Iron Range Vacation: Pictures from the beach

[dreamshark]

I just couldn't get the LJ cut to work right with the pictures in the last entry, so I'm posting the pics in a new entry.

	Here's the entire business district of Side Lake Note the no-nonsense name: "Side Lake Store." That's how they name things on the Range. No fooling around with unnecessary adjectives. In Chisholm we saw a root beer stand named "The Stand" and a campground called "Campground Campground."
	And here's how you can tell what a great little place The Side Lake Store really is Here you have a general store, the only store in town, that must serve residents and tourists alike. It's not that big a place; they have to make every square foot count. And yet they find space for a free book exchange.
	McCarthy Beach State Park - the best park in the state! That's Sturgeon Lake over there - clear as a bell, sand-bottomed, exuberantly spring-fed. And look how beautifully the red pines have come back from the logging (it only took 100 years).
	The natural sand beach goes on forever, with just the right combination of sun and shade And best of all, no lifeguard telling you to take those float toys out of the water! Good thing, too. You pretty much need something to float on because the water is shin deep for the first 200 yards and it takes a while to get out there.
	The fabulous new bathhouse Big wood-walled changing rooms, flush toilets, and drinking water that tastes like blood.
	A quiet residential street in Side Lake The bike paths were all impassably sandy mountain bike trails, but the dirt roads were pretty nice.
	Attack of the float toys! And this isn't even all of them. That's Corky Crocodile (note the mean looking snaggle teeth). Not as sweet as old Albert Alligator, but actually a bit more stable. If only the handle were up on top of the head where it belongs - it's kind of in the way where it is. The big blue floating chair was also a great success. Although Richard preferred the plain old noodles to everything else.
	Porky the Porpoise didn't work out, but we found her a good home Really a cute float toy, but not balanced right for big people (the tail sinks and the bulbous head pops out of the water). However, she works great for little kids. These kids live in Hibbing, so I think they'll actually get some use out of Porky.

Comments

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

The alligator is clearly a win.

K.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Absolutely! If we have another unexpected hot spell this fall, we have to take it out to the Sekrit Swimming Spot.

And it's a crocodile, I'm pretty sure. Look at the teeth.

[pameladean]

Hee. Eric and Beth and I spent a very happy day last August hiking around McCarthy Beach State Park. I picked it out of a book about Minnesota state parks. It was too windy to swim, and we were really there to hike, so we went around Pickerel Lake instead. It's amusing to see an account of the other side, from somebody using the facilities intended for lots of people rather than fleeing from them.

Your alligator rocks.

P.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Did you stay overnight? It IS a long drive for a day trip, which is probably why it is not so heavily used. I think it's about 4 hours from the Cities.

[pameladean]

Yes, Eric wanted to see the Iron Range, particularly the geography, so we stayed in Hibbing, hiked at McCarthy Beach State Park one day, stayed a second night, and then went to the Lawrentian Divide Recreation Area and hiked there, and then drove along a scenic highway I've forgotten the name of to Duluth, where we poked around the shores of Lake Superior, had dinner, and came home again.

I just hope McCarthy Beach doesn't get its funding cut for not being used enough. It's really beautiful.

P.

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the pictures! It looks like you had a great time.

[jiawen]

That looks great! I'll have to check it out sometime.

"drinking water that tastes like blood" That could almost be a plus rather than a minus. I sense vampire novels already...