Two Days in Duluth–Sunday

Sunday was supposed to be cooler, with the freakish cold front moving through, so the boys decided we should go to the dog show.  Bryce really wanted to see some Pugs, but they were being judged at 8:30am, and he didn’t want to see them that bad.  Nicolas wanted to see the Siberian Huskies, and they were up at a more reasonable time, 10:30, so we got up and had breakfast, and then headed over there.  We drove so we could go look for some shoes for Bryce afterwards.

We parked on the street, and walked past the Iron Ore Ship Museum on the way to the Convention Center.

We weren’t quite sure what to expect at the dog show, but there sure were a lot of dogs there!  It seemed like a lot of the judging had to do with grooming, and there were a lot of dogs getting their hair done!

These little dogs cracked us up . . . yes, there really is a dog under all that hair!    

And they were like little princesses prancing around the ring!  I doubt if they ever go outside!

We watched this big guy getting his hair blow-dried for quite a while!

We made our way to the ring where the Huskies were performing and watched them run around the ring, stand, get their teeth checked . . . and whatever else they get judged on.

They are really pretty dogs!  Watch out Casey – Nicolas is already planning to replace you! 

After the competition, we talked to the lady in the burgundy dress.  She had several dogs competing, and a total of 29 huskies, including a brand new litter of puppies that were just one day old!  She was selling elk antlers (as chewing options for dogs), and she helped us pick one out for Casey.  They are supposed to be really good for their teeth, and last really long because they don’t chew through them very easily.  We’ll see how it goes . . .

Next up in that ring were the Dobermans . . . talk about intimidating dogs!

I wouldn’t want to be the judge who had to open their mouth and look at their teeth!

These poodles were interesting . . . Bryce thought they looked embarrassed!

We walked around for a little while longer, watching dogs perform and get groomed.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some were just too cute . . .

and we tended to like the big dogs . . . good thing we’re not in the market for a new dog!

After the dog show, we got some lunch and did a little shopping. 

The sky had cleared while we were in the dog show, and it got pretty warn, so on the way back to the Marina, we drove along Skyline Parkway, which is a road that runs through Duluth, a couple hundred feet above the river and lake. 

 

One of the most popular spots along the Skyline Parkway is Enger Tower. 

The tower stand 100 feet above the Parkway, and with windows all around the perimeter, you can see all around the city and over into Wisconsin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We climbed to the top of the tower, and enjoyed the panoramic view!

Downtown Duluth

St. Louis River

Lake Superior and the Park Point Peninsula

Duluth, MN and Superior, WI

We could even see the Marina where we are camped!

We got back to the campground just in time to see one freighter (760 feet long) leave the port of Duluth, and two more arrive shortly after.

We wanted to get some good pictures, so we walked over to the bridge to watch the first one go out.

As we walked toward the Aerial Lift Bridge, the ship was moving up the river.  The bridge was already up, so we watched from our side of the canal as the ship passed under the bridge,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and out into the big lake!

 

We walked across the bridge once it went back down – Casey, too, even though she wasn’t really crazy about walking up there!

We walked around in Canal Park and along the Lake Walk, while we waited for the next ship to arrive.  This next one was really big – 1000 feet long!  That was going to be something to see!

 

 

 

 

As we were walking along the Lake Walk, we could see the two freighters moving closer across the lake.  We got Casey a drink of water in the park,

and then made our way back to the canal to get a good spot for watching the big freighter.

This one is really huge!

It filled the entire canal!

It’s almost all the way under the bridge now, and headed up the river.

Watching those big ships move through the canal and under the bridge is pretty cool, and definitely a highlight of our stay in Duluth.  There was one more freighter coming in (another 700 foot one), but the boys were ready to head back to the RV and start dinner.  We got across the bridge before it rose again for the last ship, and walked along the beach back to the marina.

Casey really wanted to go swimming, and Nicolas had to keep dragging her away from the water!

From the beach, we could see that last freighter getting closer,

and closer!

It was a great way to wrap up a beautiful weekend in Duluth!