A brave tree hanging on for dear life on a cliff overlooking the gorge on the Cascade River.

Pigeon River defines the US/Canadian boarder as it pours towards Lake Superior in northern Minnesota. It is home to the 120’ High Falls, the tallest falls in Minnesota. First thing in the morning, we bee-lined for the falls. The plan was to start at highway 61’s apex and work our way south back to camp.

The trail to High Falls included lots of boardwalks and stairs. Finally, when we stepped out from the forest, the impressive High Falls lay before us. There were a couple of perfectly placed viewing platforms that allowed us to gawk - just gorgeous.

Lots of boardwalks makes the trail going toward High Falls an easy hike.

The milky Pigeon River as it runs many rapids below High Falls.

Next stop - the Grand Portage National Monument, a preserved fur trading post from the 1600s. Trappers brought their furs to this post and the furs were shipped out on long freighter canoes, built of birch bark that could haul 4 tons of goods. The canoes were amazing feats of engineering.

The main building at the trading post.

Obviously, a replica of a teepee at the trading post.

Examples of fur pelts that were traded at the trading post.

The trading post looks pretty comfortable for being so far out in the boondocks.

The trading post resembles a frontier fort.

Gorgeous overlooks of Lake Superior at the Grand Portage National Monument.

Somehow, we missed the Devil’s Kettle, a disappearing water falls that I had slated for a visit. I didn’t see any signs and I didn’t input the stop into Google Maps, so apparently, we drove right by the turn off.

We did stop off at Judge C. R. Magney State Park along the Gauthier Creek and at a wayside next to the mouth of the Kadunce River. Both featured trails along the rivers.

The Gauthier Creek at Judge C. R. Magney State Park.

Grand Marais, perhaps the quaintest town on the Highway 61 north shore, deserved a stop. We picked up a couple of $4 coffees-to-go at a coffee shop and walked the streets. (Gas station and truck-stop coffee really suck, and these coffee-house coffees are very good, but, jeez, they are so ridiculously expensive.)

Two restaurants caught my attention. The first was called “South Of The Border”. I looked over the menu looking for Mexican cuisine, but it was all American fare - burgers and all. It finally dawned on me - South Of The Border referred to the Canadian border (Duh!!). But across the street was a restaurant advertising tacos served in Indian fry bread. OK, that sounded fun. As tempting as that interesting combo sounded, it was too early for supper and we passed.

Cool rustic shops and buildings at Grand Marais.

Hotel beaches along the waterfront at Grand Marais.

We didn’t eat here - hot dogs aren’t the same as taco trucks.

The next super-falls was located at the Cascade River State Park. A long hike led us to a tumbling series of falls on the river. These falls, along the Cascade River, should not be confused with the Cascade Falls on the Baptism River. Actually, just about every river and falls on the north shore could be named Cascade.

Our final waterfalls stop was at the Caribou Falls State Wayside along the Manitou River. This was a rugged hilly trail that featured a couple of terrific waterfalls, worth every grudging step up the steep hills.

Things we missed due to time constraints include: Driving up the four inland roads into the wilderness - Arrowhead Trail, Gunflint Trail, Caribou Trail, and Sawbill Trail. These four gravel roads access the famous Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota. We also missed checking out the Lutsen ski hill. In the summer, Lutsen runs the gondolas to take tourists up the mountain for great views, or so we read. Next time!

We got back to Silver Bay just in time to find out that, due to lack of employees, the restaurant featuring a Taco Tuesday special, closed early and we missed out. I guess we should have gotten some of those Indian fry bread tacos.

Glossary of terms used for newcomers: 1) V-Jer. The name of our camper. 2) Saturn. The name of our Van. 3) Duende. Our mischievous gremlin that breaks things. 4) Tata. The good gremlin that helps us fix Duende’s dirty work. 5) The Black Hole. This is what we call Walmart because every time we go in for just a couple of items, we come out spending way more than we figured. 6) QT. Quaint Town. 7) Little Buddy. This is what we call our Dyson cordless stick vacuum. 8) “ing-ing”. All the activities that we enjoy that end in “ing” - hiking, ebiking, motor biking, camping, boating, swimming……

Dave and Wanda

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