Another Lift Bridge Time Lapse
Roux Duncan captures a few ups and downs of the Aerial Lift Bridge on a lovely summer day/night.
Duluth Mountain Biking for Beginners and Kids
A friend asked me last week where beginners should go for a good first-time mountain biking experience in Duluth.
“I want good views — not afraid of some hills — but nothing crazy where I would have to be an expert,” she said.
I don’t mountain bike, so I can’t answer the question … or maybe that makes me the perfect guinea pig for an experiment. Anyway, a quick search of the internet seems to suggest Lester Park has a good “easiest” trail. Is there a middle-aged klutz out there who can endorse the Lester experience as a good trail for a first-time mountain biker? Or is there somewhere better suited to persons of limited balance?
Duluth Duluth Duluth is on fire
Tall Ships make James Gottfried wanna dance dance dance.
Cthonic Bedrock and Devonian Boulders
Patrolling Lake Superior’s Cthonic bedrock formations and Devonian boulders. Basaltic rock is dried lava sheets that decay into shelves littered with boulders at the edges. That is what we see here. Max depth 20 feet give or take a couple. Water has been cloudy this year due to rain, but finally cleared up enough here at the end of the summer to get this footage at one of my fave freediving spots.
Perfect Drinking Establishment: Sir Benedict’s Tavern
Area boozers and barflies have reached a general consensus: Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake is the perfect Duluth drinking establishment. The English-themed pub located at 805 E. Superior St. netted 34.5 percent of the vote in Perfect Duluth Day’s poll.
Sir Ben’s is a bit of an institution. It opened as a pub in 1978 (before that the building was a service station) with a focus on sandwiches and beer. The favored watering hole has long attracted a range of fans, from college students to musicians and business people.
Owners Josh and Kaila Stotts took over the tavern in April 2015. Josh was surprised to learn about the PDD poll. When asked what patrons appreciate about the bar, he said. “We try to offer a welcoming ambiance — a place where people can relax and feel really comfortable.”
Josh Stotts
Perspective Map of Duluth in 1893
Similar to the “Perspective Map of Duluth in 1887,” but more recent and from a bit different angle.
This Week: summer is, in fact, not endless and more
Here’s a bit of what you’ll find in this week’s PDD Calendar:
August is ending, and many ongoing summer events are winding down. The Hermantown and Downtown farmers’ markets are closing up shop in the upcoming weeks, the last Doggy Happy Hour at the Fitger’s Brewery complex happens on Tuesday, the Shark-Watching Society meets for the final time in 2016 and Teague Alexy performs during the last installment of the Chester Creek Concert Series.
Also: Woodland is ground zero for BBQ on Tuesday, Mayor Emily Larson and City Councilor Elissa Hansen invite the public to City Hall in the City, the 2016 Pride Celebration kicks off with the mayor’s reception and includes the Bayfront Pride Festival, the dark history of American assassins is explored in musical form, the classic football rivalry between East and Denfeld continues at Public Schools Stadium on Friday and a gaggle of musicians play the Super Big Block Party.
Is Bottoms Up the beer pouring device of the future?
Mike Mohr in front of one of his Bottoms Up beer dispensers
Gronk’s Bar and Grill in Superior has long been known for serving burgers upside down. In February, the bar was the first in the area to install a remarkable tap-beer delivery system that fills glasses from the bottom up. Since then another Superior drinking establishment, Jack’s Place, has also added a Bottoms Up system in its beer garden.
Gronk’s owner Mike Mohr first saw the Bottoms Up system at the Wisconsin State Fair. He was impressed with its technology and speed. Later, when his daughter was advocating for more craft beer taps at Gronk’s, he thought the novelty might be a good way to draw beer fans in. (more…)
PDD Quiz: August 2016
August is waning. How’s your short term memory? How much do you remember of what happened in and around Duluth this month? Let’s find out.
R.I.P. Monty
Monty Lee Wilkes
We mourn the passing of Monty Lee Wilkes, local boy who made good.
How to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse with a Special Needs Baby
Immeasurable amounts of Internet memes and quizzes have confirmed that I’m far from alone in daydreaming about my personal preparedness for a full-blown zombie takeover. I mean, I wouldn’t say I’m Doomsday Preppers-level obsessed with the subject, but I do regularly have Z-Day strategy conversations with my husband (which I’m keeping under wraps because we have a legitimately solid plan of operation and I can’t have other survivors flocking to the same rendezvous points or utilizing the same resources.)
These fun and hypothetical talks have evolved over the years as we’ve moved locations from our tiny college town in Western New York, to cities in between, and our ultimate settlement in Duluth. With the birth of our oldest daughter in 2011, the well-worn subjects of head-smashing weaponry, classification of zombies, and go-bag contents expanded to include comfortable long-distance child wearing techniques and fail-proof ways to keep a kid quiet. Unfortunately, we can’t even manage that last one in this current, zombie-free reality.
Then last year I gave birth to our second daughter. Would two kids slow us down? Yes, almost certainly. But we couldn’t leave them behind because that would be totally inhumane, and if we strip ourselves of our humanity, then what is left to separate us from the zombies we might face? (Plus, we’re their parents and stuff so … responsibilities, ya know?) (more…)
They’re here! First-year Students Have Arrived
Student leaders, great weather, stunning campus, incredible first-year students: UMD Welcome Week.
