Our Crazy Fourth of July in Duluth, Minnesota

Duluth's Aerial Lift Bridge

We arrived in Duluth on July 3rd, so before we checked into our campsite, we went to the waterfront area in order to "get a lay of the land" and see the sights. The city is in a beautiful location - it overlooks a large bay area which is situated on the western side of Lake Superior. The city was packed for the holiday weekend, so we decided to grab a bite to eat. Sitting next to us was a local fellow who was (1) nervous we were mob related (I am not kidding) and (2) fascinated with Snookie from The Jersey Shore show (once again, I am not kidding). Ahhh....the power of popular culture. Little did we know that the next day, our all-American/Mid-West Independence Day celebration would be a combination of highs and lows (including a very scary experience).

The next afternoon, we headed down Bob Dylan Highway (in our opinion, a good sign) towards the Railroad Museum and Scenic Railway Tour. The museum was a rich, historical experience with an authentic representation of a 19th century Duluthian town, as well as steam engines from the late 1800’s to electric giants from the early 20^th century. The engineering and detailed mechanics were so impressive - the evolution of technology has been fast and furious (no pun intended). 

This one was my favorite : )

A mechanical, steam-engined beast.

Having a little fun with our iPad.

After the museum, we were excited to take the Scenic Railway Tour since we had done this in New Zealand and Alaska and were quite pleased with both trips. Eager to see beautiful, majestic landscapes, our anticipation soon deflated when we realized we were duped. If you ever visit Duluth, DON’T take this trip. Basically, the first 40% of the trip, the tracks border Lake Superior, but 60% of the “Scenic Landscape” were neighborhoods. Once the tracks shifted, we saw people’s backyards, their sheds, swing-sets, dog houses – you get the idea. We made the best of it, but when the train ride was finally over, we nearly sprinted off and headed to the waterfront area where the 4^th of July festivities were already taking place. 

Get me off of this train!

Thankfully, the sun was shining, live bands were performing, the scent of corn-dogs + kettle-corn wafted through the air, and a fireworks display was planned for the evening. We were a bit nostalgic for the Jersey Shore/Seaside Heights fireworks, but Duluth put on a good show and when the finale was over, it was time to head back to the campground.

 

Sammy...here are fireworks for you : )

Our mode of transportation to explore the sights is a 150 cc motor-scooter (instead of driving a 28-foot RV!), so we knew an issue getting back “home” was the steep and steady incline of the route we needed to take. My husband and I took a deep breath, got on the scooter and hoped for the best. We soon realized that there was road construction and had to take a detour across a major bridge headed towards Wisconsin?!?! Not fun when it’s 11:00 PM, there is major traffic and you don’t know where you’re going. We finally got onto Route 53 and sighed with relief once we ascended to the top and continued on our designated path back to the campground. But, our good spirits soon faded when the weather suddenly shifted. Lightening began to illuminate the sky, which was beautiful and unnerving at the same time – when you’re exposed to nature, lightening is scary. The wind picked up and it became difficult for Mark to handle the scooter. My heart began to pound as I realized we were headed directly into a storm. The lightening continued and became more intense; horizontal and vertical - we were driving closer and closer. And then within seconds, we drove into a hail/torrential rainstorm and not only became drenched, but felt the continuous pinch from being pelted; we still had five miles to drive.

The kitties were wide-eyed when we barreled through the door since the storm was directly overhead, but all of us felt relieved – we were safe and sound. Mark and I got out of our wet clothes and sat in bad to reflect on the crazy day we had - seeing trains that literally united the states of America, being the victims of a tourist trap, experiencing our nation’s pride with Duluthian’s, and realizing how powerful Mother Nature can be…this will be a 4^th of July we will never forget.

Ciao for now : )