The Lake I Will No Longer Name

June 6, 2016

Finland State Forest, Minnesota

I forgot to mention a few people I met yesterday. I came upon the first one as I was leaving Canal Park. I noticed a fully-loaded bicycle so I rode over to investigate. He was a young dude on a bicycle trip from Boston to Washington state. He was quite vague in his answers to a couple questions I had about his trip, asked nothing about mine, and seemed far more interested in his Kindle than in talking. I guess he just wanted his privacy. I can respect that. I've occasionally had strangers bother me too, but generally they haven't been smart, friendly, charismatic and positive people like the guy who was annoying him.

The next guy I met was Josh, a Duluthian who stopped by my site while I was setting up my tent. He had lots of questions about bike touring and he said he'd like to do something like that some day. I encouraged him to do so. When I told him I spent the previous night in Duluth, he said, "You should have called me. I'd have given you a place to stay." I didn't have the heart to remind him that I didn't know him until just now.

Third was Frank, a motorcycle tourist from southern Illinois who was taking a three-day trip around Lake Superior. He was riding solo, but I got the impression that he wasn't very comfortable with being alone because he made several trips over to my site to chat. He also invited me over to his site for dinner, which he said would consist of fried potatoes, onions and (gulp!) Spam, and to sit around his campfire for a while.

I declined the meal, but I said I would probably stop over to see the fire.

After my modest, but inspired, supper of three tortillas filled with sliced turkey and cheese curds, I honored my promise to view Frank's campfire. The fire was blazing nicely, and on the grate above it was a cast iron pan full of perfectly browned potatoes and onions and Spam. It looked so bloody good. At that particular moment, I think I would have chosen his spuds and Spam over any fancy-schmancy meal prepared by the finest chefs in the world. Yeah, it looked and smelled that delicious.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like some?" Frank asked again.

I could see there was only enough food in the pan for one hungry person. "No thanks, Frank, I already ate."

"What did you have?"

Try to imagine my embarrassment as I described myself stuffing some day-old deli meat and cheap cheese curds into a cold tortilla. I'm pretty sure it was twice as embarrassing as you just imagined.

Now I am embarrassed again because I just spent several paragraphs telling you about yesterday. I should have told you about yesterday in yesterday's post, not today's post.

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Let's move on to what I did TODAY.

While riding away from the park I got a photo of Gooseberry Falls from above. Lake Superior is out there beyond the trees.

I liked that piece of land jutting out into Lake Superior. I liked the little Lake Superior island too. But I liked that lone tree in the foreground even more.

It would take many more pictures to do justice to the WORLD'S GREATEST LAKE, yet I resisted many photo-ops while pedaling further along the north shore. I was saving my efforts for some pictures of one of Minnesota's most revered and most photographed historic sites.

A bike trail led me most of the way there, but I did have to lock up my bike and take a hike down to lake level for the next shot.

Now I have my own version of a picture that dwells in every Minnesota Chamber of Commerce brochure and every "Guide to Minnesota" book in existence.

I hiked back up and got this Annie Liebowitz-like close-up of Split Rock Lighthouse.

I can understand if the readers of my blog are bored of my admiration for Lake Superior, and how I refer to Lake Superior as THE WORLD'S GREATEST LAKE, and the number of times I have said the name "Lake Superior." At the risk of sending you off to somebody else's bike touring journal, I just have one more thing to say about that awesome lake. While riding a bicycle on Highway 61 you will see numerous waterfalls and cascades tumbling out of the Sawtooth Mountains down into Lake-You-Know-What. While driving a car at 60-m.ph. you would never notice them.

Me and Rocky Taconite in Silver Bay, Minnesota.

One last look at Lake-You-Know-What as I climb up into the Sawtooth Mountains.

I pedaled up into Minnesota's version of mountains and got a campsite in the Eckbeck Campground of the Finland State Forest. I am camped right on the banks of the Baptism River. I would have been pleased to baptize any other campers into my Church of the Great Outdoors but, alas, there weren't any other campers.

I cannot wait to go to sleep to the sound of the Baptism River's rippling waters.

Today's ride: 26 miles (42 km)
Total: 261 miles (420 km)

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