabama, Fontana, California, Nucor in Charlotte has facilities across the country, US Steel in Lone Star, Texas and more.

Iron is not the only product mined in Minnesota. There are large deposits of copper and nickel are found in the Duluth complex. Northeast Minnesota has significant deposits of ilmenite, a titanium-rich mineral. Gold and diamonds are present in certain geologic areas. Manganese and zinc are present, but not currently mined. 

Duluth-Superior port is the #1 tonnage port on the Great Lakes, handling more than 35 million tons of cargo each year. Grain is the port’s top export, though iron ore and coal make up a larger portion of the total tonnage shipped. (Google AI)

With all this mining and shipping, it is little wonder that Duluth Trading Company became a great clothing company, except it didn’t start here. From Wikipedia: It was originally founded by two brothers, Bob and Dave Fierek, as Portable Products, Inc. in 1989. It focused on those working in construction and a tool accessory known as the “Bucket Boss.” The business grew to incorporate more tool accessories and storage equipment in a catalog under the banner of Portable Products. “As it grew, its headquarters were established in Duluth. by 1993, the catalog was expanded and entitled Duluth Trading Co.”

In the 90’s the company was bought by Fiskars and was sold again in 2000 to Gempler’s, moving to Belleville, Wisconsin. “The company created a successful line of shirts called “Longtail T-Shirts” which were designed to get rid of plumber’s crack. In 2003 it was sold to Lab Safety Supply. Duluth Trading Company’s parent, Duluth Holdings, went public in 2015 and they are still expanding today with plans to build 15 more stores this year.

Next we went grocery shopping at Whole Foods Co-op. Martha asked our waitress at lunch if it was a good store, and she said it was. It is an excellent store, well-organized with a nice staff. Martha asked if it has anything to do with Whole Foods, by Amazon. The lady bagging, who seemed much more than a bag lady, said it was not related and that they have been in business for 50 years. She was quite proud of the store and a good promoter.

“Since 1970, Whole Foods Co-op in Duluth, Minnesota, has been a community hub for quality food. Our Co-op started when an ambitious group of friends started a buying club in the basement of the Chester Creek house to buy and share bulk grains and other organic foods that weren’t available in regular retail stores. Over the past fifty years, the Co-op has grown to over 13,500 Owners, 150+ employees in 2 retail locations, and over $21 million in annual sales.

WHAT SETS US APART?

We pioneered local and organic groceries in the Twin Ports and are known for great customer service, a wide selection of local products, scratch-made deli foods, specialty diet offerings, and a strong commitment to community.”

After putting groceries away, we went to get propane. Martha asked in the camp store for suggestions, and he said Kimmes Oil & Tire in Superior, Wisconsin. It seemed a ways to go for propane, but I’m sure the shop owner knows best. We headed east past our laundry and across a very old, narrow bridge over the St. Louis River. The views down river were so pretty, I wanted to stop and get a better look, but that was not possible. 

The state line is the middle of the river. I felt like I was in a different country as we drove a nicely-paved highway lined with grass and forest. Going into the cute town os Superior, we found Kimmes Oil. Around back was the propane fill area, and a nice man came quickly out to fill the tank. He had a large “Believe” tattooed on his arm. While he was filling, Martha went inside to pay $17 for a 30 pound 9-gallon tank! 

“Kimmes Oil is a family-owned auto repair shop delivering honest and professional services to Superior, WI. Duluth, MN, and the surrounding areas. Schedule your appointment with us today!” I should have had an oil change there.

Back at the Marina, Martha sat out on the dock in the shade for about an hour and a half. I went out to join her for a while. Two ladies paddled into the cove in their kayaks. I waved, but they were not distracted from their conversation. On their return from the end of the cove, I waved again and got a return wave. “Did you come down from Thunder Bay?” “No, we live here. We are doing a duathelon. We biked this morning and paddling this afternoon.” “No drinking this evening after all that good exercise,” I said. “Well that ain’t going to happen,” she said as she passed behind a boat. 

