Today is July 6th and we left International Falls, Minnesota for the five hour drive to Two Falls, Minnesota. We drove in a convoy with Brian and Lorrayne Graham. The route was along good roads with great scenery. Lots of lakes and streams. We arrived at the Penmarallter Campsite around two in the afternoon and quickly set up our RVs. Lorrayne, Lisa and I drove into Two Harbors to "snoop around" and then went to a store to get some last minute ingredients for a hamburger dinner. Even though we had a small thunderstorm around 6:00, all is well and we are having a great time.


Today is July 7th, and we started the day by taking a bicycle ride on the tandem along the eastern shore of Lake Superior. The day was beautiful with clear skies, no wind, and a temperature right around 70 degrees;it was an awesome day. Highway 61 is actually two roads in this area. One is the expressway the leads on down to Duluth with a 65 mph speed limit and the scenic route along the edge of Lake Superior that has a 55 mph speed limit. The scenic route is used by many bicyclists. It has a wide shoulder, and is extremely smooth with very little traffic. We decided to ride 20 miles into Duluth Minnesota, and back for a total of about 40 miles. About 12 miles into the ride, we found that the road was closed due to work on a new bridgeon the French River. We took the detour that placed us on the highway 61 Expressway into Duluth. The expressway a bicycle lane was an extremely wide lane for bicycles that is a wide as a regular lane for cars. The traffic was not very heavy.  The flowers along the road where awesome, so we really enjoyed the three-mile detour along the expressway.  We turned left and returned to the highway 61 scenic drive once we passed the construction zone.  After traveling a total of 22 miles, we decided to turn around and head back to the RV.  We stopped at a brand new, small Marina where several boats were launching to go fishing.  The water was clear, but we did not see any fish in the water. We continued back to the RV reversing are outbound course which included our trip on the detour of the scenic route.  It was a great ride on a beautiful day with a total of 38 miles ridden. 


After our bike ride, (and a shower), we decided to take a drive into Duluth. Lisa is scheduled to have an MRI on her shoulder as we suspect that the rotator-cuff on her right arm may need some therapy. She cannot raise her arm above level with the floor. So we decided to see if we could find the hospital before we had to actually go there. It was pretty easy to find the hospital, so we are ready to get her there for the MRI. We then drove around Duluth to "check out the town." It is a pretty cool town. The construction is amazing and many Victorian homes are found there. We then drove past the Glensheen Mansion, so we decided to stop and check it out. It was built in the early 1900s by a family named Congdon. The father was an attorney in the local area and then became a politician from the area. He also worked with the Carnegies and the Rockefellers who were deeply involved in the iron mining in the local area. He made a ton of money and decided to build the mansion. It is a direct reflection of the protocols and behaviors of the Victorian period. The house cost about $24 million to build in early 1900 dollars. The home is amazing with lots of wood and marble everywhere. It has a stable and garage, gardeners quarters, servant quarters, a boat dock with yacht house, and the the mansion itself. It even has its own garden for food, gardens for flowers and fountain, and a beach. I cannot explain what the house looked like inside, so be sure to see the photo album on the home. I could not use a flash in the house, but the photos still came our usable.