We left Silver Bay, MN today – FINALLY! The original plans had been a couple of weeks in Minnesota, then head to Missouri and Arkansas for a while. The truck troubles squashed that idea, but we are finally headed south. We did enjoy a few days along the North Shore before we left though.
Grand Portage, MN is an historic town dating to the fur trade days and Colonial America. It has an absolutely fabulous museum run by the NPS at the Grand Portage National Historical Site. We have been to the historical site itself before, but for some reason we missed the museum. We were lucky that one of the historians was on duty, and he gave me loads of resources for a future trip we want to take along the Canadian fur trade routes. I love doing RV trips that combine history and sightseeing. We have done a number of the US National Historic Trails – Lewis and Clark, California, Oregon, Mormon, Nez Perce – and really enjoyed them. Canada doesn’t have the same type of trail mapping, so we will have to put the trip together on our own. But here are some pictures of the historic site, a re-creation of the Northwest Territory central rendezvous site.
The trail begins showing dwellings of the Ojibwa who were the primary traders. They used birch bark for lots of things including their homes.
Next on the tour was the boat building with recreated native and voyageur canoes. This shows a close up the construction. This is exactly the same basic method as the much smaller native canoes. After all, the process had been refined for hundreds of years!
This shows the exterior with the birch bark seamed with pitch mixed with charcoal to make it easier to see where it needed patched. And these boats did need patching and repairing every night. They carried tons of freight and many voyageurs, and even with extreme care they were fragile.
The tour then continued to the main English buildings.
This building has the kitchen and dining areas. Note the stonework in the chimney. They used authentic wavy glass in the windows!
This was where the store rooms and trading rooms were located.
It was a very class conscious organization. The executives from Montreal came only once a year for a few days. They sat at their own table with special dinnerware. The “middle management” sat at a separate table, and there was a third table for “supervisors.” The working stiffs at outside. Each set had different tableware.
Wool blankets were in great demand as trade goods. They were lighter than buffalo hides, and easier to dry if they got wet. They were used as regular blankets and also made into coats.
The next day we went to Glensheen Mansion in Duluth. Wow, it was fabulous! Worth every penny of the admission. This was a huge home with numerous outbuildings and gorgeous landscaping that was also obviously a true family home. It was so overwhelming that I didn’t even try to capture it – my little camera could never do it justice. This is the one picture I took from next to the lake looking up at the back of the house. The interior was just as impressive as the exterior. The Glensheen family moved to Duluth when the father was appointed attorney for what would become US Steel. He was also a bank director and a major shareholder and director of numerous mining and other companies. He was also active in state and national politics. The house is filled with mementos of his travels, and he had good taste.
Tonight we are spending the night in the Walmart parking lot at Pine City, MN about 60 miles north of St. Paul. Tomorrow we will put the MH on a site at Big Woods Park but spend the night at the house. Gotta do laundry! Planning on dinner with the local kids and grandkids too. Then off to Red Bay, AL. Don’t know what we will do on the way – we have about a week to spare.