From inside the Airstream

It was a beautiful, sunny day in a pretty spot.

Books, Duluth, MN, Finland Campground, MN, Mr. Sutton scrambled eggs, Spirit Lake Marine and RV Park, The Last Wild Road

On to Duluth

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September 15, 2025 

Low 57 degrees, high 73, sunny!

Finland State Park Campground was a great place to stay, peaceful, quiet, pretty. At first national forest and state forests, make me a little nervous. They are remote, and you don’t know what crowd will frequent them. This one couldn’t have been better. It is well maintained, clean and good facilities.

Martha made Mr. Sutton scrambled eggs using bacon, peppers and left-over french fries – yum!

It’s only an hour and a half to Duluth, but first to the dump station in Silver Bay. While preparing to hook up, I noticed a missing nut on the awning arm. I don’t care how many nuts and screws you carry, you can’t have them all. 

After dumping, I did Sandra Wheless’ blackwater treatment, putting soap and Borax down the toilet, then giving a generous flush. During travel this will slosh around and clean the tank. Probably should do it to the gray water tank too.

In Two Harbors we turned onto Scenic 61 that runs right on the coast. It is very pretty, with rest stops and picnic tables all along the way. You can ooh and ahh at the cute cabins and grand houses. Do they just come in summer? Certainly some are here year around. 

As we entered the city, there were many magnificent homes. Then it merged into apartments. We turned onto I35, which is under heavy construction, but the traffic wasn’t bad. We turned off of that and wound our way to Spirit Lake Marine and RV Park. Mostly, it is an eclectic boat harbor on Spirit Lake. 

We backed into site #4 and setup. When I went in the trailer, the water pump was going! I must have left it on when I treated the black water tank. Fortunately, no faucets turned on, or it could have been a very bad day. The galley faucet is usually the culprit, so we take the drain out of the sink and put a rubber band over the on/off lever. I had that problem in Oregon years ago when learned the hard way. the drain was in the sink and all that bouncing around closed it and opened the lever. I entered the trailer with a full sink of water and water all over the floor.

The probably was the pump was dry. I turned the pump off, removed the back panel of the storage cabined under the refrigerator and the little, clear bowl in front of the pump was dry. Once I added a little water, it ran fine. It was an easy fix that could have been much worse.

We had lunch looking out the window at the water and boats. We loaded up all the dirty laundry and went to another eclectic place, a laundry that used to be a car-side fast food restaurant. Two old carseats were outside. The neighborhood was a bit rough, but the machines were great. $5.50 for a large machine wash – in quarters. We filled two of those and sat in the only chair on that side of the laundry. The other side had smaller machines and one more chair. 

As Martha said, it would have taken into the evening if we had used the marina’s single washer and dryer. Besides, the people watching is good. One nice fellow brought four large trash bags full of clothes and loaded them into two even larger machines. He probably has nine children. He knows the routine and was very efficient.

Back with clean clothes and sheets, we put them away and made the beds. Having showered in the trailer for the last three nights, it was good to take a real shower. Then we fixed a drink and walked around the harbor, gawking at some beautiful boats. There were more sailboats than motor boats. One big, beautiful sailboat looked like it had many stories to tell. Similarly, one old Airstream got my attention. After a little investigation: The J in the serial number means it was made in Jackson Center, Ohio; 1 means International model (top of the line); 30 means 30ft; 5 means 1965. From https://www.airstream.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/1959-to-1980-Airstream-and-Argosy-Serial-Number-Decoder-2020-06-16.pdf. That is 61 years old and still in use!! I must say the quality was better then, when it was a family-owned business that employed local people who took a lot of pride in what they made.

Martha warmed up the chicken pot pies from Agostino’s, which were very good. 

