AUGUST 2013
After leaving the Gooseberry Falls State Park, we once more head a few miles north on 61 till we reach the Silver Bay area. This first photo sent me on a research tangent. Meet Rocky Taconite. Rocky is made out of storage tanks of thick steel, erected in 1964. Supposedly that plaque tells a story about Rocky, and the of the man who figured out the way to change something that absolutely had no value into a valuable thing. By digging around a bit, it may be that man is Edward Wilson Davis, but, that is a bit of a guess by this researcher. Rocky has a Facebook page, for the record. If you are curious about taconite, yes, there is a Wikipedia page for that as well.
We drove up to the Northshore Scenic Overlook and got out and took the short walk.
I found flowers, wild flowers, along the way, see if you can find the buzz maker having lunch:
Over looking Silver Bay, you might note the dead birch trees, lots of them. Of course, I went researching, and found that the birch started dying of old age in the 1980s, hurried along at times by drought, disease, and insects. Deer also factor into this issue. I found articles here and here.
This is the North Shore Mining Taconite Plant:
Tis time to turn back to Duluth, but, we stop for a photo op of the Split Rock Lighthouse first. Sony and I were working it, zoom, zoom, zoom:
Our day is drawing to a close, we have enjoyed this brief stop in the Duluth area. Back at the campground we wander down to the waters edge, this is the Saint Louis River.
Not a bad view to end the day.
The next day we will travel to Ishpeming Michigan for one nights stay.
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