3363. Ride the North Shore Scenic Railroad in Duluth

The hubby wanted to go to the Lake Superior Railroad Museum and I wanted to take a train ride up the north shore. Since you boarded the train from the Lake Superior Railroad Museum, it was a great way to knock off both of our train desires for this trip. 

North Shore Scenic Railroad offers several different train rides of various length through the week and year. I really wanted the one that went all the way up to Two Harbors but that only ran on Thursdays. We opted for The Northwoods Explorer which was a 2.5 hour trip. it was $40/person. 

The description stated "The trip travels through downtown, along the shoreline of Lake Superior, through the historic Congdon Neighborhood wooded area, and then through the majestic Northwoods, crossing several stunning streams along the way, and crossing bridges that are over 50 feet high!". It sounded like a great train ride. 

The hubby and I both said it was probably the worst train ride we've been on so far. I was bored and at first I thought it was because we've several of these train rides and maybe I was just over them. The hubby felt the same way.

Why was it boring? Once you got outside of downtown Duluth there was not much to see except trees and just birch trees at that. The stunning streams were dry. The bridges were not that impressive. 

We enjoy hearing about the surrounding area using by a conductor either in the car as they pass through or maybe over a speaker. This was a pre-recorded message that was very monotone and kind of cheesy. 

We did see a freighter on Lake Superior. That was probably the highlight.

The train itself was fine, a little old. They had concessions for sale. It was also cold on the train. So if you go wear a jacket. 

I wonder if the trip up to Two Harbors would have been better? Who knows but you probably still don't get to see much of Lake Superior. There's just too many trees. 

Overall I was disappointed. It did fill some open time in the afternoon that I would have had to fill with something. 

Maybe we are just become train snobs along with pizza snobs. If you want to ride the North Shore Scenic Railroad, I would stick with the shorter version. The beginning has the most to see anyways. 

3366. Go to the Lake Superior Railroad Museum in Duluth

The hubby offhandedly mentioned wanting to go to the Lake Superior Railroad Museum in Duluth. There was some train or something there he wanted to see. Since we were going to the U.P. and the Apostle Islands, heading over to Duluth for a train museum didn't seem like a bad idea. Besides there was a train ride I wanted to take.

The Lake Superior Railroad Museum is located in the restored St. Louis County Depot downtown Duluth. It is open 10-5 daily. Admission is $14/adult. If you book a train excursion on the North Shore Railroad tickets are half price. There is very small parking lot at the back of the museum which is free or you can park in the ramp nearby. We got lucky and got the last spot in the lot. 

The Lake Superior Railroad Museum has over a dozen different different trains. 

They have a whole car devoted to the different China serving sets that each train service had. I love looking at the China sets. It's a bygone era we will never get back. 

We've been in mail cars before. A lot of museums have them since it was how mail was transported across the country quickly. What made this mail car special is you could try pulling the level that would grab the mail bag on the mail pole at the station as the train zipped by. It was a not as easy as it looked.

They had a Soo Line Caboose. The hubby always likes those.

Like many museums we've been to, they had a snowplow. Except this one you could go in. That was fun. The windows are tiny and the plow is massive that it's hard to see.

Of course there's always an engine you can go in and "work the controls".

There were even trains outside.

We checked out the rest of the museum. The Immigration Story was under construction so not much to see there. 

We did see the grand hall which was enormous. 

The museum is great. I would highly recommend checking out when you are in Duluth. It is a great rainy day activity. 

3362. See the Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth

 The hubby really wanted to see the Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth. More specifically he wanted to see it in action. Since we had plenty of time before we had to go to the train museum, we spent some time at the Lake Superior Visitor Center which is right by the lift bridge with hopes of seeing a ship pass through the shipping canal. 

The Aerial Lift Bridge was built between 1901-1905 and updated in 1929. It spans the Duluth Shipping Channel rising up to allow ships to pass underneath it instead of opening like a draw bridge. 

There is plenty of viewing along the Canal Walk of the lift bridge. 

We got lucky. The John G. Munson was leaving port that morning. We could watch real time updates while inside of the museum. When she left port, we headed outside to watch it go through the shipping canal despite the rain.

When a ship nears the bridge, the bridge closes to traffic and slowly begins to rise allowing the ship to pass beneath the bridge. It is a sight to see. It does move slowly.

The John G. Munson also moved slowly out of the canal. The workers would wave to us as they passed through the canal.

Once the ship clears the bridge, the bridge deck is lowered to allow cars across the canal again.

It is quite the sight to see. I thought seeing the Arthur M. Anderson go through the Sturgeon Bay Shipping Canal was impressive this was just as impressive. There is just something watch these Great Lakes freighters navigate these shipping canals back into the open lake. 

If you are ever in Duluth, check out Canal Park and the Aerial Lift Bridge. Maybe you can see a freighter come through the shipping canal as well. 

3362. Go to the Lake Superior Marine Visitor Center in Duluth

The hubby wanted to see the lift bridge in Duluth. The Lake Superior Marine Museum was right by the lift bridge so I figured we could do both.

Lake Superior Marine Visitor Center is located in Canal Park. It is open daily 9:30-6 in the summer and admission is free. There is a pay to park parking lot adjacent to the museum. It only costed us a couple of bucks to park for a few hours.

Lake Superior Marine Visitor Center is ran by United States Army Corps of Engineers. It features two floors of exhibits.

There is several replicas of cabins and even a pilothouse.

There is a two story engine to check out.

