Traveling along Highway 2 heading west, we decided to see some waterfalls along the way. The first one — well, I won’t even mention it as there was nothing there. The road gave us 4 different directions to go with no signs so we headed to our second waterfall.
The second waterfall is Saxon Waterfalls which is on the Montreal River.
We drove up to see the following sign
We knew there was a boat ramp in this area as we saw a sign for it so we kept poking around until we found something.
We found the dam (with no water) and the lake by driving around to the other side.
We know there are falls somewhere around here. The sign says so!
There’s the boat ramp … and the lake …
Oh — wait. Here they are. They are so small. Tee hee …
Unfortunately, we did not have the privilege of having internet directions to get us to the actual 90 foot falls. (Click here to read about them) These falls are not visitor friendly.
Time to head to the next waterfall — the Superior Falls. I don’t know what is going on in Wisconsin with the signs for the waterfalls — unless they don’t want people to check out the falls. This is the highway sign — we almost missed the turn.
Superior Falls is located on the Montreal River just a few hundred yards from Lake Superior.
There is a hydro plant next to the falls.
We didn’t think we were going to be able to see the falls because of this large fence.
We were rewarded for being diligent in finding these waterfalls. Very beautiful!
From these waterfalls we headed west in Wisconsin towards Duluth. We stopped at a scenic bypass that overlooked Lake Superior and the Apostle Islands but they couldn’t be seen very well from here.
We then stopped in the city of Ashland, Wisconsin at Bayview Park to stretch our legs.
Because of the beautiful day, we also saw a beautiful view.
Our choice now was whether to stay on Highway 2 or head north along Lake Superior on Highway 13. We chose Highway 13 — mainly because we weren’t sure we were going to be this way again so we decided to take this opportunity.
The first few miles were rather boring. For most of Highway 13, you really can’t see the lake although when you look at a map it appears that you will be right next to the lake. Overall, it was scenic — just not “lake” scenic.
We made our way westward to Duluth. This town of almost 90,000 people reminded me of Seattle. The town is built on a hill that faces Lake Superior. It has steep hills very similar to Seattle. It seems more condensed though. I didn’t like the feel of the city — it didn’t flow to me.
Rather than spend the night in Duluth, we continued west and stopped at a rest stop called Thompson Hill Travel Information Center. The Center sits atop a hill and has a beautiful view of the valley and of Duluth.
We really wanted to stop for the evening before the sun set and finally stopped in a small town called McGregor which is on Highway 210. At first we weren’t sure we were going to be able to find lodging but we did locate a hotel called the Country Meadows Inn.
We were a little hesitant to stay at this Inn. First, it was 5:30 in the evening and the parking lot was totally empty. Then, when we walked inside, the place smelled like the swimming pool which means they are using too much solution in the pool.
A shriek from a little girl was soon hushed by one of the females behind the counter. We’re sure this Inn is run by an Indian family.
Well, we thought, why not? The man behind the counter checked us in and we headed to our room. Since I have allergies to strong smells, I had specifically asked him if they used Downy or fragrances on their sheets or towels. No, he said, just some on the carpet. The “some” turned out to be a lot and I had to open a window to breathe.
The room was clean although they use cheaper furnishings and toiletries. The towels are thin. A plunger in the bathroom made me think we would have problems but we didn’t.
After going out to dinner, we came back and the room smelled a little better. The small refrigerator was unplugged and had a cup inside filled with white “stuff” and a note that said “baking soda.” Pretty tacky.
The Inn has free Wi-fi available. Unfortunately, their internet has a virus. When you do a search on the internet, you are directed to an ip address in Ukraine. The sites that came up were sites with advertising on them. This happened with each site that I visited. After I searched for the site a second time, it directed me to the correct place.
I’m not sure the Inn knows that they have a virus and will be sending them an email to let them know they should have someone check it.
Night time came quickly enough. Next — on to Brainerd!
Baking soda is good for absorbing odors. What would you rather they had done?
Put a real box of baking soda? The place was so deserted I can’t imagine they would use more than a couple rooms a night, if that.