Re-tire-ing in Duluth

We had Friday and Saturday nights booked at Lakehead Boat Basin, located near the aerial lift bridge and the Duluth harbor.  This is a favorite spot for us when passing through Duluth.  It is primarily a boat yard and marina, but they have RV sites in the area where they haul boats out and store them in the winter.  There we have excellent views of the Duluth waterfront, the Duluth Harbor and the historic Aerial Lift Bridge.

What a sad sight!

Our drive from Ely to Duluth was scenic and largely uneventful.  Then calamity struck.  While making a sharp right turn from the interstate ramp onto a local street about 6 blocks from our camp I struck the curb with my right rear tire.  Ouch!  The top edge of the curb was very sharp and I knew that could not be good for the sidewall of the tire.  Sure enough about 2 blocks later our Tire Pressure  Monitoring System (TPMS) sounded off, alerting us to a leak on the right rear outer tire.  CRAP!  The leak appeared to be slow, so we continued on to the marina about 4 blocks away.  As soon as we got parked I inspected the tire and, sure enough, there was a huge gouge in the sidewall.  Ironically, I could feel no leaking air from the gouge, and our TPMS indicated the tire pressure was stable.  But we were over 1200 miles from home and it is unsafe to drive any significant distance with sidewall damage.

By this time it was close to 4:30 on a Friday afternoon.  I located two truck tires dealers in town, but none had tires my size in stock.  My 12R 22.5 tires are not common, in fact they are way bigger tires than are necessary for the size of my coach.  One dealer said we could get a set of 6 Goodyear 661s here by Monday, and install them for a little over $4000.  YIKES! I didn't know if those were the tires I really wanted, and I didn't know if I wanted to replace all 6.  Our tires are about 7 years old, and many folks consider that to be close to the end of an RV tire's safe safe life, so replacing the whole set now was certainly a consideration.  I told the guy I needed to do some research over the weekend.  The guy said he would order the 6 Goodyears, but that I was not obligated to take them.

A view from our camp at Lakehead Boat Basin

So here we sit.  We had planned to leave Duluth on Sunday, but we knew now that that wasn't gonna happen.  Nothing to do but do some tire homework and enjoy the sites of Duluth.  We could certainly be stuck in a worse place.

The Aerial Lift Bridge over the Duluth Ship Canal

Following is an excerpt from our post on August 6, 2008 describing how the Duluth Ship Canal came to be:

"The "Twin Ports" serve Duluth, MN and Superior, WI. Actually, there is only one natural entrance to this harbor, the one between Minnesota Point and Wisconsin Point near Superior WI. In the 1870s the folks from Duluth determined that if their city was to prosper, they must establish an opening to the lake closer to their city. Consequently, they began digging the current canal which crosses the base of the peninsula of Minnesota Point. The folks from Superior objected to the the new opening and acquired a Federal injunction to stop the digging. The injunction was issued on a Friday, but could not be served until the following Monday. The folks from Duluth learned of the pending injunction, and had three days before the sheriff could arrive to serve the papers. In those three days the folks from Duluth rallied and completed the canal, making the injunction meaningless, and thereby assuring the prosperity of their city. Typical molasses government bureaucracy at work. Today the famous Aerial Lift Bridge spans the Duluth canal and the Duluth port is much more important than the Superior port."

A view of downtown Duluth across the harbor

A 1000' iron ore freighter down bound through the canal to Lake Superior

Has any one not seen the funny commercials on TV advertising products from Duluth Trading Company?  We visited their flagship store on Superior Street to check it out.

Anybody need their plumber's butt fixed?

I was tempted to try some, but I'm fairly happy with my Hanes.  Besides I gotta keep Dorcas' Hanes retirement stock up anyway.

 We didn't buy anything; products here are not cheap, and we didn't really need anything anyway.  They do offer mail order with free shipping, and there is no sales tax on clothing in Minnesota, even for items purchased in local stores.  We made some notes and tried some things on.  We may place an order in the future.

Another signature product

Duluth has a number of beautiful brownstone buildings

Another view from camp

The Aerial Lift Bridge at night

Our home in Duluth at Lakehead Boat Basin

These bridge monuments appear throughout the city.  This one was at our camp at Lakehead 

In addition to our sightseeing in Duluth, I made a serious beer run.  There are several brews that I really like that are not available in NC, namely Moose Drool, brewed by Big Sky Brewing Company in Missoula MT and several Alaskan Brewing Company products brewed in Juneau AK.  Between my beer run in Ely and the one in Duluth I stuffed about $125 worth of beer in the basement of the coach.  Fortunately, that was all I had room for, or I might have really gone crazy.

