Another trip to the North Shore with Maggie. We drove up on Monday and back on Wednesday. Link to a short video is here.

We stayed at Solbakken Motel and Resort in Lutsen again. I like staying here because it is right on Lake Superior and is pet friendly. The motel rooms have a little kitchenette for keeping and fixing food.

We stayed in Monday night after arriving. The trip was a chance to relax outside the cities. It was forecast to snow a little and there was still snow from the winter season.

It did snow a little over night which gave everything a clean cover. Maggie and I drove up to Grand Marais to meet my friend (and former Nash Finch Company boss) Holly at Java Moose Espresso. Java Moose is owned and operated by Sarah, an Instagram poster that I follow.

Holly and I discussed the recent events in the Twin Cities and Grand Marais. Different customers overheard us speaking and offered their support and stories. Holly, who is retired now, writes poetry. April is poetry month and she has taken up the challenge to write a poem every day in April. Her April 1 poem is below.

From Grand Marais, Maggie and I drove up the Gunflint Trail to the George Washington Pines Trail - an easy 2-mile groomed trail through spectacular red and white pines. Maggie rides in a backpack and is usually fairly quiet. About halfway through she started to get antsy and very vocal. I turned the backpack around so she was in front and that seemed to satisfy her.

The fresh snow was lovely. We saw lots of animal tracks, a live grouse (always seem to see these birds), and a bizarre flying insect.

Back at Solbakken, Maggie didn't want to go out again so I hiked a trail that I had not seen before and was directly across Highway 61 from the motel. Encountered 3 deer along my way. There were lots of deer on this North Shore trip.

Tuesday night was dinner at the Cascade River Restaurant. Irish Stew was a good way to warm up.

It snowed a little more overnight, but we did see the sunrise out on the big Lake...and a deer walk by our window. We left for home after stopping at Caribou Cream to get maple syrup.

Clear here for a short (2 min) video review.

Poem (04/01/2026) by Holly Lamond:

I cannot save this world 
and the snow is still falling
my soul still wintering
I cannot save this world 
yet I ache for the parents
fear-frozen by impossible 
choices
I cannot save this world 
and my heart harbors the cold
reality that Easter is almost here 
(and you are not)
I wonder if I can save myself – 
life feels Lenten-long
winter, this world acting like 
twin thieves, robbing me of
spring
Yet today, I had coffee with an old friend
and we shared our winter stories – 
a stranger who teaches fifth grade  
overheard, shared hers and soon
we were three with tears running 
like rain 
I am reminded thaw can happen 
anywhere, anytime, and right now
 
just before green,
hope trembles
and soon it will bud

--Poetry Tracks In Snow by Holly Lamond

https://poetrytracks.substack.com

Quick trip to the Minnesota North Shore with Maggie

Sunsetting on the Caribou Trail

Simply wanted to get out of town for a couple of days and it has been another year with very little snow, so I thought I would head up north to see what snow there was.

If you want to jump to it, click here to watch the short video.

This was also an excuse to take the new Ford Maverick on a road trip.

On the Monday drive up I saw at least 4 bald eagles - two soaring along I-35 and two perched in trees along Highway 61. Also, had a pheasant fly all the way over all four lanes of I-35 right in front of me!

Maggie and I stayed at Solbakken Resort in Lutsen, again. This is where we stayed last year with Bud. It is convenient to get to places and is right on Lake Superior.

After we checked in, I drove up the Caribou Trail hoping to see owls. The news had mentioned that there were lots of owls along the north shore earlier in March and February. Unfortunately, I did not see any other than the plastic ones that are put on the tops of telephone poles.

Tuesday, drove into Grand Marais to have coffee at Java Moose Cafe. The owner, Sarah, is an Instagram crush of mine. The day's adventure was a hike in Cascade State Park to the top of Lookout Mountain. I have never stopped at this park.

Lake Superior meets the sky

The hike was challenging as there was not so much snow but a lot of ice. And I had Maggie in her backpack which meant I really could not afford to fall. We did make it to the top and the views of Lake Superior are fantastic.

Coming down was even more treacherous and I made a miss-calculation on the trail and ended up on Highway 61 for a tiny bit.

Had a late lunch at Cascade Lodge Restaurant.

