Coop's Corner: A Bayfield Weekend

Friday, May 12, 2017

A Bayfield Weekend - 4 Wheels

Up until just a short month or so ago, this first weekend in May was scheduled to be another spring Slimey Crud Run. It's during this time of year that we've often made a family trip up to the shores of Lake Superior. The last couple of years Peg's rental of a condo in Bayfield, WI has been on the same weekend as the Slimey Crud Run. This year I thought it prudent and wise to join the girls, head north on 4 instead of SE on 2.

What's a trip north without a stop at a special Mario promotion at Target for last minute supplies??

We arrived in Duluth just a bit after noon and went straight to the Glensheen Mansion, historical home of the Congdon family. Completed in 1908 on 22 acres of land, the property is a testament to the great wealth that was being accessed by the early entrepreneurs in northern Minnesota. Their success came from ground floor involvement in the mining and lumber industries. I won't go into the details here other than to say the grounds, the home, the successful family and their philanthropy are all quite amazing subjects. Peg had done the tour last year and I can see why she was very willing to go again and share it with me.

We took the tour that included the 3rd floor, the boys' floor. The architecture, so many of the home's design features were far ahead of their time. Amazing thought and planning went into most every detail and I won't pretend to show or highlight anything more than a small sample. There is a great deal of detailed info available if you're curious, photos and facts, etc. The family basically willed the home, the property and contents to the University of Minnesota. Most everything was left as the family had lived with it.

Ticket booth at the end of the parking lot, the Carriage House to the right.

Carriage House.....

Main entrance.....

A LOT of Italian marble and a LOT of silver.....

The view from in front of the formal garden.......

Turning 180 degrees, their boat house which housed their 55' yacht.

After a hearty lunch at Grandma's Saloon in Duluth, we dipped into Wisconsin for the drive along the South Shore, ending up in Bayfield at our condo.

From our deck.....looking lake way.

From our deck, looking uptown.

Hanging in the hallway.....

Friday evening in front of our rented condo.....

Saturday was a busy day for the Marina folks, parking lots full of sailboats waiting to get wet.

I try and get up the hill to the Bayfield Carnegie Library each time that we visit. We made it again but our stay inside was short.....had to make the next ferry over to Madeline Island.

Leaving Bayfield....

Arriving in La Pointe, Madeline Island.

We saw many signs saying, "Open May 12" both in Bayfield and on the island. Many businesses were open but just barely. There was activity everywhere as the business owners were scrubbing, painting, getting things setup for the new season. The reason we go when we do is for the lower lodging rates and honestly, without ALL of the tourists, we get to see a bit more of the working town, especially once the weekend is over.

Back in the early 2000's when our daughters were attending music camp on the island, I had an afternoon to kill and rented one of these. When I learned that I'd be joining the girls for the weekend, I right away got online to see if I could rent one again but came up with the same answer...."Open 5/12". Back then, I hadn't twisted a grip for almost 20 years.

There are some Free Spirits on the island.....isolation can bring that out.

5 Star dining establishment......If you look closely you'll see the "For Sale By Neighbor" sign.

The park signs are all in both Anishinaabe and English.

We visit the Town Park (eastern end of the island) whenever we take the car across, something that doesn't happen every trip due to the cost. The hike along the String of Pearls is worth it though. We start at the north end (top of this view), walk into the bordering State Park and then around the eastern tip of that park's peninsula where the beach is more rock than sand.

Nice walking temperatures but anytime that we were not in the trees, the 40 degree temps and wind made the warm sun almost mandatory.

To the lagoon.....

Looking the other way....

Lauren and I on the rocks....

Storm damage from a '91 wind storm, gusts of over 100mph.

After a coffee and cookie break in La Pointe, it was back on the ferry to cross the channel to Bayfield.

Almost back to the mainland.....

You can see our condo unit here through the trees. The little park commemorates this area that once was strictly the last home of watercraft no longer fit to be on the lake. Topiary, formal gardens, paths, a bridge over a small pond.....I even took the time to watch tadpoles sun themselves in the shallow water. A very nice place to sit; I spent time there more than once during our long weekend.

When I got up, I headed down the Brownstone Trail, a collaborative project with lakefront property owners. The trail follows the old rail line that carried goods back and forth between Ashland and Bayfield.

On the Brownstone Trail, looking back to the south end of Bayfield

My favorite tadpole pond.....

Early Sunday downtown....Magic Time.

For those of us that twist, this kind of reminder can make all the difference....Lefty Loosey isn't always the path to success.

I got the impression that it might be a training weekend for the Coast Guard cadets......

Hopefully the girls just missed their sailors' return.....

Sunday our plan was to make a loop, working our way over to Cornucopia. The Delta Diner our first destination.

A group of riders from Duluth....

My Spiked Grilled Chez Combo.....jalapeno's in both items.

Peg's PBLT......perch, bacon, lettuce and tomato.

From there on to Iron River, Port Wing, Herbster and finally Corny.

Smoked fish to push back starvation.....

The National Park HQ for the Apostle Islands....

I had seen some of this equipment being unloaded Monday afternoon. Tuesday morning they were making it go. Apparently the flags mark footing locations. The big tapered tube has an auger inside and based on my deductions, the auger assists the "funnel" to go down 15-16 ft. The loader dumps more rock into the hopper and as the tube backs out a couple of feet at a time, the auger reverses, driving the rock down into the sandy hole. In those pecks, the tube pushes down, packing the placed stones down into the hole. It was fascinating to watch.

Getting packed up and ready to head for home.....