This book has been the perfect bedtime read. He is a hunter and fisherman, who was a writer for Field and Stream Magazine. The stories are a page or two in length, sometimes a series of these. Last night it was how he loves coking in a Dutch oven. One was about how we use GPS on our phone so much, we can no longer use a map and topographic features (as our canoe friend said in Quetico).

Perfect bedtime reading
Cross River Falls, MN, Finland Campground, MN, Finland, MN, Illgen Falls, MN

Our Place and Waterfalls

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September 13, 2025 

57 degrees at 6:00, high of 63

Great news! The furnace is working!! 

We started the day with breakfast in tiny Finland at Our Place. It has been packed every time we have driven past, and it was busy this morning. Martha ordered pancakes and bacon, while I ordered a bacon and cheese omelet. Those were the biggest pancakes I have ever seen. There wasn’t room for the syrup to run off. 

As we left a motorcycle group came in. We headed north to pick up things we missed coming down Rt. 61. First was a stop at Illgen Falls. It was a half mile hike up a hill, then more steps coming down to the falls. It is a great waterfall, and will be even more spectacular in a week when the leaves reach peak. They are changing dramatically every day.

  • Illgen Falls

Caribou Falls was up next with a half-mile walk up a hill. We followed a group of ladies, chatting as they went. We exchanged pleasantries, then went ahead. Walking down 135 steps to view the falls, we again had conversations with them and they offered to take a picture of us. We returned the favor. It was a very nice group.

  • Caribou Falls, MN

Next up was Cross River Falls, right beside the road. The solid granite rock wall was impressive. Across the street was a bakery, so we went in and ordered a chocolate malt and a danish for tomorrow. It was a great malt.

  • Cross River Falls

Back to camp to chill for the afternoon, except for two more maintenance tasks. One of the Dometic cooktop burners was loose. I somehow remembered these things are fastened from underneath. With Martha’s help, we were finally able to reattach it. We were lucky to find the screw that had fallen out. The other was in Tara’s mother’s basket, where I keep unidentified screws and rivets.

We built a fire behind the trailer with some very smokey, green wood, and it set off the smoke alarm in the trailer.

Martha made a great dinner of wild Boar burgers from Agostino’s Deli in Thunder Bay. They were great.

Finland Campground, MN, Furnace

Finland Campground

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September 12, 2025 

51 degrees at 6:00, high of 64

We are moving to Finland Campground today, so we went to Zup’s Food Market in Silver Bay. A lady with a very good voice was singing briefly as we shopped fruits and vegetables. Then a young man sang as he stocked the shelves. He nodded and smiled as we passed. they had a very good supply of sausages and brats, and Martha bought some. We didn’t need a lot, but this is a good store.

I was taking a picture outside the grocery and nodded to a man approaching the store. He said good morning, then asked if I was from Canada. “No, but we are doing the Circle Tour around Lake Superior.” “Oh, and you are from Wisconsin?” I tied it together now. I was wearing a Wawa, Ontario sweatshirt and standing in front of a car with a Wisconsin license tag. 

Next we checked out the dump station, since none of the campgrounds have one. We drove up a big hill, saw the dump station and a sign pointing to a scenic overlook. We drove to the top of the hill, then walked a trail to the overlook, which probably was good when it isn’t socked in with fog. There has been nothing but fog since we arrived in Minnesota two days ago. 

Some may be wondering why we would checkout a dump station. When you leave a campground, you want to get on the road. You don’t want to drive around town looking for a dump station while pulling a trailer. You might get stuck in a place where you can’t turn around. 

Martha put groceries away while I hooked up. We pulled out a little after checkout time at 11:30. It’s only a 16-minute drive to Finland. What we have found here and in Thunder Bay is there is a large contingent of Finnish people comfortable in this climate. 

Finland is a cute little town with a general store and two restaurants, one called “Our Place.” Just past town we crossed Baptism River and turned right to enter the campground. We were happy to see our chairs still there. We backed in carefully, as there were big rocks on one side and a tree on the other. 