Wednesday morning on the way home, I had breakfast with an old boss from Nash Finch. I have not seen her in a long time. She and her husband live outside of Grand Marais. I really appreciated that she took the time to get together.

Wednesday was a stormy day. Not so much snow on the North Shore as wind. I stopped at Tettegouche State Park to take a break and watch the waves on the lake. I saw two Golden Eagles between Two Harbors and Duluth. They are amazingly big!

A friend met me in Duluth for lunch. This was a nice break and also allowed time for the snowstorm in the Twin Cities to move on. By the time I left Duluth, the roads were pretty clear and so was the sky.

The Ford Maverick was very comfortable and handled the roads and weather well. I think I got a little over 32 mpg. The bad thing was while nearly home a dumpster truck threw a stone and hit my windshield. The windshield now has about a 10" crack which means I will be replacing the windshield...and I didn't even have 1,000 miles on the thing 🙁

Link to video.

A Short Trip Up North

Click on the image to view the video

FYI the video is best viewed in landscape mode.

Apparently, I can't spend more than a month or so at home without needing to go somewhere. I decided a short trip up the North Shore of Lake Superior would be a good option. And why not go to Thunder Bay, Canada, so I could 1) visit a new place and 2) say I left the country.

My friend Bud agreed to join me and Maggie (my cat). Maggie was way overdue for a road trip and to try out our new cat-carrying backpack.

We left Minneapolis Wednesday morning. Stopped in Duluth at the Duluth Grill for brunch. If you have not eaten here, you should. The food is crazy good. Headed up Highway 61 to Lutsen to stay at Solbakken Resorts which was the only pet-friendly resort I could find in the area. We made really good time and got to the resort before check-in time. We went on up to Grand Marais and stopped at Voyageur Brewery for a beer.

Back at Solbakken where Maggie got comfortable and we relaxed...honestly, I think all three of us fell asleep. Woke up in time to see a beautiful sunset. Solbakken is right on the Lake so we walked down to the water to see all the colors.

There is virtually no snow anywhere! And it wasn't super cold. There was also NO ice on Lake Superior. It has been a very strange winter. After napping and sunsetting, we went up Lutsen Mountain to have dinner at Moguls restaurant.

Thursday Maggie got back in the car and we started our trip to Canada stopping in Grand Marais at Java Moose for coffee. I follow the owner of Jave Moose on Instagram. She wasn't there but the coffee shop is right on the bay and such a lovely, friendly place. I had never been past Grand Portage and Thunder Bay is only about an hour away so getting to Canada is a piece of cake. There is an incredible overlook at the top of Mount Josephine that gives a full 180 view of Lake Superior.

The border between the US and Canada is the Pigeon River. The Grand Portage State Park is also there as is the tallest waterfall in Minnesota! The Grand Portage Ojibwe people along with the MN Department of Resources have created an accessible trail to view the falls. It is a super easy 1 mile there and back. With little to no snow there were just a few places where the boardwalk was icy. The views of the falls are spectacular.

From the State Park it is just a few hundred yards to the border crossing. I assured the Canadian border agent that Maggie would not be let free in Canada and we were allowed to pass. One odd geographic thing once in Canada was how flat the Canadian side is. After a short way into Canada, you are in the Slate River valley and lots of farmland. Northern Minnesota is not like this as it is hilly and tree covered.

Maggie in the backpack

Okay, Thunder Bay...I had been warned that there wasn't much to Thunder Bay and Bud and I have to agree. It is an amalgamation of two "towns" Port Arthur and Fort William. There are a lot of train tracks and apparently a port. The city doesn't really take in the "Bay" that it is on. We asked about an "old town" or touristy area and were told there isn't really any. We ate lunch at an okay place and walked around Port Arthur Park (Maggie got to get her first backpack adventure) but headed back to the US in short order. If you do plan a trip to Thunder Bay, be aware that it is in the Eastern time zone!

Back in Minnesota, we drove through a small grove of old growth trees on the Arrowhead Trail. This is something I had seen on one of my Boundary Waters trips. To be honest it isn't that impressive, but it is nice to know it is still there.

Back at Solbakken, we rested before having a very nice dinner at Cascade Lodge Restaurant. Friday we headed home first stopping at Coho Cafe in Tofte for breakfast.

Click here for link to the trip video.