Selective Focus: Mary Plaster
Mary Plaster is best known As a papier-mâché artist, and for the Duluth All Souls Night celebration she has led. She tells about her work and the challenges of putting on an event like Duluth All Souls Night.
M.P.: I am a self-employed artist and facilitator, working in a variety of mixed media for 35 years. I paint, sculpt, do graphics, and photography. Fresh out of Missoula, MT High School art classes, I attended Minneapolis College of Art and Design and worked at Children’s Theatre Company in the properties department. I saw my first MayDay Parade in the late 1970s and fell in love with In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre (HoBT). I also attended a mask and physical theatre school near San Francisco. (more…)
DuluthiLeaks: 87 Places to Drink ’em Up
Haven’t you always wanted a checklist for places to get soused in Duluth? Well, fortunately the city’s Alcohol, Gambling and Tobacco Commission provides that very list. For the second edition of DuluthiLeaks — Perfect Duluth Day’s new feature in which public documents are released as if they contain secret information leaked from an anonymous whistle blower — we take a look at the list of on-sale liquor licenses issued in Duluth. The list breaks down which places can be open on Sunday, have more than one bar, permit dancing, stay open past 2 a.m. without serving alcohol, or serve alcohol between 1 and 2 a.m. (more…)
Jeremy Schwarze – “Duluth”
A new music video … clearly shot many months ago … that … just speaks for itself. Directed by Brad Lester.
New owners reopen Cedar Lounge in Superior
Tim and Naomi Nelson pose inside the Cedar Lounge just off Tower Avenue in Superior.
Trailblazing craft brewery owner and longtime Duluth bar developer Tim Nelson is ready to launch his newest drinking establishment in a historic, working waterfront neighborhood on the Superior side of the Twin Ports.
The Cedar Lounge, 1715 N. Third Street, just off Tower Avenue, opens in the shadows of the Harvest State Co-op grain elevators Friday, Aug. 26. Nelson and his wife, Naomi, purchased the historic bar building in December and the property has undergone a seven-month restoration. (more…)
Poll: Best Drinking Establishment in the Duluth Area
As we enjoy the last dregs of summer in all its boozy glory, we’re on a mission to determine Duluth’s “Perfect Drinking Establishment.” Last week we asked for nominations. The primary criteria (besides offering libations) was location. Bars had to be located within 10 miles of Duluth.
With your input, we compiled 23 nominees that run the gamut from dingy dive bars to sophisticated cocktail rooms. Now it’s time to vote for your favorite. This is a runoff poll. If the bar you initially voted for is eliminated, you can vote again among the remaining options. We’ll post the results in a few days.
At this time we are down to the Top Four: Bent Tap at Bent Paddle Brewing, Breeze Inn, Red Herring Lounge and Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake.
This poll is now closed. The results were:
Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake – 34.5 percent
Breeze Inn – 31 percent
Red Herring Lounge – 18.5 percent
Bent Tap at Bent Paddle Brewing – 16 percent
Busy Week
I returned from a trip to Manitoulin Island to a busy week in Duluth. I visited the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation, where I learned about traditional and contemporary first nations art. (more…)
Then and Now: St. Louis County Courthouse
There is no date on the above postcard image, but it appears to be 1960s-ish. The photo below is a modern-day view.
Slow TV: The Worst James Bond Movie
In Slow TV news, I’m taking a break this month from filming farming in meticulous detail to take you to a tourist trap in Switzerland. The World of James Bond museum sits atop Schilthorn in the Berner Oberland region because that’s where they filmed that one 007 movie with Telly Savalas. You might remember Telly Savalas from his classic Visit Duluth TV spot. George Lazenby starred as James Bond. You won’t remember him at all.
DuluthiLeaks: Gateway Landscape Plaza
For the first edition of DuluthiLeaks — Perfect Duluth Day’s new feature in which public documents are released as if they contain secret information leaked from an anonymous whistle blower — we take a look at the development of Duluth’s Gateway Plaza. The “landscaped plaza with a concrete sculptural element shaped in the form of a sail” that sits on the western edge of Duluth’s downtown was envisioned and built in the 1970s as a “landmark entrance” to the business district. Below is a look at early plans and sketches for the “well landscaped triangle.” (more…)
This Week: parties, festivals, fairs and more
Here’s a bit of what you’ll find in this week’s PDD Calendar:
The Miller Auction Service holds its weekly auction on Monday, people can play mini-golf in Superior to benefit the Old Firehouse and Police Museum, the Head of the Lakes Fair runs from Tuesday through Sunday, the public can attend an open house on the Superior Street reconstruction project, the Lake Superior Zoo is showing its Wild Side and Ladies’ Night Karaoke is going down at R.T. Quinlan’s on Wednesday.
The Silk Shieks bring the instrumental thunder to the Red Herring, little tykes can join up with the River Rovers Nature Playgroup, Sour Fest 2016 is the place for people who like their beers to make them pucker up, Jack Sparrow stars in the final Movies in the Park of the year, the Lake Superior Dragon Boat Festival is back, there’s a block party going down on Jefferson Street, the fifth Superior Man Triathlon will host over 400 athletes and the 125th anniversary of Minnesota’s state parks and trails is celebrated.