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Finally! Time for my trip East! I had planned to leave at eight o'clock in the morning, but of course I didn't. Just before nine I left home and travelled down Highway 59 to Tolstoi. At the border crossing, I was the only one there. I had a brief chat with the American custom guard. He owns a Honda Gold Wing and he thought my trip to the East Coast would be fun.
Sunny day, nice ride... of course it was just too good to be true. I arrived in Thief River Falls around 11 o'clock. I stopped there to fill up my tank. As I turned around to put the gas nozzle into my tank, the wind blew, and something fell and went "tink". Would you believe my gas cap had snapped off?
An hour and a half later, many phone calls to very as BMW dealers, I was still in thief River Falls but finally had a solution...
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I passed many familiar things. I've traveled Highway 59 and Highway 2 several times on my journeys. Since I hoped to make it to Ashland before nightfall, I only stopped for things I hadn't seen or noticed before.
In Fosston, I found the perfect golf cart.
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Can you "dig" those racing flames?
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Just short of Cass Lake, there is a rest stop...
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...which allows you look out over the lake.
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Of course, wherever there is a lake, there are people taking advantage of it.
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If you drive a little further, you find up pretty resort called Stone Point. I decided to stop for lunch there.
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Beside the resort there is a pretty little canal where you can launch your boat.
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Here you can see the boats pulled up right beside the restaurant.
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There was a sign posted by the docks reminding people to clean their boats out before leaving the area. I had never thought of it before but of course if you take animal or plant life from one lake to another you can contaminate water systems.
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Beside the canal there was another little pond by an RV parking area.
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From my table in the restaurant, I had a great view of the canal.
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How's this for an interesting passenger? This retriever seemed quite at home in a boat.
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I was just starting to make up lost time when something else went wrong. At the gas station in Deer River, I noticed that my main headlight had burnt out. There was no place to replace it in Deer River, but I was able to find an auto parts store in Grand Rapids. I was able to pull the bulb out but I had trouble putting the new bulb in. David, from the store, delayed his trip home and helped me. Thanks David.
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I was feeling sorry for myself when I saw this aircraft losing altitude quickly...
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Just kidding! The jet and also a train are displayed at the entrance to a golf course just short of Duluth.
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Crossing over the bridge system from Duluth into Superior is awesome. Unfortunately, there really is no where to take a picture which would do it justice. Oh well...
I did take a few shots in Superior of Baker Island...
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... what I think are boat garages (sorry, I don't know what to call them)...
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...and the marina. Not great shots... I really had to press on to get to my destintion.
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One last gas stop... at last! No problems! I also got to meet these cuties.
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The sun was setting, I really needed to get to Ashland, but I just had to stop to take a picture of this great mural in Iron River. I'm just guessing but I'll bet the mural is a picture of what the corner used to look like.
I did make it to Ashland for the night... just as turned dark.
Next Day
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