North Shore of Lake Superior Posts

Hiking at Gooseberry Falls

Noah Penn and his new friends from the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Chi Alpha chapter, a Christian campus ministry, hike the majestic Gooseberry Falls State Park, about 30 miles northeast of Duluth.

Drone footage from the North Shore of Lake Superior

Twin Cities videographer Matt Smith of Odyssey Visuals recently took a quick weekend trip up the North Shore and captured these images from his drone.

Postcard from Alpert’s Motel on Scenic Highway 61

Alpert’s Motel was located “13 miles from Downtown Duluth on North Shore Drive. Scenic Highway 61 on Lake Superior Circle Route.” The back of the postcard shown here indicates the motel offered “all the modern conveniences for your comfort, spacious grounds and beautiful view of Lake Superior.”

Joe and Mary Beth Alpert moved from Duluth to the French River area in 1952 to build the motel. They managed it until 1976. Joe died in 2004; Mary Beth in 2012. The motel was auctioned off in 1992.

North Country from Above

Brooklyn, N.Y.-based filmmaker and cinematographer Andrew Cagle recently shot this aerial footage in the Duluth area and along the North Shore of Lake Superior. He’s working on a documentary project, but compiled some of his favorite shots for this video, with Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash singing “Girl From the North Country” as the soundbed.

Hydrologists say they’ve solved the Devil’s Kettle mystery

Devils KettleWhere does the water go? That’s the question that has puzzled scientists and random hikers along the Brule River for decades.

Upstream from the Devil’s Kettle waterfall at Judge C.R. Magney State Park, the river splits in two at a rock outcropping. “The east side of the river plummets 50 feet into a pool, in typical waterfall fashion,” according to Minnesota Department of Natural Resources “Field Notes” in the March/April 2017 issue of Minnesota Conservation Volunteer magazine. “But on the west side, the water plunges into a cavernous hole in the rock and vanishes.”

Where does it go?

In late fall 2016, hydrologists Heather Emerson and Jon Libbey measured water flow above Devil’s Kettle at 123 cubic feet per second. Several hundred feet below the waterfall, the water was flowing at 121 cubic feet per second. “In the world of stream gauging, those two numbers are essentially the same and are within the tolerances of the equipment,” Green explains. “The readings show no loss of water below the kettle, so it confirms the water is resurging in the stream below it.”

Duluth and Beyond

Thomas Hays of Minneapolis produced this video of highlights from a recent trip to Duluth, Two Harbors and Gooseberry Falls. Perfect Duluth Day probably publishes about eight of these “trip to Duluth” videos a year, but this one has a pretty distinct style compared to others.

Subzero with Lake Superior’s Sea Smoke

In this video, Dawn LaPointe of Radiant Spirit Gallery explores a section of Lake Superior’s North Shore on a day when temperatures hovered around -10°F.

Climbing Palisade Head

GoPro video by Lucas Huibregtse.

Castle Danger and Lake Superior Aerial Video

castel-dangerShot by Kyle Christy of St. Paul.

Old Grand Marais Photos

GrandMarais1

A collection of old Grand Marais photos. At least some of them, if not all, are believed to be shot by Milford John Humphrey.

North Shore Aerials – Summer 2016

North Shore AerialsAnother beautiful aerial video of Lake Superior’s North Shore, this time by Open Window Productions of Minneapolis.

Perfect North Shore Restaurant: Gunflint Tavern

PDD-North-Shore-Restaurant-AwardLogoOne conclusion can be easily drawn from the results of Perfect Duluth Day’s poll to name the best restaurant on Lake Superior’s North Shore: Grand Marais is the place to be. The top three restaurants are located there, including the perfect one, Gunflint Tavern.

Owner Jeff Gecas says it hasn’t always been easy. He and his wife Susan are “Deadheads” who decided to create the business “almost selfishly” in 1998 because there wasn’t anywhere to watch live music and drink microbrews on draft in Grand Marais. “We never had Bud or Miller Lite. We didn’t allow smoking. People said ‘They’ll never make it,'” Gecas remembers. “We’re now in our 19th year.”

Upending convention, the Tavern now offers music 260 nights a year and brews its own beer. With its eclectic menu, craft beer and live music several nights of the week, it has become a North Shore institution and a favorite among locals and tourists alike.

In an outpost like Grand Marais, one might be surprised to find bangers and mash, chicken mole and an Asian noodle bowl under the same roof. Casual fare like burgers and pizzas are available at the Gunflint Tavern too, as are finer dining options such as walleye, steak and mushroom ravioli.

A Ride Through a Field of Daisies

DaisiesOn the North Shore of Lake Superior near Knife River, Frank Sander rides through a field of daisies with his new bike. Slightly promotional, mostly delightful.

Poll: Best Restaurant on the North Shore

north shore fork spoonLast week we compiled a list of nominees for the best restaurant on the North Shore of Lake Superior. The specific territory: Knife River to Grand Portage — basically anything in Lake or Cook counties was eligible for nomination.

Obviously several Duluth-area restaurants are technically “on the North Shore” — in particular the winner of PDD’s Perfect Restaurant Poll: New Scenic Café. For this poll we’re looking at places that are, at the very least, a serious bike ride from the Zenith City.

What’s the Perfect North Shore Restaurant? Vote now and have a say. Keep in mind that this is a runoff poll, so as time goes by the number of options will reduce. If the restaurant you initially voted for is eliminated, you may vote again among the remaining options.

We started with 27 nominees, then whittled it down to the Final Four: Angry Trout Café, the Crooked Spoon, Gunflint Tavern and Vanilla Bean.

This poll is now closed. The results were:

Gunflint Tavern – 35 percent
Angry Trout – 26 percent
Crooked Spoon – 22 percent
Vanilla Bean – 17 percent

The Trio’s Trek to (almost) Canada

The Trio‘Tis the season for North Shore hiking videos. This one is by Jake Oswald.

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