Lighthouses at Split Rock and Two Harbors

Yesterday we did a little sight-seeing in the area near Gooseberry Falls State Park. We started by visiting the quilt shop in Beaver Bay. I'll tell you about that in a separate post. For now, I want to tell you about the other sights we saw yesterday.

We started at the Lighthouse at Split Rock. Several of you (and much of what I have read about the area) stated that this was a must-see. We were very glad we stopped by since it was extremely interesting. The price of admission was a little steep at $9 each, but we were glad we did it.

We started our tour at the lighthouse keeper's residence.

Right at the front door was a wash tub. I'm so glad I've never had to do laundry this way.

There was a sort of "living room" just inside the front door, but this room would have been a multi-purpose room. There wasn't really any comfy sofa for sitting, but there was a rocker and a place to lie down.

And I knew you were going to enjoy seeing this beautiful treadle sewing machine.

Here's a part of the kitchen.

They had a pot of soup going on this wood-burning stove, and it made the place smell so homey.

They also had period music playing on this machine. We aren't absolutely sure, but we think this might be one of the original gramophones.

Here's the pantry.

All my life I've wanted to take a bath in a tub like this one.

I was curious to see what they had in their medicine chest. Vaporizing balm anyone?

There were bedrooms upstairs, and I knew you were going to love seeing these quilts. This is the master bedroom.

And two children's rooms.

Watch your step, please.

If you had lived where the lighthouse keeper lived, you would have seen this view looking south.

Here's another view of the lighthouse.

There were about two dozen steps to the top where the light was turning. This lighthouse is no longer operational. It ceased operation in 1969. It was built in 1908 after the "Storm of the Century" which occurred in 1905. Something on the order of 14 ships were sunk or heavily damaged in that storm. 141 ships total have been lost in the Great Lakes. It is a dangerous place because of the instant change in the waters when a storm comes up.

Mike was most interested in this gear apparatus, and he figured out how it worked. The keeper had to wind it about every two hours and a system of weights turned the light as it wound down. It turned on what was essentially a giant clock drive.

We couldn't get up to the area level with the light, and so this picture isn't very good taken from below. Still, you can see the heavy glass in the lens.

This gentleman was dressed in the authentic uniform of the lighthouse keeper. He told us, however, that this was too dirty a job to wear this uniform all the time. Instead, it was only worn on inspection days that occurred about every six months.

I was intrigued by the insignia on his lapels and hat that had a gold script "K" in the center. I thought about this for a bit and then figured out it stood for "Keeper".

We ended our tour in the gift shop where I picked up my refrigerator magnet and shot glass collectibles. When I took a liking to the occasional shot of tequila, we began purchasing shot glasses. It never was supposed to turn into a collection, but it has. Now, we reach in blindly to my three dozen or so shot glasses in the trailer (there are more in the camper), and pull them out randomly. It's kind of fun to see what destination turns up. 

Padsworth, this image is for you.

After that, we drove about 20 miles south to see this lighthouse in Two Harbors. The tour here was $5 per head. After being nicked $18 at the previous lighthouse, we decided to forgo the tour here. This was as close as we could get to this lighthouse, which is still operational.

There were a couple of quilt shops listed in Two Harbors, but both turned out to be long-arm quilting businesses. That sometimes happens with my quilt shop app. And so we returned to the campground at Gooseberry Falls, only this time, we took the turn where we could see the actual falls. Here is a panorama of the lower falls.

And I'll just say that this area was absolutely mobbed with people. It was a Saturday, after all; but we had the feeling it was Minnesotans getting in one last nice weekend getaway before the cold of winter sets in.

Airplanes, race cars, machines, and waterfalls are some of Mike's favorite things on this earth. Especially when we can get up close enough to feel the spray coming off the water.

These are the upper falls. One walks under the bridge of Hwy 61 to reach the other side.

Also, there was a sort of plaza with some signs explaining the structures, the bridge, and some of the other parts of the campground, which was built by the Civilian Conservation Core in the 1930's. We have been fortunate in our travels to see many of the works of the CCC. But recall that when I wrote my post from yesterday that I said I thought the area looked volcanic. In fact, it is. This sign explained the rocky shoreline.

And after that, we headed back to our trailer. We took Smitty out for a walk, and I used my macro lens to take pictures of some of the wildflowers near by. Does this look like wild lavender to you?

It doesn't smell exactly like lavender, but it sure looks like it. Here's another shot.

And I'm always a fan of these graceful grasses.

This one looks a lot like the Scotch Broom that grows wild in Oregon, but the plant is completely different.

If I saw these in someone's cultivated garden, I would call them Black-eyed Susans. I don't know if they have a different name when growing wild.

And then there was this one that looks a lot like a miniaturized version of Foxglove.

And this one. I'm betting someone out there can identify these.

So that was our day. I still need to tell you about the quilt shop, but I'll save that for a separate post. (You're going to love the regional prints I bought.)

So today we're back on the road heading for Bayfield, Wisconsin, and another new state for the side of the RV. Yay!!!! That will be our gateway to a view of The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Our original plans called for a boat tour of this area, but then I discovered our ultimate turn-around destination of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Now our plans are to simply see The Apostles from the shoreline, and continue on to Michigan (and another new state!) tomorrow. We already have purchased tickets for a sunset boat tour of the Pictured Rocks, and we're keeping our fingers crossed for good weather and sunny skies. From there, we'll be turning around and heading back west toward home, but there's still lots to see in between.

For now, it's time to get ready to hit the road again. It rained hard last night, but the skies are sunny this morning. We're hoping for better roads on today's journey. If all goes well, it should be a short day.