Our trip to Duluth to see the Bentleyville “Tour of Lights” also provided an opportunity to witness some beautiful and interesting scenes of the magnificent Lake Superior.
We walked the sandy trail to the shores of Lake Superior on Park Point.
Sand and snow on the shore of Lake Superior.
A sandy beach on Park Point, Lake Superior.
We arrived on a bright and sunny day. Except for an small accumulation of snow -remnants of a recent snowfall- the shores of Lake Superior look like an ocean beach. There were no tropical temperatures though!
Lake Superior scene from our balcony.
Moonrise over Lake Superior.
As the sun set, the skies remained clear so we could see the full moon rise and shine (however, the clear skies kept the temperatures below freezing!)
Morning light: 6:39 am the next morning.
The next morning a cloud bank appeared over the lake.
Morning light: 7:10 am
The silhouette of a ship in the mystical misty fog rising from Lake Superior.
A freighter heading towards the canal in the early morning light.
I went out on the balcony, which faced north, to take a few photos. As I leaned over the balcony and turned to the east, I saw the stunning sunrise and images over the lake.
Sunrise: 7:24 am
Sunrise over Lake Superior.
I’m not even sure how I captured this zoomed photo, but I like it.
I do so enjoy this lake! It’s very entertaining.
Where sky and sea meet on Lake Superior. This photo was taken at 9:10 am, a few hours after the beautiful orange, sunrise.
There are millions of lights in Bentleyville. Here strings of lights were made to look like brick!
Tucked into the middle of a string of mild November days, was one unseasonably, frigid night when the temperature dipped to 9 degrees with windchills of -11*. And that is the night we had arranged to tour Bentleyville “Tour of Lights” in Duluth, Minnesota. When planning this adventure weeks before, we had no idea we’d be walking through this spectacular Christmas light display in freezing temperatures.
The full moon and the tall, center tree of Bentleyville, which changes colors constantly. photo by ta.
We packed all our warm winter gear and headed up to northern Minnesota. We had reserved a hotel room within walking distance of Bentleyville. It was a clear night with a beautiful full moon.
The full moon rising over Lake Superior (11/27/23, 5:33 pm)
As we left our hotel, the temperatures were dropping, and the winds were picking up, and we could feel the strong, freezing wind gusts (17 miles an hour).
We entered Bentleyville through this tunnel of lights.
A tree farm light display…
But we did it! We walked to the event. We walked all around the event in the cold. And we had fun, and felt a sense of accomplishment too. Bentleyville is an impressive place. Explore Minnesota informs that Bentleyville is America’s largest free walk-through (Christmas) lighting display.
So many lights and so much to see.
Bentleyville was celebrating its 20th anniversary. Nathan Bentley started the “Tour of Lights” in 2003 at his farm outside of Duluth. Each year he added more and more lights. It grew bigger and better every year, and of course, became more popular. Duluth’s Mayor invited him to move his display to the Bayfront Festival Park in 2008, and so he did.
One of my favorite light displays…there were many!
Another favorite: This ornament was stunning.
As we walked through tunnels of lights looking at all the different theme displays, cheerful Christmas music was playing making it even more festive…we could hardly mind the frigid temperatures.
This tunnel had pretty blue icicle lights.
Free cocoa, cookies and popcorn were handed out. There were fire pits burning in different places, but because the wind was so strong it was hard to get warm, even next to the fire.
One of the many fire pits around Bentleyville.
We did snap a few pictures, but quickly put our mittens back on…the fingers got cold very fast!
Because it was so cold outside, there was no line to see Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus.
Back at the hotel we took off our many layers of jackets and scarves, hats and mittens, and made ourselves some hot chocolate and sat by fireplace in the lobby. We felt invigorated, while warming up by the cozy fire.
A Viking Ship. So many displays including: a manger scene, the Duluth lift bridge, dinosaurs, Disney characters, sea creatures, and much more. I can’t even begin to describe how many lights displays there were.
A reindeer waving from a classic car.
We can say we had merry time in spite of the freezing temps – which just made it more memorable. We’re hardy Minnesotans after all!
On our recent trip up north, with our sons and their families, I thought about this poem I wrote back in 1998, in the midst of raising children, working, and extended family activities. It rings true today, but maybe I’d add some grandchildren to the scene. 😉
On the sea in Norway, but any body of water will do.
