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Elephant Stampede - AIEEEE!!!!
Aug. 29th, 2008 12:56 pmSo Richard and I are leaving town, escaping to the Iron Range. Originally I planned to head up north after Labor Day, usually a great week to take vacation. But I've given in to the nomination, by acclamation of all the weather forecasters, of the upcoming weekend as the last great weekend of the summer. It's supposed to be sunny and hot all weekend, giving way rather abruptly on Monday or Tuesday to more autumnal weather. Since I had developed an obsessive desire to Swim With Pool Toys on my vacation, it would be pretty stupid to head up north just as the temps dip down towards frost warnings. So, Labor Day Weekend it is.
Since our destination of choice is the Iron Range, even The Last Blast of Summer isn't as crowded as you might think. I was able to reserve a campsite for Sunday night at McCarthy Beach State Park, my favorite state park, with only 3 days notice. I also managed to find a hotel room for Saturday night in Virginia (although it's ridiculously expensive for a chain hotel in a town of 9,000). Our goal is to stay out of town for 4 or 5 days, doing a little biking, a little swimming and maybe a little sight-seeing. Since the last time I was on the range, they've constructed 75 miles or so of the Mesabi Bike Trai and I've been eager to try it out. However, neither of us in shape for a really long bike trip. So instead of biking from Point A to Point B we're going to take the biking dilettante approach - plunk ourselves down in a comfortable hotel and then ride out and back from there. Move to another town and repeat.
Anyway, here's the plan. Head out Saturday sometime before noon, stopping along the way to ride a few miles of the Albert Munger trail. Arrive in Virginia mid-afternoon, check into the AmericInn hotel. Then ride around Virginia for a few hours, checking out the conservatory and the mine overlook, and ride a few miles up the Mesabi trail. Eat dinner, then relax in the hotel pool and hot tub. Next morning, head out for McCarthy Beach. Spend the day bobbing around in Sturgeon Lake on our vast collection of float toys. Maybe do a little biking in the park or on the local roads. Build a fire and toast marshmallows. Sleep in the van. Sometime on Monday, head back down to Chisholm, where we have a room with a jacuzzi at the Chisholm Inn. Next day, ride the trail between Chisholm and Hibbing and poke around the old mining roads and ore pits. Tuesday night? Not decided yet. Most the tourists will have gone home, so there should be no problem finding a room anywhere we choose. Maybe stay in Chisholm another night. Maybe drive over to Duluth, or Lake Vermillion. Depends on the weather and whether we've managed to pull any major muscles or wreck our bikes. We'll probably come back to town Wednesday or Thursday. I'm taking the whole week off, so anything could happen.
Since our destination of choice is the Iron Range, even The Last Blast of Summer isn't as crowded as you might think. I was able to reserve a campsite for Sunday night at McCarthy Beach State Park, my favorite state park, with only 3 days notice. I also managed to find a hotel room for Saturday night in Virginia (although it's ridiculously expensive for a chain hotel in a town of 9,000). Our goal is to stay out of town for 4 or 5 days, doing a little biking, a little swimming and maybe a little sight-seeing. Since the last time I was on the range, they've constructed 75 miles or so of the Mesabi Bike Trai and I've been eager to try it out. However, neither of us in shape for a really long bike trip. So instead of biking from Point A to Point B we're going to take the biking dilettante approach - plunk ourselves down in a comfortable hotel and then ride out and back from there. Move to another town and repeat.
Anyway, here's the plan. Head out Saturday sometime before noon, stopping along the way to ride a few miles of the Albert Munger trail. Arrive in Virginia mid-afternoon, check into the AmericInn hotel. Then ride around Virginia for a few hours, checking out the conservatory and the mine overlook, and ride a few miles up the Mesabi trail. Eat dinner, then relax in the hotel pool and hot tub. Next morning, head out for McCarthy Beach. Spend the day bobbing around in Sturgeon Lake on our vast collection of float toys. Maybe do a little biking in the park or on the local roads. Build a fire and toast marshmallows. Sleep in the van. Sometime on Monday, head back down to Chisholm, where we have a room with a jacuzzi at the Chisholm Inn. Next day, ride the trail between Chisholm and Hibbing and poke around the old mining roads and ore pits. Tuesday night? Not decided yet. Most the tourists will have gone home, so there should be no problem finding a room anywhere we choose. Maybe stay in Chisholm another night. Maybe drive over to Duluth, or Lake Vermillion. Depends on the weather and whether we've managed to pull any major muscles or wreck our bikes. We'll probably come back to town Wednesday or Thursday. I'm taking the whole week off, so anything could happen.
