We left on Friday evening so we could get a decent start, but not have to drive the full six and a half hours to the park.  We pulled over at a rest stop just north of the cities.  When we woke the next morning, we found the unusual item being shipped north.  It just goes to show you never know what you will see when you travel.  Of course a couple of shots of the rest stop.

Despite a  drop in the temperature, and a bit of mist and rain, we still managed to get around the camp for a bit of exploring.  They have a wonderful collection of cabins for rent, a nice set of trails around the park, and even signs of a beaver or two.  It was interesting when we arrived, everything was still green, but by the time we left, colors had turned rather dramatically.  Of course, whenever we go camping, we are on the lookout for fellow "Scamp"ers.  This time, we ran across five different ones, but I was only able to photograph one.

We rented a canoe on our first Sunday there, as well as the last Saturday.  We were fortunate both days to have wonderful weather to canoe the lake.  We came across several beaver lodges, and some very interesting plant growth.   One of the things that I thought was especially interesting was the wind patterns on the lake.  Sometimes the wind really rippled the water, and other times, the water was as smooth as glass.  We also checked out a couple of the canoe-in campsites and thought about trying them out sometime.  I just need to figure out how to get the Scamp to float.

The water was really clear and many times you could see the bottom of the lake.  At one time, we came across a spot along the shore where we notice a large number of broken dishware.  If it was not for the fact that it was broken, it looked to be in good condition.  The last picture above reveals a little sample of what we saw.

Of course the north is full of critters of all sorts, and surprisingly, they do not seem to mind humans too terribly much.  The squirrel in the second picture and chipmunk in the fourth hung around camp quite a bit.  Some, like the otter, in the fifth picture above, did not really care for humans.  We actually came across a family of them while canoeing.  But we cannot forget Lisa's favorite in the last one above, the Bald Eagle.

There are several hike-in campsites all around the lake.  This was one of our attempts to see if we could reach them from the main campground, the closest was about a four mile hike just to get there, not including the return trip.  We decided that a hike to one of the smaller lakes was pretty good for one day.

We always enjoy a drive along the North Shore of Lake Superior.  This was our first tip that week into Two Harbors to visit the lighthouse and breakwater.  Along the way, we decided to stop at the famous Betty's Pies for lunch.  Great food.  When we arrived at the lighthouse we noticed a familiar ship loading at the docks.  It was the Roger Blough.  That was the first ship we both saw up close and personal a few years back.  The weather was a little gray and the wind was up a bit, but not too terribly bad.  We did get a good example of what a breakwater was designed to do.  In the fifth picture above you can see the difference in the waves on the lake side verses the harbor side.  And this was an average day if you can believe that.

I decided to take a closer look at this boat that is on display near the Two Harbors Lighthouse.  I always thought it was an early rescue boat used on the lake used by those manning the lighthouses.  Turns out it was a fishing boat with an interesting history, according to the sign above.

The day we decided to head up to Grand Portage to visit the historic trading post, the wind decided to churn things up a bit on the lake.  As we came down out of the hills, we could see white caps out on the lake.  So we found a spot to pull over and take a closer look.  The really freighting part of this is that this is not the worst the lake can get.

The trip to the Grand Portage Trading Post Historical site was an interesting one.  Back around the outbreak of the American Revolution, this area was teaming with trade between the Native Americans and British companies.  After the end of the war, with the boundary between the US and Canada moved a few miles north, the trading post was moved above the border, since all of the trade that was occurring was with British companies.  This post fell into disarray and eventually disappeared.  Eventually, archeologist discovered some traces of the post, and over the years, some of the buildings were reconstructed on the actual site where they would have been in the later 1700s.  The building shown in the pictures above was the Grand Hall where much of the trading business would have gone on.  It was explained that for a few weeks out of the year, this place was teaming with thousands of businessmen of the time in what we would consider a trade convention.  The rest of the time, goods moved through hear up and down the Grand Portage Trail and across the lake.

The warehouse above was one of the buildings that was reconstructed.  It would normally house trade goods for one of the companies that was being either ship up the trail, or down the lake.  The birch bark canoes in the second picture are samples of some of the types of canoes used during the time.  They were described as the semi-trucks of the day.  There is also a "Three Sisters" garden on the sight.  This is an example of a garden of the time period, and it was designed to produce three varieties of food for the locals over the spring, summer, and fall.  It was constructed with soil conservation in mind, and had a unique defense against intruding critters.  The last of the pictures are three different styles of wigwams used during the time period.  These three wigwams were made using the techniques of the time period.