2 Scares, 5 Salties, The Buckeye, Gorillas and more.

First Scare Today's trip started out with a near disaster when, after only ten minutes on the road, an oncoming car swerved fully into our lane for no apparent reason; a head on collision was averted by milliseconds when my wife braked hard to the right as the other driver jerked his car back to it's proper position. After the incident, both cars continued on undamaged but for extremely startled and now alert (I'm sure!) drivers. The moment where we had been traveling head on to each other at 60 mph with less than 50 feet between vehicles seemed unreal. 5 Salties Our first glimpse of the lake revealed what looked to be a traffic jam of ships, but turned out to be five salties at anchor, waiting their turn to load. They swayed at anchor all day, with no sign of life. They did, however, provide interesting scenery. The Buckeye The wind blew from the east all day and the waves grew accordingly, probably reaching 4 ft. by afternoon. Lake Superior is now 1 ft. above normal , the highest it has been since 1985, so there was a definite lack of beach, except where the dredge had built up along Minnesota Point. Later in the afternoon the rain would drive people from the LakeWalk, but not before the Buckeye left, which happened just as the first light sprinkle began. Mountain Gorillas The new Duluth Museum There are several new exhibits at the Canal Park Marine Museum that I really enjoyed; one exhibit shows large, detailed aerial views of the docking facilities in the harbor and what materials are handled by each; coal, cement, grain, etc. I have really come to appreciate how important the movement of huge quantities of raw materials is to the area and U.S. trade. I have always been something of an ecologist and naturalist, and I believe improvements in environmental protection make the industry much less of a problem than I had imagined. (I am now an avid shipwatcher while remaining a dedicated supporter of the best of nature. The contrasts in my interests sometime confuse me; I am fascinated by both huge, man-made creations or tiny, insignificant creatures living under a rock. ) Garfield Ave Observation Area Just before we left Duluth, we stopped under the Blatnik Bridge, exiting at Garfield Ave. and parking at the boat landing. I've got in the habit of checking this spot out for last minute ship watching opportunities. Today we got a close look as the Algocape being loaded with cement at the St. Lawrence Cement Co. Walking out on the fishing pier gave us views of both sides of the ship. Interesting side note: within 6 days of our visit there were two separate accidents where semi's overturned on the bridge ramps at Garfield Ave., blocking traffic for several hours each time. Second Scare We have a two hour trip home from the point where we pass Moccasin Mike Road on the south edge of Superior. Today it would be getting dark after the first hour. At the worst possible time, when it is just dark enough that you have to have the headlights on but they don't really help, a deer appeared off our starboard bow. My wife was again at the wheel. (She always drives the roads near home). With squealing tires, she locks the brakes and we skid to a stop on the shoulder of the opposite lane, VERY close to a deep ditch and facing back the way we had just come from. The last I saw the deer, it was incredibly close to our right front bumper. Where it went, I have no idea. Two close encounters of the wrecking kind in one day! Whew!

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