Denisa loves a good lighthouse picture, but this one entailed a walk over the boulders. Mark is a rock-hopper, so he was happy to oblige to make the difficult walk.
This is our best picture of Wisconsin Point Lighthouse on a beautiful afternoon.
We stopped to watch a local fisherman, as he reeled in this nice-size catfish. He thought we were pretty good luck, and was a little sad when we walked on down the pier.
It must be getting close to the end of summer, as the milkweed blooms are at the end of their season. This monarch was intent in getting the last sip of summer from the droopy blooms.
Our next stop was at the Lake Superior Estuarium at Barker's Island. We noticed a number of women arriving at the same time, and one had a clipboard and was checking off names. Denisa found out that the women had gathered for a dragon boat lesson, as this harbor will be hosting a festival and races in three weeks. They are forming an all-woman team to compete, but they didn't have enough to fill the boat for today's practice. When Denisa asked if they needed someone to row today, she suddenly found herself on a dragon boat team.
Our teacher's name is Spike, and he rows several times each week and is on more than one dragon boat team. So he lined us up on the grass to start our class.
After a few minutes on land, we loaded into the long boat. You should notice that Denisa is still smiling (even though she is wondering what she has just gotten herself into).
And . . . we're off!
Some of the women had participated in the Dragon Boat Festival last year, so they already knew the commands and the cadence. Denisa and the other newbies learned that the front three rows are the pacers, the next three rows are the engines, and the last three are the rockets. Denisa liked being a rocket for the first time in her life. To keep both sides of the boat in rhythm, a good rower looks forward to follow the front paddler on the other side of the boat.
Unlike kayaking, a dragon boater puts the paddle straight down in the water in front of her and next to the boat, and lifts it out when it gets even with her body. This prevents her from hitting the oar of the person behind her. The entire paddle head should go down in the water, displacing the maximum amount of water thrust. Denisa is illustrating the opposite, which good dragon-boaters disdainfully call "lily-dipping" at the top of the water.
She learned that a good rower leans out over the side of the boat when paddling. She also learned that the favorite command to hear was "rest!" when paddles come out the water so your aching arms can get a break. She also found that a two-hour practice is very long for a first-time dragon boater. She thought she was in pretty good shape with all the kayaking we've been doing, but this is a very different stroke (and let's face it--Mark really does most of the work in our kayak).
When we headed back into the dock after our practice, Denisa was still smiling. But she's sure her arms are going to be sore tomorrow. What a great experience to get to join a dragon boat team for the day! After that arm work out, it's time to cross the bridge into Duluth, Minnesota for some leg exercise. We're starting at the flower garden right along Lake Superior.
The gardens are lovely, as is the weather this afternoon.
The rose gardens are past their peak, but this elegant bloom was picture-perfect.
We kept walking, and next we found ourselves in the Leif Erikson park along the Duluth Lakewalk. For those that think that Columbus discovered America, Erikson beat him here by almost 500 years.
We really did intend to go back to the car, but the Lakewalk continued, and so did we. There are restaurants and shops along the way, and art as well. This mosaic copies pictures from Duluth's historical past using 1.29 million tiles.
Before we knew it, we were in lighthouse territory, and Denisa was taking pictures of the Duluth Harbor South Light . . .
and the Duluth North Pier Lighthouse. It's a good walk when you get two lighthouses!
We hadn't planned it, but we walked all the way to the aerial lift bridge, and the bridge is raising up.
Hundreds of people have gathered all along the harbor wall to welcome in another big ship.
The 656-foot Federal Biscay is heading in for a load of wheat. The size of these big ships is hard to describe, but they certainly make sail boats and lighthouses look small.
It's hard to fit a ship into one picture, especially when they enter into the narrow channel of the harbor. We can tell that this ship is empty because she is riding so high in the water. Once loaded with wheat, she'll be sitting low in the water--down to where that dark water line is on the side of the ship.
The crew on board waved to the cheering crowd like they were celebrities as the ship crossed under the aerial bridge in its full and upright position.
And just like that, the show is over. The ship moved towards its loading dock and the bridge began to lower so the waiting cars could once again drive across. The crowd of hundreds began to disperse.
Now we are really wishing we had moved the car closer, because we have another 3-mile walk back to the flower gardens where we started. But we had beaches and blooms along the way to entertain us and our weary feet.
On our walk back to the car, we turned around to get a glimpse of the harbor and the bridge. It's our last view of Minnesota, as we are leaving tomorrow. We've been in this state for about a month, and we have certainly enjoyed many of its 10,000 lakes--including the greatest of all--Lake Superior.
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