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I woke up on the ground, but it was amazingly comfortable. It hadnt rained and the morning weather was delightful. I decided that before eating a real breakfast it was probably best to pack up and leave the site...so as to avoid any possible conflict.
I got directions from a gas station where i bought a croissant sandwich with weird stuff in it that i most likely would never otherwise have bought, but i was hungry and perhaps slightly delusional because of it due to my less-than ideal meal following the long bike ride the day before. I looked at the clock and saw that it was only 6:30 AM, so I probably could have "slept-in" if I had wanted to...
I headed towards downtown Duluth to see what I could see.
i Saw an early morning highway cop stop. they probably did it.
I was greeted by a train museum which was introduced to me by some old school wooden box cars. classic. their engine was rusting and probably no longer operational, but I love trains, and I loved it.
wheN i got to the fork in the trail, I decided to head into downtown via the trail next to the railroad museum, because, lets face it; trains are awesome. even if you dont like them, you can't deny the impresiveness of the power tons of rolling rolling steel rumbling past you. these trains were not moving, yet their power was ever present.
I rolled around downtown but diddnt really heed too much attention to the buisnesses because I was headed to one p[ace: Lake superi0r.
I diddnt pay too much attention to camera settings so alot of my pictures look weird. these pictures have a way-too-fast shutter speed and are much too dark. live and learn.
I rode up and down the lakeside walking/biking trail. I saw a tent on a secluded cove and decided right then and there that this night, i would be camping upon the shore of lake superior.
A short while after determining this goal, I received a call. Mothernature on line two. I found some port-o-potties but they were locked. I looked for a decent place where I could be hidden yet efficient without leaving my bike (and ALL my stuff for that matter) open to someone who might want to call it theirs...you know, big city paranoia one brings with themselves even after being removed from that element. The morning joggers were emerging which invalidated most spots available to me. Really the only place I could find was between two large boulders where if i WAS to be seen, my head would be the only thing visible. the problem with this location was that it was RIGhT directly in front of a vietnam veteran memorial. no go. I had to find a more suitable location.
I rode along a line of buisnesses and I DECided to catch breakfast at an italian cafe deal and thus legitimately use their facilities as I had nourishment conjured up for me. When i got all settled in and ordered my food, i went to the bathroom and discovered the reason behind the odd looks i got from the two guys that worked there. when I looked in the mirror i looked ROUGh. there was a smudge of dirt on my cheek and there were a few dead bugs glued on my face probably by the sweat of the previous day. i remember all the bugs i found in my hair on my arms the day before so it made sense. I washed my face, draNK my espresso, ate my food and headed on my way.
Now, what to do? since I diddnt know what was worth seeing, I decided to see everything from the TOP. so up i headed.
duluth is very hilly. in fact, it's on the side of a hill. i might even risk calling it a mountain. seriously, some people who live in the cities were surprised when i told them about how NOT flat Minnesota is... in some parts at least.
at a certain point most of the way up the mountain I was already pooped since the climbing was steep buisness. I asked a lady for directions i think, but I might also have asked her for stuff worth seeing while i was there. we chatted for a bit and when she discovered my method of travel she offered a spare room in her house, which i declined as politely as i could citing my goal of sleeping next to the lake for free. She pointed me in the direction of Enger tower and offered me a map of Duluth which I also declined since the excitement of being lost is better than knowing where I am going and how to get there, yet have nothing really to do once I did get there.
I headed towards the tower and overshot it by about a mile discovering I had done so once reaching a scenic overlook where I chatted with some people who asked about my travels.
I could have sworn i took pictures at the overlook but I cant seem to find them. I will update when i do.
Duluth (as seen as seen from atop Enger tower)
Following that, I proceded to University Of Minnesota Dultuh (UMD) which turned out to be one huge building. I took this opportunity to hang out all the stuff that might have gotten somewhat wet the night before and ate my lunch.
UMD music building. looks slightly evil to me.
Once again I received a call from Mother nature to which I had to answer inside the UMD monolith getting only slightly lost. the place made me think of a space station, I imagined it during the winter encasing the population withing shielding the people from the elements. If the winters in the twin cities were bad, I ould oly imagine what they were like here. honestly I am intrigued and might find out for myself sometime.
I headed back downtown towards a surplus store I had passed earlier that morning and bought a knit cap and a tent floor liner. following that I went to a grocery store to purchase a low-budget dinner consisting of a loaf of artisan bread (i actually bought this at the bread store, not in the grocery store), canned black beans, a few banananas, and canned corn.
I headed into the heart of downtown and bought myself another book on ancient mesoamerican empires and cultures to add to my collection, and then proceded to a coffee shop where i would purchase and consume an espresso while charging my cel-phone . the dudes working were not much help in finding something to do for the night other than bar-hopping (nope) or clubbing (nope). Once done there I headed over the raising bridge (which I later found out I was not supposed to ride my bike across) to the island place. Someone remind me what its called please.
here I ran into a guy with a surfboard.
"Wow people actually surf here?" i asked
"what do you think" he answered kind of irked
"well yeah of course. dumb question. i was just very much not expecting that" i responded.
he seemed to lighten up after I told him where i was from after he asked me. he told me about lake superior surf club and complimented my helmet and the wild turkey feather protruding from it. I thnaked him and headed on my way.
I got to an intersection and saw a coastal public access thing so i decided to take a gander and really see for myself what kind of puddle this buisness really is.
DAMN DUDE ThAT REALLY IS ALOT OF FREAKING WATER
Duluth
from atop a sand dune. the orange spot is my bike from atop a sand dune. the orange spot is my bike
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