June 28, 1997, MN North Shore
The thin but total overcast blocked 90% of the sun's energy, allowing only faint shadows to appear from time to time. We had just traversed the cobblestone beach along the bay south of Apostle Islands, fourty miles away as the crow flies.
Multiple blasts of a ship's whistle startled us from our clifftop reverie. The loud incongruent echoes had barely faded when the amplified voice began it's narration.
I inexplicably knew, it must be......The Grampa Woo.
The Grampa Woo the third, to be precise.
What a coincidence! What a stroke of luck! We had accidently seen a channel 5 story on the NEW Grampa Woo just the night before! This half-million dollar plus tour boat replaced the Grampa Woo II that had been wrecked on the shores of (grt) Island last fall, when the "Gales of November" came early on October 30, 1997. I believe that all Grampa Woo's, past and present, are the only passenger carrying tour boats that ply the water's of Lake Superior. Now based in Beaver Bay MN, the Woo carries sightseers on two hour trips up and down the coast of the north shore. It was named for a beloved ancestor of the captains wife. We had a ride on the original Grampa Woo the first, in 93. Woo I was smaller than II or III and had been used off North Carolina as a fishing and diving boat.
The ship must have followed a course in our blind spot, directly behind the small island that lay between us and the lighthouse, which was clearly visible on the cliff a mile north. Always alert for "Superior" photos (pun intended!), I was hoping the Woo would come around our side of the island. It would have made a contest-winning picture. Alas, fate was against me. Although I did snap a shot of it's bow thru a narrow window between shore and island, the entire ship was never visible from our position. Tantalizing glimpses of it's bright white superstructure were all I ever saw as the Woo manuevered behind the trees. We were able to hear the tour guide telling people to look for the remains of a sunken ship that was apparently wrecked in an area between island and shore. If I would have moved as soon as the Woo appeared, I could have made it down to the beach to see it before it left. As it was, by the time I got to the beach, all I saw was the Grampa Woo III disappearing behind the cliff that supported the lighthouse a half mile north. The kids had started down at least ten minutes before me and they got to get a good look at her before she left. I should have given them my extra camera!
On our way home, we stopped for a short time at Gooseberry Falls State Park, just a few miles south of Split Rock. We had been here twice before and I had really enjoyed walking around, seeing the falls, and going down to the beach to watch the waves. But there were WAY too many people here today. The parking lot at the huge, brand new visitor's center was full. Never go on a weekend if you can avoid it! I liked the OLD stone walled, timbered roof visitor's center and the OLD wrought iron bridge. I liked it when it was DRIZZLING all day, there were NO people, and you could pretend you were exploring unknown territory. I liked it when all you could see and hear were trees and water and you could go ten minutes without seeing another human with their bright, touristy colored garb, that jolts the senses.
North of Two Harbors you get to go thru two neat tunnels, recently opened. You have little choice as this is the only road there is here. The trail splits into old and new roads just south of Two Harbors. On our way up we had taken the four lane, inland route where all you saw were trees and NO LAKE! Going home I decided to take the old road, the "Scenic Route." I'm glad I did! Most of the old road was freshly blacktopped and actually smoother than the new, four lane road. You could drive just as fast, and Lake Superior was often in sight. My advice is, take the road closer to the lake, but then, I'm prejudiced. :-)
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