Meanwhile, the tire saga continues.  I corresponded with a number of members of 2 RV forums.  Many offered good advice and most were incredulous that Country Coach put 12R tires on such a short and relatively light coach.  Many suggested I take advantage of the FMCA Michelin Advantage program, which offers discounted Michelin and B.F. Goodrich tires (manufactured by Michelin) to FMCA members.  Unfortunately there was no participating Michelin Advantage dealer in Duluth, although there was one in Winston Salem.  We really didn't have time to stay very much longer in Duluth, because we were scheduled to attend an RV club rally near home in about a week.   So ... it boiled down to three choices: 1) replace all 6 tires with the Goodyear 661s that would come in on Monday,  2) replace only the 2 steer (front) tires and move an older steer tire to replace the broken rear tire, or 3) see if we could find a used tire to put on the rear and limp home and then review our options after returning home.  Option 3 was attractive but seemed like a long shot, partly due to its unusual size.

First thing Monday morning I called one of the 2 truck tire dealers, and he did have an old tire in our size.  He claimed it had no usable tread, but figured it might get us home.  Since this tire was an outer dual, if it began to fail we might be able to see it.  Also, a failure on a dual was not as dramatic or dangerous as a failure on a steer tire.  He said he could put it on this morning, and tire plus installation would be only $75.  If it got us home, that would be a great bargain.  We broke camp and rushed over to Jake's Quality tires, about 6 miles away, but generally on our way out of town.

Installing the used tire

 The tire did not look as bad as Jake had described it, but it was certainly well worn.  They installed the tire and in an hour we were motoring southbound towards home, only one day behind schedule.

It seems that truck tires are always mounted manually

We planned to spend 2 nights on the road, which would mean about 400 miles per day average.  Not a terribly ambitious pace.  We would stop frequently and monitor the appearance, pressure and temperature of our new old tire.  And keep our fingers crossed.

 Spoiler alert:  The new old tire made it.  YEAH!!!!

International Wolf Center Ely MN

The International Wolf Center is located on the outskirts of town north of Ely.  We have been in the gift shop a few times, but have never paid the admission to see the wolves.  We had some free time in Ely on our last day there before heading home, so we decided to check it out.  In addition to the wolves there was a very good museum and exhibit on the wolf through the ages and their interactions with man (wolves have gotten a bad rap!)  There is also very nice art exhibits featuring wolves and the aurora borealis (northern lights).

Minnesota has the largest concentration of wolves in the lower 48 states.

There are 5 wolves currently on display known as "wolf ambassadors".  They are of different breeds and different ages.  Only male wolves were on display.  An older male and a female were kept in separate enclosures.  The male is older and "retired".  If kept with the other wolves he would be harassed.  

There were two 4-month old pups.  Click here to see the pups at play.

They bring road kill and other carcasses to the center to feed the wolves.

Click here to see the pups tussling over a deer leg.

A diorama of wolves playing

A diorama showing a wolf den with pups

Tomorrow, after almost 4 weeks in the Ely area, we make the turn southward towards home.  Next stop: Duluth for 2 nights.

Quote of the Week: Canoeing Words of Wisdom

We found this plaque at Prairie Portage, an entry point and border crossing into Quetico Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada.

For those who have difficulty reading the plaque, the text is reproduced below.

CANOEING - WORDS OF WISDOM

QUETICO - SUPERIOR AREA

“You should be prompt in embarking and disembarking.  Do not carry either water or sand into the canoe.  It is not wise to ask too many questions nor should you yield to the itch for making comments about the journey, a habit which may be cultivated to an excess.  Silence is a safe and discreet plenishing.  Should there be a need of criticism, let it be conducted modestly.

“ In brief, it is well to be cheerful, or at any rate to appear so.  Everyone at the portage should try to carry something according to his strength, be it only a kettle.  For example, do not begin paddling if you are not prepared to continue paddling.  Stick to your place in the canoe.  Be assured that if once you are set down as a trouble maker and difficult person, you will not easily get rid of such a reputation.

