I am back out on the blacktop again today, but it’s only a short drive of about three hours. I can get to where my next reservation is with plenty of time to explore. I just don’t know what I can trust as far as public lands being accessible or even open so it’s another KOA tonight.

It was a beautiful drive over here today, but I think that of all the roads I have driven on this trio so far the worst ones have been mostly here in MN. I don’t know what they do with their tax money but they need to fix some roads with some of it. Anyway, the drive through the Chippewa National Forest was beautiful.

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I got to Cloquet, MN and found it to be a really pretty area. As I was driving through town to the campsite I saw this interesting building:

Apparently, this building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. I know there are a few of his buildings in the region.

I got checked in and had some lunch after getting the trailer set up and unhitched. This is their last open weekend for the summer and they upgraded me to a patio site that had a wood swing. I was outside for a little when I was cooking but got attacked by bugs so had to come inside. I didn’t really get to enjoy the swing much.

I rememberd seeing an local old-school burger joint on Triple D some time back so I looked it up and found out it is called Gordy’s Hi Hat Drive-In. My kind of place to eat. I mean really…look at that burger, and that fish sandwich is probably awesome as well. I got conflicting info whether or not it was open so naturally I had to go find out. Rats…closed for the season. Imagine something on the internet being incorrect. It is now on my bucket list so next time.

I decided to go to Duluth to see what was going on. It’s a large city – not Minneapolis large – but it’s certainly bigger than what I am used to. I ended up going down to see the waterfront and it was insane – way too many people for me and hardly a mask in site. The hell with that. I wanted to walk around but not with all those people.

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I left there and decided to head back to the trailer. On the way I saw an exit for Wisconsin so ”what the hell” I said and went to Superior over a big bridge.

I was heading over to get on another bridge to head back over and got into a downtown area that was interesting. I got to US 2 and went back across on another big bridge. Apparently Duluth is one busy port city and these bridges are tall enough to accommodate the biggest ships.

This also was a bit of a milestone, as I have now been on US 2 from Washington state all the way to Superior, WI. That means I have been on almost all of the western part of that highway, albeit in bits and pieces, but it’s still something on my bucket list to finish.

I just kind of took it easy today. Trying to slow down on the distances. I got through the mountains which was a concern with the weather this time of year. Now that I am in the Midwest I can slow down some. I was talking to someone parked next to me earlier and she said something about the “330 rule” some RV people follow. It means stopping whichever come first – either 330 miles or 3:30 (15:30). I also saw another version called the 3/300 rule. I saw another version called the ”9-6-3 rule”; leave by 9, drive no more than 6 hours, cocktail in hand by 3. I kinda like that one and is pretty much what fits me best.

I know today’s drive from Bemidji was about 3 hours and it was very relaxing and unhurried – the way it should be. I was shooting for between 3-5 hours, but some days you want to make better distance so I will adjust as I go. The “blue highways” (two-lane roads) have lower speeds so that needs to be considered as well.

Tomorrow’s drive is about 3 1/2 hours so it’s another leisurely day. I’ll be able to get a leisurely start after an easy morning getting things ready to go. I have been unhitching, driving around exploring, and then coming back to hitch the trailer back up. That means all I need to do in the morning is empty the tanks, put the hoses and power cable away, and hit the road. I am just a few miles from the interstate so it will be quick & easy to get back on the road. I’m finding this to be very efficient.

It’s so nice to be getting some room to rearrange as I go. Between getting the groceries eaten and put in different places I am able to make more room for myself inside. I finally got my giant suitcase off of half of my bed and into the truck and I slept so much better last night.

Anyway, time to unwind a bit. Until next post…