Superior September: A Northshore
Get-a-away
by Alice Oden
Is it
September already? August is gone. Labor Day’s past.
Oh my cheese curds, the State Fair is history, too! And now those
winter months loom just ahead. Where did this summer go? All summer
I’ve been longing to get-a-way. But … well … but … you
know the excuses. No time. No money. And give me a break—those
gas prices!
Let’s face it. For people
with mobility-limiting disabilities, it’s not just the ordinary
travel challenges that make the idea of traveling daunting. Suitable
accommodations. Sufficient personal care services. Effective
transportation. Sometimes, it just seems easier to stay home.
If you’re like me, an array of excuses has robbed you of many
a traveling pleasure. For the ten years after I started using a power
wheelchair, I just stayed home. In my “situation,” I
couldn’t envision how I could surmount the travel hurdles that
my disability posed.
It wasn’t until my older son decided to attend college 900
miles from home that I found incentive—or determination—to
take on the challenges of being a disabled traveler. That was three
years ago. And what a difference three years of traveling has made
in my life.
Taking a day trip, like the one I just did a few weeks ago, is where
you can start to find some workable solutions to the travel challenges
that face a disabled person. Traveling to Duluth for a day is the
perfect kind of test run.
I only spent four hours
in Duluth, but how good it was to get away. Once again, I remembered
that it isn’t too far from most parts
of Minnesota to Duluth—the gateway to the beautiful Northshore
of Lake Superior.
In just over two hours,
you can escape the Twin Cities’ urban
jungle and enjoy the sights and sounds of Duluth with its bustling
harbor, the Lift Bridge, the Skyline Drive, Canal Park, Leif Erickson
Park, and more. For me, the anticipation begins with that breathtaking
moment on the hilltop just south of Duluth. Every time I start to
ascend the hills on I-35 past Cloquet, then Proctor, memories of
the summit view of Lake Superior stir within me. Will the sky be
clear? Or will the sky be a hazy fog?
Just as I reach the
hilltop, the view of Lake Superior bursts on the horizon like a
spectacular, panoramic scene. It’s so big.
It’s so beautiful. It’s so not like anywhere else in
Minnesota. Just than I begin to feel like I’ve gotten away.
On the day I was last in Duluth, I was hoping for clear, blue skies.
I thought about picking up a sandwich at one of the many drive-through
restaurants nestled in along London Road between South 19th Ave.
East and North 26th Ave. East. I thought about strolling along the
wheelchair-accessible paths in Leif Erickson Park. I could imagine
the lake breezes gently tousling my hair. I was ready to be there.
Descending the always-adventuresome
I-35 hillsides through Duluth’s
West End, I saw industry—shipyards and loading docks—all
those industrial seafaring enterprises that made Duluth a successful
seaport. I caught a glimpse of the old railway depot, now home of
the Lake Superior Railroad Museum. I sped past the Great Lakes Aquarium
and Lake Superior Maritime Visitors Center just off I-35.
Once again, I spotted the Viking carved reliefs that adorn the I-35
overpass atop the tunnel that skirts downtown Duluth. Oh those Vikings!
When I see the carvings of the long boats, I remember that Duluth
is just the gateway to a wonderful Northshore get-a-way.
One of my favorite spots
up the Shore is Grand Marais. This quaint, coastal fishing village
is just two and one-half hours north of Duluth. Last fall I spent
three days there enjoying the harbor—a harbor
covered with designed-to-be, skipping rocks. Do you know those rocks?
The rocks that are flat and smooth. If you fling them just so, they
magically skip over the still waters of Grand Marais’ gleaming
harbor. No, my hands cannot skip the rocks, but I love to watch someone
who can. And no, I cannot traverse the pebbled water’s edge,
but I can roam the wheelchair-accessible boardwalks on the harbor’s
edge.
About forty-five minutes
north of Grand Marais on Hwy 61, you’ll
discover Grand Portage National Monument. This monument is a replica
of the North West Fur Trading Post that served as an inland fur trading
headquarters during the 18th century. The post is wheelchair accessible,
and is a great place to learn about the fur-trading history. You
can explore the great hall and the cookhouse. You can dress up in
trader’s garb. You may also touch the types of fur pelts that
traders sought. With careful wheeling and a physically capable adult
(just in case), you might explore the dock that juts into the sparkling
waters of Lake Superior.
And finally, another
eight and one-half miles north of Grand Portage just south of the
Canadian border, is a power-wheelchair-user’s,
wilderness utopia. Yes, the entire half-mile hike uphill through
the enchanted woods to the 120-foot High Falls on the Pigeon River,
Minnesota’s highest waterfall is wheelchair accessible. Be
part of a landscape that naturally denies access to wheelchair users.
It is a mountaintop experience—and I highly recommend it.
In fact, I highly recommend
this Northshore road trip to all of you, whether you are mobility
disabled or not. These are just a few highlights. There is much
more to see and do along the Northshore whether you take a day
trip to Duluth or a three to five day adventure between Duluth
and the Canadian border. Either way, I’m sure
you will enjoy your trip. So start planning and have a great time!
Travel resources for Duluth and the Northshore:
Duluth: www.visitduluth.com
Grand Marais: www.grandmarais.com
Grand Portage National Monument: www.nps.gov/grpo/home1.htm
Grand Portage State Park: www.dnr.state.mn.us
