20 - Grand Marais, Minnesota

We arrived at the pretty little town of Grand Marais and paid to stay at the campsite on the marina for five nights. This was due to the extremely low rate of $15 per night because they were operating on low season prices until 1st May. I was also very happy to get my second stamp on my Admiral form!
The town was very artsy with many art and craft galleries, most of which were closed. All the buildings were painted in lovely pastel colours which made the place particularly endearing when complimented by the cloudless blue sky.
We found a fantastic cafe, Java Moose Cafe, which we visited every day, not least because there was free wireless available. The cafe was small with comfy chairs, books and magazines to read, Java Moose merchandise and artwork on the walls for sale. The staff were very friendly and the hot chocolate with whipped cream was second to none. Fred said the cappuccino was strong but also very good. Many of the customers seemed to know each other and the atmosphere was very relaxed; I even saw one lady sitting with a blanket over her legs while she surfed the net!
The Lake Superior Trading Post was another place we visited quite a few times as it sold outdoor gear and good quality souvenirs. I couldn't resist buying a book about the wolf in America.
The weather was mostly beautiful but there was a quite violent storm one evening and we sat in the front seats of the RV watching the fork lightning above the water.
On the second day we visited Java Moose in the morning then on the way back to the campsite we had lunch at the fish and chip shop. I had white fish and Fred had herring, both of which had been caught from the lake that morning. The freshness was evident as we sat scoffing our food on the sunny balcony, all washed down with some Lake Superior Special Ale. We were quite tipsy as we walked back to the RV and enjoyed a little siesta before we headed out on one of the campsite's trails.



There were three trails there; a short flat one which went through the woods and passed the shore of the lake, taking only 10 minutes and very thoughtfully designed for access by wheelchair. The second one was a little more arduous as it involved a steep rocky climb to the top where one could view the whole town. It took about 20 minutes to complete. The final was an extension of the second which led to a disused radio tower and took an extra 10 minutes.
We did all three a few times and Tala and I did the last two on our own once but not without almost getting lost and being a bit scared!
Grand Marais had everything one could need so we did our weekly shop and all our washing.
Fred was also able to get some nice shots with his SLR camera. The rocky shore and quaint old lighthouse made great subjects.
One night the lake was wild and the fog was so thick but we went to the shore to savour the eeriness while being slightly frightened by the large menacing waves. Thick fog always reminds me of the film The Others starring Nicole Kidman. For anyone who hasn't seen it, it's a creepy movie definitely worth a watch in which the fog is relentless. Big waves always remind me of my aunty, Lynsey, who is a couple of years younger than me (don't go there!). When we were teenagers we would shout and swear at the sea in Lossiemouth and Hopeman, in Scotland, in the hope of making it mad so it would splash us and trap us on the rocks. Okay, no-one quite understands the mysterious discipline of teenage logic! Seemed like a great idea at the time!
Whilst in Grand Marais, we made a year's subscription to our Spot device and, at the touch of a single button, sent our first OK message which gave family and friends our exact location. Once it was all set up, it was very impressive. We also set up our tracker and our shared page so people could navigate there to see our location in almost real time. That meant we would send a tracker message every time we stopped once we had left Grand Marais.
On our last day we picked up some information on trails on the Highway 61 towards Duluth,one of which we hoped to do en route.