It started raining, so I sent Martha inside while I set up. It was one of those chilling rains. As we ate lunch, Martha wrapped up in her red blanket, and I knew I needed to fix that furnace.

I got my tools, put down my life preserver so I could kneel on it, and opened the furnace door. I turned it off and asked Martha to turn it on inside. That way I could test it from outside when I was done. 

I had tried to buy a new sail switch at Julie’s True Value, but the nice young man working the register asked, “a what?” He asked another worker, then went in the back and said, “Julie doesn’t know what that is.”

It’s a $12 part on Amazon. In all my searching, and thank God we had cell service, I could not find the bracket or cover. A new furnace costs about $1100 and probably another $500 in labor to install it. But you can buy all the parts for very little. I was getting very familiar with this furnace, but I might have to have it replaced in Duluth. 

“The primary purpose of a sail switch in an Atwood gas furnace is a safety device that prevents ignition without adequate airflow. It acts as a sensor, with a small rectangular “sail” that is moved by the furnace’s fan. This movement closes the switch, completing the circuit and signaling to the furnace’s control board that there is enough air to safely ignite the propane.”

from Google AI

It was drizzling rain, but the short awning kept me reasonably dry. I opened the door, unplugged all the wires and removed the circuit board, setting it on a piece of paper under the trailer. I saw water dripping on it, so I pushed it further under.

Now to remove the Velcro tape, but only on the cover, not the bracket in the back. I cut it about half way up the cover and worked hard to pull the bottom pieces loose, plus one more I put on the upper right side. Once free, I put wet newspaper over the tape that I won’t need to stick any more, as I will use the fuzzy Velcro to cinch it back up.

It was a struggle getting the cover out, and it’s a miracle I didn’t break it, or break the delicate sail switch inside it. I had to flex this semicircular cover to get it out of the cabinet, and I mean flex it a lot. Checking it, I was surprised I hadn’t cracked or broken it. 

The sail switch looked fine to me, but I wiped it with a Clorox Wipe and pulled it away from the cover a little. Then I carefully disconnected the wires, afraid I would break the connections. They looked clean, but I ran a wire brush over them, put dielectric grease on them and replaced the wires. It seemed like a good idea, so I applied the grease to all the connections.

The only other thing I could see was the blower wheel was dusty, so I cleaned between all the slats. There are a lot of them, so this took 30 minutes or so. 

Bending the cover to get it back in place, I kept pulling the Velcro tape so it wouldn’t bunch up under the cover. Thankfully, the wet newspaper did its job. Thankfully, the cover didn’t break as I pried it under the case with a screwdriver. 

Finally back in, I placed Velcro across the two ends to pull the cover tight – or as tight as I could. I had to refer to my beginning photograph to make sure I reattached the wires correctly. I held my breath as I turned it on. For 20 seconds the furnace blows air to test the flow, but then it fired up. Then it takes a minute or so to warm the air. It got hot, so I was very happy, and so was Martha Jean, but we have been this far before. We will have to see if it fires up on its own tonight.

Black Beach Municipal Park, Finland Campground, MN, Furnace, High Falls and Two-Step Falls

Hike High Falls and Two-Step Falls

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Thursday, September 11, 2025 

We went to the Visitor’s Center to get a day pass since we couldn’t get a campsite in Baptism River Campground. The young man suggested Finland Campground in the national forest, just past Finland, MN.

We talked for a long time with a nice lady working there. She is of Finnish descent and was looking forward to the first of November when the snows come. Apparently, she was a very good skier when she was young. Her brother was an Olympic skier, but women were not allowed in those days. 

She asked if we had gone to Harbor Drive in Thunder Bay where all the Finnish shops were. We had seen the road, but we had a busy time in Thunder Bay. Then she started talking about all the Finnish food. There was a wild rice salad for her daughter’s wedding and something like a Danish roll, but it was Finnish. She loves to make fish soup, telling us where to buy fish. She had some great stories, but we needed to get going.