But not before stopping for lunch at Maggie's.....

Such a nice break and almost enough days to really get away.

8 comments:

SonjaMMay 12, 2017 at 10:59 AM
A large body of water, blue skies, and a barefoot walk in the sand. What's not to love.
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TrobairitzMay 12, 2017 at 3:52 PM
Wow, such a pretty place to get away for a few days.

I think 'flicke'r is so much easier to say and spell, although doesn't sound as pretty as it does when spoken in the Native language I'd imagine.
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Speed BumpMay 13, 2017 at 6:36 AM
What a great weekend you & Peg had. I was to the Congdon Mansion back I 1994 when the Univ. of Mn was still restoring....I think that I would like to see it again. What a fun & interesting adventure matched with lot's of sunshine. Thanks for sharing!
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motormikeMay 13, 2017 at 6:56 PM
....seems.. someone ..read this blog... pack my bags.. go'n on a guilt trip...
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Others say....

"it was auspicious to approach any situation from a deferential, inquisitive place. Conceding that there is much to learn is the best blueprint for discovering something new." ----B. Fuller

The Man straightened stiffly above the block of salt fixed to the stake and looked at the young cattle ringed about him. The pasture was holding out well and the stock was looking good. This bunch would be ready to sell in another month, maybe sooner if the market was right.

A stir among the cattle down near the river brought him round to face the swinging bridge he'd built years before. Someone was coming toward him from the bridge. Someone in breeches, but it didn't look like a man, somehow. What was a woman doing in his pasture this time of night?

He bent over the salt again; maybe if he paid her no heed she'd go on past and let him mind his own business. He heard her footsteps come nearer and stop. "Good evening," she said.

Her voice was smooth with book learning but friendlier than most, and somehow almost shy. When he made no answer she went on, "I've been sitting on your swinging bridge....I thought I'd like to say thank-you...." Her voice stumbled a little, then she tried once more.

"You are Mr. ____". His name sounded strange in her voice, but she went on to tell her own.

"That's what they've called me the last sixty-eight years," he said, looking past her face to the hills fast darkening under a single star. "I reckon the woods are free for those that like to walk there."

The unfamiliar voice laughed a little. "That's what Emerson said: the grove belongs to the man who walks in it with an open heart....On that basis I guess I've owned part of your woods for a good many years.....". She made a final effort. "I've always wanted to thank you....."

Something deeply hidden stirred in him. "There's a stump up there, in the notch of the woods", he said slowly, "that before the timber grew so tall you could stand on it and see all over this country."

He kept still a minute, remembering, then, "I used to stand up there an' look at things, an' wonder how they come to be like they was, an' how the hills was created, an' all the things in Nature.... I told my wife I guessed all the religion I ever had I got standin' on that old stump, a-wonderin'..." He turned his face away from her.

She helped him out. "I know about that, a little. This afternoon I saw......." Her account of a thing she had really taken time to look at eased him, and he answered with telling of the badger den at the foot of the swinging bridge.

When she had gone, he turned to watch her. After a moment she stood clear and unmoving against the sky. You could hear the sounds of the river where she stood. She was one that could stand still long enough, he thought, really to hear what a body was saying, or a river.

Then she walked down the farther side of the slope and was gone. ------Margaret Snyder from A Chosen Valley

Fall was the end of harvest, end of the growing season, a burst of color and sun-warmth before killing frost turned the land gray and cold. Fall was a moody time, full of both life and death, a time when we were reminded of the power outside of us, reminded that the seasons happen to us. We do not invite the change to come.-------Ben Logan, from The Land Remembers

When you get those rare moments of clarity, those flashes when the universe makes sense, you try desperately to hold onto them. They are the lifeboats for the darker times, when the vastness of it all, the incomprehensible nature of life is completely elusive. So the question becomes or should have been all along, what would you do if you knew you only had one day, or one week, or one month to live. What lifeboat would you grab onto? What secret would you tell? What band would you see? What person would you declare your love to? What wish would you fulfill? What exotic locale would you fly to for coffee? What book would you write? ------- Ben Tyler

We were also cautioned about journeying far from home. As an example of the dangers, the town had a badly crippled lady named Lucy, who as a girl had traveled to New York City. As she traveled along a sidewalk, sightseeing, she was struck by the outstretched hand of a suicide who had leapt from high above. Her spine had been shattered and for the rest of her life, she was to walk bent forward at the waist, tapping the sidewalk with two black canes. Whenever the subject of travel to a big city was raised, someone would say, "Just remember what happened to Miss Tripp." ---- Ted Kooser, from Local Wonders

"Steamboats are like wedding cakes without the complications...." ----Mark Twain

"It's not about having lots of money, it's about having lots of options......." -----Chris Rock

As the very proud father of three former ponytail wearers, hopefully I can get away with this....."For the past few years it's been fashionable for young women to wear ball caps and to snap the strap on the back under their ponytails. I like the looks of that, their shiny ponytails jauntily swinging, but it's hard not to think of the rear ends of horses. There's a piece of harness called the crupper that goes just under a horse's tail to keep its nose down. If the horse lifts its head to look for a way out of whatever predicament it's in, the crupper tightens and hurts the horse. But it's foolish for parents to think that a ball cap might keep a young woman from running away. Anybody can see they're made for running." ------Ted Kooser, Local Wonders

"I tell the guy's girlfriend that the only difference between the book's main character Phaedrus and myself is that I am neither brilliant, tortured or insane, she looks at my bike and there is an uncomfortable silence." --------ahendepe (a.k.a. Vermin)