There's No Place I'd Rather Be
There’s no place I would rather be
Than by the shore or on the sea.
For at this place my heart’s alive
My body’s at rest, my soul’s revived.
There’s time to reflect, to think, to pray
And time to watch nature at play.
These retreats are made o-so-fair
As different sounds fill the air.
Rushing water or gentle waves
Is what my body and soul craves.
The songbird always sings its song
And gulls or loons may join along.
Creatures dare to come close you see
When I’m quietly sitting with just me.
Through it all my Creator speaks
And I’d like to be there every week.
My world slows down and I rejoice
To be on shore or sea is my choice.
A photo of me(2016) kayaking in Lake Superior harbor watching the Tall Ships parade.
Our trip to the north shore proved to be a lot more colorful than we were expecting.
We had already started seeing pockets of beautiful fall colors on our drive up, so I started to get a little excited…and then the colors began to pop out everywhere…with wonderful contrasts to the evergreen trees.
Caribou Lake (1)Caribou Lake (2)Caribou Lake (3)
The weather also turned out better than I had hoped for, with warmer temperatures and some nice sunshine and blue skies (and one cloudy day). We had packed clothes for colder weather.
Carlton Peak (1)Carlton Peak (2)
Looking inland from the Tofte overlook, on a spur trial off the Carlton Peak trail. (1)
Looking inland from the Tofte overlook, on a spur trial off the Carlton Peak trail. (2)
We followed our annual routine of balancing cabin time and lake time with hiking and local drives.
Sun rise over Lake Superior.
We watched the sun rise over the big lake and had a camp fire on the rocks. We stopped in Hinckley and Duluth on the way up, and stopped in Grand Marais one day. It’s all so familiar, yet all so refreshing, relaxing, and restorative… and so much fun!
The cabin lit up at night.Our campfire set up, on the rocks.Lake Superior was mostly calm.
A leaf-covered hiking trail through the forest.
Lake Agnes
The colors were breathtaking…everywhere we went. It was spectacular to see and hard to photograph with my iPhone.
Birch trees.
But it was enough to witness the colors and breath in the fresh air, smell the different whiffs of pine scents, lake water, decomposing leaves, feel the crisp air and to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8a).
An artistic root system…
I stand in awe of the Creator of these incredible autumn colors.
Sawbill Trail.
Gooseberry Falls State Park
Gooseberry Falls Upper Falls
And the colors were not only up north…we saw them driving home, and right here in Northfield, and outside our front and back doors!
Our neighbor’s burning bush, where our mailbox is tucked in.
Mosaic art is fascinating to me. I recently posted about four mosaic panels as public art in Lanesboro, MN. There is another huge, mosaic public art display in Duluth. It is a wall of images made with ¾” x ¾” ceramic tiles, using only seven different colors. The mosaic wall is 12 x 590 foot long.
The Lake Place Image Wall is along Duluth’s new Lakewalk…with a boardwalk, and bicycle and scooter lanes.
Another view of the Lake Place Image Wall.
According to the information plaque…the Lake Place Image Wall consists of 1.29 million tiles that were placed on 12”x12” grids. Eight people worked for eight weeks to complete this wall. It was finished in 1990.
A ship image from a photograph.
Sandra and Mark Marino provided the artistic composition and production for this piece. The mosaic images, made from the tiles, are based on photographs from Duluth’s waterfront history.
A little easier to detect the small, ceramic tiles in this photo.
Duluth’s original lake walk was damaged during four major storms: one in 2017, two in 2018 and one in 2019. Finally the lake walk had to be reconstructed (and improved) and it has now reopened.
Looking towards the lighthouses in Duluth Harbor.
The 590’ mosaic wall is along Duluth’s Lakewalk, as are wonderful vistas of the great Lake Superior, and Duluth’s waterfront.
A view of the Ariel Bridge from a different point on the Duluth Lakewalk.
I’m delighted to be up on the north shore of Lake Superior. We are in our happy place. I’ve been anxiously waiting for our time to check in, relax and be renewed in this very special place.
My happy place.
The drive up was gorgeous…many golds and yellows leaves along the highway, interspersed with evergreens. The beautiful sunny sky and warm October day added to our pleasure.