The road to the parking lot was closed, so we parked at the campground shower house. Walking around the campground loop to the trailhead, a man stopped his car to chat. “The trailhead is closed. I think the only way to see the falls is from the bottom.” After a long discussion of why it was closed, we all decided to risk getting caught, and hike it anyway. If we saw danger, we would turn around. 

Off we went around the barrier, through the forest to a sign warning of 200 steps down to the lower falls. The wooden steps were wet and a bit slippery, so we proceeded cautiously. We got to the Step Falls where the rocks were slippery, but that didn’t stop Martha from going to the edge to get pictures. I stayed near the steps surveying the scene. 

200 steps back up, we followed the trail to the High Falls. There were more steps down. A bridge across the river was being repaired, thus the trail closure. Standing on a platform overlooking the river, was the man we talked to earlier. We said Hello and scared him to death. The roaring river kept him from hearing us talking behind him. We talked for a while before heading back.

We drove to Finland Campground in Finland State Forest to see if we could find a spot for the weekend. There was an abundance of places. With lots of space between sites, all of them looked good. We settled on #16, filled out a card and registered online – $17/night. We put out three chairs so no one would take it and drove back to Black Beach for one more night.

Back at camp, searching for our furnace problem, I took the seat out that was behind the furnace. The circuit board is flashing one intermittent blink, which means an air flow problem. It could be the ducts are blocked. I had checked inside the trailer and didn’t see anything. It could also be the sail switch isn’t working. I found dirt and a big spider web, but nothing blocking the duct that came off this side of the furnace. I may have to do the same on the next seat to evaluate the ducts coming out that side of the furnace. We have to move tomorrow to the national forest where there will be no electric hookups, thus no heat pump. I have to solve this problem. Martha does not like being cold.

Black Beach Municipal Park, Minnesota, Tettagouche State Park, MN, The Sisters, Grand Marais, MN

Drive to Tettegouche State Park, MN

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Wednesday, September 10, 2025

42 degrees at 5:00 am

We straightened up, hooked up, dumped, filled the fresh water tank and were on the road by 8:30. TCan 11 wasn’t so daunting heading back east. The road reconnected with TCan 17 west of Thunder Bay. Before the city, we turned south on 61. It was unexpectedly different and beautiful. Great farmland adorned both sides of the road before winding its way through small mountains and valleys. We crossed lovely streams and creeks.

Finally, we wound our way down to the border. “Where do you live,” the agent asked. “Did you buy anything?” “Alcohol? How long have you been in Canada? Where are you going? Have a nice trip.”

At first the road was similar, but by Grand Marais, it got busy. It was socked in with fog, so we couldn’t see the sights of Lake Superior on the left. There were lots of lodges, especially on the lake side. Cabins sat right on the lake, with some sitting 50-100 feet above it. We had a nice lunch at The Sisters’ Restaurant. I had a walleye sandwich while Martha had a whitefish sandwich. Both were good.

Next door, we did a little grocery shopping. A car wash across the street that would accommodate a trailer tempted me, but we opted to move on. Hiking in Tettegouche State Park is highly-rated, so I wanted to stay in Baptism River Campground in the park. The website was confusing, and I thought it was a first come, first serve campground. When we pulled into the packed Visitor’s Center, I knew it wasn’t good. Wednesday, and it was a very busy place.

We drove across a very narrow bridge and followed a very rough road to the campground. We asked a lady, who was walking from the shower house if it was first come, first serve. She said no, you have to go to the Visitor’s Center and book it. No sites were available, so we drove down 61 to Silver Bay and the Black Beach Municipal Park. We booked two nights. It was completely full on the coming weekend. We were glad to have a place to stay for the night. Too many people, but we will try some of the hikes in Tettegouche.

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