######################################### 

The instructions of Father Le Jeune (in 1650) to young Jesuit missionaries on the handling of a canoe and behavior en route are as applicable today as they were 300 years ago.

Photo of the Week

Have you ever had one of those days?  I don't mean me, but the red squirrel that sneaked into our coach.  The screen door was closed, but he came through a small sliding panel in the door (the one Dorcas is always scolding me for not shutting).  Once he was in I'm sure he regretted it.  Dorcas screamed, and I was laughing hysterically.  We chased him for a minute or two, trying to keep Matilda out of the fray.  Finally he jumped on me, and I was able to fling him out the door.  He was never seen again.  It was all very exciting.

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Sep 2016 Trip 2

Faithful readers will remember that we did an easy 8-day trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness last month.  On August 29 we put in for another even easier 8-day trip.  In addition to our long time paddling partners, we were joined by Jim and Ann and Sunshine, a relative of Matilda.

We put in at Moose Lake and paddled through Moose Lake, Newfound Lake, Sucker Lake and into Birch Lake, where we camped on one site for the duration.  A dam was built at Prairie Portage in 1902 by a logging company which raised the level of these connected lakes by about 15 feet.  That meant no portages.   YEAH!!!

Group photo at Moose Lake put-in

The weather forecast for the day of our put in was terrible: rain and storms.  As it turned out the actual weather was much nicer than the forecast.  We enjoyed a mild tail wind all the way to Birch Lake, and it didn't rain on us until after we made camp and had dinner.

Loading up at Moose Lake put-in

There is always a bit of chaos when we put in.  "Hey, where's the toilet paper???"  "Hey, have seen my sunscreen???"

Matilda is ready to go

Hey girls, smile for the camera

Where's Dorcas?

Finally, a canoe dog picture not featuring Matilda.  Meet Sunshine, Matilda's auntie.

Lunch break on Newfound Lake

Lounging at camp on Birch Lake

We had great weather all week except for the first day and the last.  Temperatures ranged from highs in the mid 70s to lows around 50.  On our coldest night the temperature plunged to 46.

Sunset on Birch Lake

A common loon on Birch Lake

A brace of common mergansers

Our American symbol

We saw a lot of eagles on our camp.  Well, actually I think we saw a few eagles a lot of times.  There was a pair with at least 2 immature eagles hanging out. They were frequently flying overhead and fed on some rocks across the lake.

Jim's circus tent: big enough for 6 adults, 2 dogs and all our gear

Lounging at camp ... again

Another view from camp

Wayne cooking the bacon

It's a wonder Matilda ever falls out of the boat

A beautiful sunset

Dorcas enjoying some hammock time

The ladies doing yoga by the lake.  Sunshine and Matilda are helping.

We burn a lot of wood

Where did everybody go?

One day we battled back across Birch Lake and up to Prairie Portage.  Prairie Portage is a border crossing and entry point to Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario.  There is a ranger station there as well as a store selling t-shirts, hats and patches.  We also got a weather forecast there for the next day, the day we paddle back to Moose Lake and take out.  It was an ugly forecast.

The ladies are going shopping

Dorcas and the ranger at Prairie Portage

Many lakes in the BWCAW share a border with Canada.  Monuments such as this one are common.

These guys were apparently excited about returning to the USA

We saw a LOT of boats on Birch Lake

A dreary morning.

It rained for a bit the last night of our trip, but it later cleared up and the stars came out.  It started raining again during breakfast but we could all huddle under Jim's super tarp.  We packed up mostly in the rain, but by the time we left camp it had pretty much stopped.

The winds were predicted to be heavy and out of the SW, a headwind for this leg of our trip.  The winds were light when we started, but, as the forecast predicted, rose to about 15 MPH as we paddled.  The last hour or two of our trip was against a heavy wind and waves approaching whitecaps. 

Catching a tow

Motor boats are allowed on Moose, Newfound and Sucker Lakes, the three lake leading to Prairie Portage and Birch Lake.  Many folk catch a "tow" from Moose Lake to Prairie Portage to save about 7 miles of paddling to Quetico.

The map below traces our trip from Moose Lake to Birch Lake

This map details our day trips on Birch Lake and to Prairie Portage.

Overall we had a great trip.  Fishing was extremely slow.  This is the only trip in 20 years where we haven't cooked fish.   Our total distance paddled was 28 miles including day trips.