NICKEL & DIME RANCH: Grand Marais, Duluth, Studio Art Crawl, Two Harbors, Jay Cooke State Park, hiking and eating

September 27, 2024
A tiny early for Fall colors but couldn't of had nicer weather

Stopped in Duluth for lunch at The Social House and fell in love with
Love Creamery ice cream. I love that we can split meals, guess that makes us old!

A Studio Art Crawl was in progress from Duluth to Grand Marais!
We stayed at a airbnb in 2017 with Eric K. who's a wildlife artist
so we were excited to stop and say hello. He'd already sold several paintings.

We stopped on our way out and bought 4 cards.

Arrived in Grand Marais around 4pm.
Weather was perfect! Lake Superior was so calm.

oh my, sunshine!

delicious pizza at Sven & Ole's

The Happy Hippie Hostel

Everybody staying was nice and respectful. Most were gone before we woke up.
5 bedrooms on the main floor then the upstairs sleeps 6.
Never had to wait for a bathroom and the showers were great.
Very clean & tidy. Only complaint is we sleep like crap in a Queen bed.
There were 2 horses, chickens and a Karelian Bear Dog (Finnish dog breed) on the property.
3 "Glamping" sites and tent sites.

They also had "glamping tents" and tent sites you could rent with additional bathroom and showers.
We weren't on the lake but you could see it

Vacation breakfast!
3 gals staying in the hostile shared scotcharoos with us, yum!

Charley after a chimpmunk
He's a Karelian Bear Dog, a Finnish breed of dog

Good morning horses!

Started the morning with a hike on the Pincushion trails

Checked out several Studio's, Pottery, Felting, Sculptures, paintings...

Adrea Beres

Works In Wool

She had some funky puppets & toys.
I bought a pan handle cover that looks like a fish

kinda creepy(?)

Back in town shared a monster cookie from Crosby Bakery, stared at the lake
and checked out all the art galleries and street vendors (more pottery, artisan creations)

Love all of Jahna Vashti whimsical paintings

hum, might have to make some of these

Enjoyed massive wildrice frybread taco's at
Hungry Hippie Tacos
Owners are same folks who run the hostel & campground rentals

These married artists were so interesting. She told us about the safari
they took by themselves in South Africa that inspired some of their work.
I should have bought a Grizzly bear.

off on another hike

Taking a break- Superior is 52° now! People were swimming

First time I've seen brown trout spawning, some were dying and
a Eagle was waiting to swoop down for a snack

You lookin at me!?!

I was inspired by all the art so Idecided to create a north shore piece,
let's call it Rock Blanket Driftwood

More FOOD!

Hand breaded, fried portabella mushrooms served with Horseradish sauce-
They were huge! Reuben sandwich was tasty too.

Walked around downtown and hung out on the big rocks til the sun went down

Superior Hiking Trail Oberg Mountain Loop

Walked this on our way out Sunday morning
then had lunch at a park in Two Harbors

Rented a airbnb in Wreshall, MN
Owner said walk anywhere on the property. He had a small lake and chairs everywhere with 3 fire pits. Might go back with the Razr. Lots of trails.

Heated towel bar!

Had dinner at the Black Bear casino. Haven't walked into a casino in decades! A lot has changed.
The buffet was awesome! Scott of course had Prime rib.