We made it to Wisconsin!

We have been heading towards Superior, Wisconsin, at a steady pace. We passed another new state sign as we crossed the bridge over the St. Louis River into Wisconsin. This is a new state for the motor home and for Mark!

This is our destination for our annual diesel maintenance on the motor home. Since we have been driving all over the country in the last four years, this annual job has been done in Tucson, Arizona; Gaffney, South Caroline; Missoula, Montana; and now Superior, Wisconsin. It's a part of the full-timing life style that we don't look forward to--it's almost as bad as getting hair cuts! Mark does a lot of research to find a reputable service center that can handle motor homes, and it always seems to cost more than we expect. We are hoping for the best as we pull into Boyer Trucks. We arrived on a Friday evening for our Monday appointment, with their permission to hang out in their parking lot with electric power for the next several nights. Not the prettiest camp site we've ever lived in, but it's free!

It proved to be a quiet place to sleep with good security. It was also a good place to explore the area around us. We are just across the bridge from Duluth, Minnesota, so we spent the first day crossing the bridge multiple times between tourist sites and dodging the rain drops.

We were in search of several local stops. We went to the Superior, Wisconsin and Duluth, Minnesota farmers' markets. Then we went in search of the Billings Park Street Fair. We finally found the small community gathering, where the longest line was at the "kissing booth." It was in front of the "Smooch a Pooch Salon."

We also paused in the soggy weather to watch the saw dust flying as a woman carved a chainsaw sculpture.

Driving through neighborhoods in search of the street fair, we followed a hand-written sign that said, "free barbecue." A local church pastor's hobby is cooking up home-made bratwurst, and we can confirm that he does a great job at it. We can also confirm that he preaches a good sermon, as we returned the next day for church.

As we drove around the neighborhood, we saw this curious fenced area. We've actually seen this before since we've been traveling in the north. Now we recognize this as the winter ice rink.

One of our priorities was visiting the Duluth Harbor. A nice Maritime Visitor Center is right on the channel where the big ships come in to be loaded. We checked the web site to see that a 753-foot ship was due to depart with its load of coal some time between 2 and 4, and we were determined to see it "come rain or shine." In the meantime, we wanted to check out the aerial lift bridge that makes this Duluth harbor a tourist attraction. Down in its usual position, cars can drive over the bridge to the other section of the peninsula.

Likewise, pedestrians can walk across it. Up close, it looks like it was made from one of those old erector building toys.

We crossed the bridge and took the obligatory pictures, even though it was misting by that time.

We took pictures from different angles, and Denisa stayed on the bridge while Mark got off and took some from the other side. We were the only tourists out in the rain, so we didn't have to fight the crowds.

We had just stepped off the bridge and crossed the street when bells started ringing and the aerial bridge started lifting. What!?! We could have gotten a ride to the top if we had been a little slower.

Now we watched as the bridge started rising into the air. Our big ship is still delayed, but a "little" yacht needed some extra headroom to get by the bridge, so they raised the aerial lift bridge a little.

The crowds grew bigger as the big ship finally departed from its loading station a mile up the harbor. We watched as it rounded the last curve and the bridge began to lift. It would have to rise to its highest position to allow this big boy to pass under.

By this time, it was raining in earnest. We found some protection under an overhang, but we were surprised at how many people came out in the rain to watch the departure. It was 3:42 by the time the H. Lee White took its load of coal out of the Duluth Harbor under the aerial lift bridge in the rain.

We were thoroughly soaked by the time we made the run back to the car in the rain. The good news is that Denisa's ankle can now do a little jog, and she suddenly realized she isn't having to think about every step. It looks liking she is truly on the mend! So for our short stay in Wisconsin we're stepping out without a limp.