Beauty along the highway.
We made our usual stops along the way: Canal Park in Duluth…
Duluth’s aerial bridge.
The light house at Canal Park.
A ship coming to port in Duluth.
…Gooseberry Falls State Park for a picnic lunch, Black Beach and then Tettegouche State Park for a quick hike before arriving at our beloved rental cabin on the shores of Lake Superior.
Gooseberry Falls.
Black Beach.
Once we unpacked and settled in we were looking through the books at the cabin and one stood out in particular… we laughed that this book was in our cabin. The title? Outwitting Squirrels. This adds to our reading pleasure during this 2020 squirrel capturing season.
The book we found in the cabin…how appropriate for our squirrel adventures this summer.
On our way to the north shore we always take the scenic drive instead of the expressway from Duluth to Two Harbors. It may be a slower route, but it is, as the name describes, a scenic route along Lake Superior. About half way between the two towns is a non-descript building that looks more like a house than a store. It was called Practicals, Collectibles & Antiques.
The nondescript building for a store.
We’ve been stopping at this unique store for years. We enjoyed browsing around and visiting with the owner who was always there. He was friendly and welcoming and recognized us. We knew he was a retired military guy who wintered in Texas but would spend his summers in his shop right across the road from beautiful Lake Superior.
A view of the lake.
The interior of the store was lined from floor to ceiling with thousands of used books and old vinyl record albums. Shelves outlined the perimeter of the store, which displayed antique dishes, collectibles and “practicals”. We always looked forward to stopping at this quaint shop. We would usually buy a couple of books at about $1-2 a piece.
One year we apologized for only spending $2 but he graciously said…the north shore gets a million visitors a year…if each one spends a $1 that works for me…however, I run this store because it’s fun…not for the money.
The For Sale sign for Practicals, Collectables, & Antiques.
This year at the turnoff we noticed the large hand-written “For Sale” sign in the yard. The building was locked and empty, and we were a bit sad. I guess we knew it was coming sooner or later but it was too soon for us.
While at the cabin we searched for additional information about the store. We found a local TV news program had interviewed the owner in Spring 2018. We learned the owner’s name is Ed Johnson and that he was loved by many (we were not surprised). We learned he ran this store for 26 years and at the time of the interview he was 76 years old.
If you look closely, you can see an outhouse in the back. There was no running water in this building. The public restroom was an outhouse.
One other fond memory I have of “Mr. Ed” is from years ago, before we got to know him a bit. My mom and I would occasionally take weekend trips together and I remember bringing her to his shop once. She was using a walker at that time and she required some extra care. He always welcomed people into his store. This time, when my mom and I left the store, he came to the door to say good- bye, and then he said to me, “thanks for taking such good care of your mom.” I don’t think any other person in the world ever told me that and it really meant a lot to me and brings tears to my eyes this day. A simple act of kindness.
“Cheers to Ed!” We trust he and his wife are enjoying their retirement.
The Tall Ships came to Duluth this year and I went up to see the parade. But I saw the parade from a different perspective – I saw them from a kayak. I signed up for a three-hour tour and it was awesome. We took off from a beach along Park Point and kayaked out to the Duluth South Breakwater Outer Lighthouse and paddled around for three hours watching the parade. It was literally hard to stay in one spot because of the waves and the slight wind so we paddled in circles, we paddled forward and we paddled backwards a lot, dodging the sailboats and the pontoons and speed boats all anchored for a good look at the Tall Ships too.
The Tall Ships were majestic and fun to see them sailing through the water with their sails billowing. A few ships shot off a cannon as it entered the canal. It was very festive.
I have always loved Lake Superior and we have rented a cabin on the north shore for over 30 years. It’s one of my favorite places to be. There may have been a time or two over the years when I put my feet in the water but never submerged. Now I can say I have. My kayak capsized and I went under…camera, prescription sunglasses and all. I got right back in the kayak and continued on with the tour.
My glasses stayed on. I recovered my SIM card from the camera and was able to get the photos off it of the first six ships. My camera is sitting in rice at the moment…to be determined if it still works. All is well.
Tall Ships Duluth
Rubber Duckie in background…it did not go under the Ariel Bridge.
