Our final camping weekend for the 2003 season was November 7th-8th and 9th. We decided to go to northern Minnesota again, because we had been up there during the summer and thought it would be nice to see the area under a blanket of snow. Well, we saw snow; We also experienced  cold temperatures. Friday night, we stopped at Moose Lake State Park, parked and plugged into electricity. Dawn went out to take a few photographs (night photo of campsite (94k) - morning photo of campsite (96k)). Saturday we woke up to near zero outside temperatures. We had not yet winterized our camper, and our water lines froze up inside our camper (under the water heater, as did the long water lines that lead to the bathroom), and did not flow. No damage was done and later in the day when things warmed up water was flowing again. After getting waking up and getting ready for the road, we departed for Duluth.

At Duluth, we went to Canal Park because the Boat Watcher's hotline had predicted the passage of a ship Saturday morning. We arrived at about 9:30, ate breakfast and went into the marine museum when it opened at 10:00. Inside we found out that no ships were due on Saturday. We departed at about 11:00, and went looking for a trailer dump station. We did not find one (as it turns out it would have made little difference - read on for details). We then drove to Proctor to see the DM&IR Railroad. The Canadian Nation Railroad has offered to buy this interesting little railroad, and once the Surface Transportation Board approves the sale it will be absorbed into the CN system, only to be seen in books and museums.

We took our pictures at Proctor, and headed north to a place called Baden, a couple miles north of Alborn. The was a nice spot between the DM&IR Railroad and the BNSF Railroad's line to the iron range. We found a nice spot to park, took a nap and ate lunch. The scanner announced a BNSF train was on the way. I got a picture, and went back to warm up and eat lunch in the camper while we waited for another train. The DMIR surprised us, and we saw this train. This train snuck up on us, so this is the only picture we got.

From Baden, we drove north on the county road that parallels the DM&IR Railroad, and turned went east on state highway 37 to US highway 53. We drove to Virginia looking for propane. We had one empty tank and were using a lot of propane keeping the trailer warm. Didn't find anything in Virginia, so we kept going. Once in Hibbing, we looked all over, and finally asked the mechanics at Rapid Oil Change. They directed us to a station a couple blocks off the main highway. We had our empty tank refilled for $13 (which seems kind of expensive to us....) and were on our way.

Arriving at McCarthy Beach State Park, we drove the dump station. It had not been plowed out, but the three inches of snow was not a big deal. We prepared to dump our black water tank, and could not open the dump valve. Before leaving home I even dumped in a bunch of rock salt to try to keep the contents of the tank from freezing. The contents I could see down the toilet were indeed liquid, but the valve would not move a bit. The weather was forecast to be warmer Sunday (highs around 45), and we hoped that we would be able to dump on the way home. We found our campsite, and Dawn took pictures of the lunar eclipse. I walked to the registration station and paid the camping fee. After a full moon the previous night, the darkness provided by the lunar eclipse was neat. We then ate dinner and went to bed.

Sleeping Saturday Night was much quieter. The furnace did not run as much because it was 20 degrees outside in the morning instead of zero, and our quiet electric heater provided almost all of the heat needed to keep warm. Sunday morning water was flowing in the kitchen, but not in the bathroom. The sunrise was wonderful.

From McCarthy Beach, we traveled south to Hibbing, and then East on MN highway 37 to US highway 53, where we turned south. We had hoped to get some photos of the CN railroad (former DWP) between Virginia and Duluth. Listening to the scanner, we found that there was trackwork happening on the railroad north of Virginia, and that there would be little traffic. We set a course for Duluth.

Arriving Duluth, we looked for a trailer dump station at the rest area on I-35 near highway 2, and did not find one. We checked the boat watcher hotline, and a couple ships were due to arrive during the early afternoon. We then drove to the waterfront, and parked near the famous aerial lift bridge on the east side. As we crossed the bridge, we could see a ship heading toward us way out on the horizon. We parked and ate lunch. After lunch, we walked back out on the bridge and we could see two ships approaching. We went back to the camper to keep warm.

A few minutes later we went back outside, and waited for the first ship to arrive. It was the Indiana Harbor and was headed for the coal dock in Superior, Wisconsin to pick up a load of coal.

The next ship was the Mesabi Miner. We then drove to the Duluth public dock, under and just north of the I-535 bridge, where we saw her stop, and turn in her own length, and proceed to back down to the coal dock for loading.

We then hit I-35 southbound. Along the way we passed another Scamp being pulled by a lady driving a pickup truck. We waved and smiled, and she waved back. We stopped at Hinckley where went to the Grand Casino RV Park (nice park if you are going to the casino, but pretty sterile.)  At the RV park, which is open all year, they didn't have a dump station. For $3, they allowed us to use a campsite to dump our sewer. I'd expect that during a busy weekend they would not be able to accommodate this, but on this day there was no problem. They also encouraged us to connect water and flush our holding tanks thoroughly. After not being able to open the black water tank gate valve the previous night, it was a pleasant surprise to find open the valve opened and closed normally.

After we stowed all the hoses from the dumping process, we went back to the freeway and headed for home.

All for this trip. Thanks for reading about it. We hope to get out early in 2004. Stay tuned!