YES SANTA CLAUS, there is a Virginia. It's a small city in northern Minnesota, and it's where I am now. Along with the rest of my merry band of travel companions, I got here by riding the Mesabi Trail east and a bit north from Hibbing. Rolling out of Hibbing gives me an opportunity for a few final photos of what might have been my favorite town of the trip, though in fairness it's also the only one I really explored at any level of detail.
It's definitely still iron mine country. We pass a number of open pit mines- the water-filled ones we presume are no longer active producers, where the active ones still show signs of life. Along the way we also pass a few more splashes of emerging autumn color.
Milkweed, but I assume the monarch butterflies have long since departed for Mexico.
There are also large piles (hills, now) of overburden and rock that have accumulated as the quest for iron continued. The lakes are pretty enough, but the piles of rock rather less so. Still, without iron mining the region would probably be economically desolate so there's that. And the country has benefitted greatly from access to the iron.
Keith AdamsTo Gretchen Carlson"TRUCKS HAULING" seems to be unique to Minnesota, or at least I've never encountered the phrase anywhere else. Reply to this comment 7 months ago
Happily, we're screened from the view of much of this industrial carnage by the walls of trees that line both sides of the trail. There are times when view blockers are a virtue. They do impart something of a sameness to the trail scenes, as I've mentioned in earlier posts, but are appealing and make for pleasant riding nonetheless.
Fountain in Virginia. Created by the WPA during the Depression, it nearly fell into disuse and ruin but was rescued after local citizens raised money to repair it and return it to operation.
That last one was, apparently, the town that was first associated with the vast iron deposits in the region. There's a small park in Mountain Iron with some heavy equipment on display. It's only a handful of miles from our hotel in Virginia, leaving us the luxury of time to poke around.
A mineral (? I couldn't see any sign of motion nor hear any roar of falling water) waterfall, across the (artificial) lake created by the iron mine adjacent to the town.
Weather-wise, it was on the cool side for most of the day thanks to a pretty consistent overcast, though we did get glimpses of sunshine toward the end. And we had a lovely sunset, which for once I was able to appreciate in real time.
Keith AdamsTo Charmaine RuppoltThey were supposed to be out later that evening, but when I got up at midnight to look I didn't see them. Reply to this comment 7 months ago
Keith AdamsTo Bonny SkovbrotenI tried but downtown Virginia may be too bright. Too bad because it's a lovely evening. Reply to this comment 8 months ago
