Gophers and Cheese

The trip my father and I took to the Gunflint Trail in August 2011 was a lot of fun.  Here are a few selected photos from the last 6 posts that I think look great in black & white. Day One: Day Two: Day Three: Day Four: Day Five:

Last month, my father and I took a 5-day motorcycle trip to the Gunflint Trail to ride, relax, and do some fishing.  If you're not familiar, the Gunflint Trail is way up in the northeastern tip of Minnesota.  You basically ride north, past Duluth, along Lake Superior until you reach Grand Marais (not far from the Canadian border) and then ride northwest along the trail.  It's a beautiful area of the state and it was my first time there. We had a great time and I'll share a bunch of photos from the trip over a series of posts. Here's a map of the direct route taking I-35.  It's about 300 miles or 6 hours if you take that route. View Larger Map We came back that way in one day but we broke the ride up into 2 days.  Day one, we headed due north and rode around Lake Mille Lacs before cutting east and stopping for the day in Duluth.  Day two was a more leisurely ride up to our lodge on the Gunflint.  Days 3 and 4 were spent around the lodge. ...

I love riding up and down MN-47.  It's a much more enjoyable ride than taking US-169.  On March 14th, I rode up to Lake Mille Lacs .  It's the second-largest lake in Minnesota and it was still covered in a thick sheet of ice.  It felt at least 10 degrees colder near the lake.  This trip is yet another 150-mile loop from the Twin Cities that I really enjoy.  You can add 60 miles by riding all the way around the lake but I chose not to do that this day. This is Portside Beer & Liquor near Isle,MN, next to the lake.  I love "road cheese" like the two giant fish in the background and will almost always stop to take pictures. The outside of this diner had a nice feel to it.  It wasn't open and I can't tell if it is still in business.  I think it was in or just south of Isle, MN.  The sign says "Cruisin' at Pat & Kari's Diner". This is an old abandoned building (church?) that is along MN-47.  For some reason, I really lik...