Day 4 (Monday) -- Tettegouche State Park, The End.

As we continued south back along Hwy 61, we made one last hiking stop at Tettegouche State Park. We hiked out to Shovel Point, a large cliff along the rocky shore.

This is Shovel Point:

Yes, indeed, we hiked all the way out there. According to the map the trail was only about a mile round-trip, but because of the rocky terrain, uneven ground, and many many stairs, the hike took us almost an hour. Was it worth it, though!

Just as you begin the hike, you make a choice between hiking down to the beach (below,) or turning and heading uphill.

We went uphill, obviously.

As we hiked through the woods towards Shovel Point, I noticed these two trees growing over a large boulder:

When we looked back through our pictures, Dan noticed that the roots on the left look like a person, leaning back with its head behind the tree in the foreground. I love when nature has so much personality!

Almost there . . .


Amazing views . . .





Fully exhausted, we hopped back in the car, beginning to feel a little sad -- our vacation was almost over! On our way to Duluth, we finally visited one of the places on Missy's list -- Betty's Pies in Two Harbors. I picked up a piece of strawberry-rhubarb pie to go, planning to save it for dessert later on.

Arriving in Duluth and craving Thai food, we settled on Vietnamese. Dan and I pigged out on cream cheese wontons, tofu and veggies, and curried mock duck at Taste of Saigon, located in Canal Park. After dinner, we took one last walk along the lake shore, waving good-bye to Lake Superior as we turned back to the car and drove home.

As much as we both wish we were still on vacation, we know all good things must come to an end. We convinced ourselves that if we had vacation every day, we'd just end up taking all of that free time, relaxation, and nature's beauty for granted, right?

Anyhow, we had so much fun, we've decided to make the North Shore Adventure an annual trip.

Man, I miss the lake already.