There are stories of ships and shipwrecks.

There are viewing windows where you can watch ships go through the shipping canal. To avoid waiting around for ships, there is even a real time monitor of arrivals and departures. 

Since it was National Lighthouse Day, there were activities around the visitor center to take part in. We each made our own postcards.

We did venture outside in the rain to watch a ship depart through the shipping canal. The visitor center announces the name and the details of the ship as it passes through the canal even outside. 

Lake Superior Marine Visitor Center is a great place to explore while you wait for a ship to arrive or depart through the shipping canal. It is definitely worth checking out. 

Donut Adventures: Voyageur Donuts

I made it one of my many life goals to have donuts in every state. I try to find local donut shops where ever we are visiting. We have several favorites that we try to visit when we are in the area. So when we decided to visit Duluth, I knew I had to try to find donuts in Duluth and I found Voyageur Donuts.

Voyageur Donuts is located downtown Duluth in the Canal Park area. It is slightly hard to find if you are not looking for it. We drove by it the first time. It is inside the DeWitt-Seitz building. It does have it's own parking lot. Voyageur Donuts is open 7-5 Sun, Mon, Tue, and Thu. 7-6 on Fridays and Saturdays. They are closed on Wednesdays. 

Voyageur Donuts is walk up shop. There is some outdoor seating. They offer donuts, coffee, and other beverages. They have classic, signature, and seasonal flavors which are all cake donut based. Each donut is $4. I thought it was a little pricy for the size of the donut. 

The whole reason we went here was there was a donut called "The Steve" -- a plain ass donut. Since we are friends with a Steve, we had to go and get a least one Steve. 

The hubby got The Steve. I went with the smore. 

The donuts were okay. The hubby said The Steve was greasy.. so it's now a Greasy Steve to us. My smore wasn't as greasy but still was slightly greasy. The flavor was good.

I also got a iced chai latte. It had a very strong tea flavor. I did not enjoy it. I like more of a mild tea flavor. 

We knocked donuts in Minnesota off the list. If we get back to Voyageur Donuts great but I would be open to finding other donut shops in the area if we are ever in Duluth. 

3372. Eat at Betty's Pies in Two Harbor

 Everyone says that you should get pie at Betty's Pies when you are in Duluth. They are supposed to have the best pies. I first heard of this place in a book I read before I even met the hubby. I didn't even know it was a real place. Looking at the pictures, I wasn't completely sold on their pies but I casually mentioned it to Heather when I realized we were going to be in Duluth at the same time. We decided it was the perfect opportunity to do the pie test. We both have had pie at Norske Nook which is amazing.

Betty's Pies is located in Two Harbors about 20 minutes north of Duluth. It is open 9-8 daily in the summer. If you don't want to sit and eat, there is a pie take out window in the back. 

We opted for dinner. They have a small lunch/dinner menu mainly burgers and sandwiches. They are some dinner options including broasted chicken. 

The hubby had the broasted chicken while I had a roasted turkey sandwich. The hubby said the chicken was almost as good as Schusters's in Denmark which he says is the gold standard for broasted chicken. My sandwich was very good. They did not skimp on the turkey and it was real turkey pieces. 

Because we got to Betty's Pies for dinner we were limited on which pies were available. They have TV monitors that list which pies are available and are updated constantly. They later you go the less choices become available. The hubby wanted apple pie and that was already gone.

We all got different pies. The hubby went with Caramel Apple Crunch Pie. I had 5 layer Chocolate Cream Pie. Heather went with Toffee Cream Pie. Her hubby went with blueberry. You could get your pie topped with whipped cream or ice cream.. or both if you really wanted.

We all said the same thing. The pie was good but Norske Nook is better. The crust seemed fake or pre-made to me. It was not flaky. It kind of reminded me of Perkin's crust. 

Overall we enjoyed dinner but were glad we just didn't go there for the pie. We may be spoiled since we have had Norske Nook and the Log Cabin in the Dells. 

I still say you should try Betty's Pie if you are on the North Shore. We would go back but not for pie. 

5961. Go to Amnicon Falls State Park in South Range

 I love waterfalls. When I realized Amnicon Falls State Park was on our to Duluth, I was like we are stopping. It is supposed to be one of the best waterfalls in the state. 

I was originally going to buy my state park pass at Amnicon Falls State Park but we decided to get it when the hubby renewed his license plate. In hindsight, I am glad he did as it was only a self-pay station and besides we would have needed it at Copper Falls State Park.

Amnicon Falls State Park is located in South Ridge, or about 30 minutes from downtown Superior. A state park is required which is $14/day or $26/year. It is open 6 am to 11 pm unless you are camping. There is an parking lot that is close to the falls.

There are three different falls all within a short walk from the parking lot. We first viewed lower Amnicon Falls which is a 20 wide waterfalls that drops from the edge of the sandstone canyon. You can swim in the river and pools.

We crossed the covered bridge to get to Upper Amnicon Falls.

Upper Amicon Falls is more of flowing water fall as it makes it way down the rocks into the river. Like Lower Amicon Falls you can swim and climb the falls. 

The last waterfall is Now and Then Falls as it only appears now and then.. especially when it rains. Due to the drought conditions, it was definitely in it's then stage. 

The Douglas Fault also runs through the park.

Amnicon Falls State Park also has a very short hiking trails. The main attraction is the waterfalls. 

If you are headed to Duluth or Superior, definitely check out Amnicon Falls State Park. Take your swimsuits and play in the waterfalls.