The news has been full of wildfires in northern MN these last few days. One is north of Brainerd, the other north of Two Harbors. Since we love the North Shore, both for long day trips and camping occasionally, we frequently stop just north of Two Harbors. That news immediately caught our attention.
First thing I noticed about the area decades ago was a nice pullout shortly past Duluth from the highway along the shore with great photo opportunities of Lake Superior and land jutting out, tree topped rocky cliffs, wildflowers for foreground, and of course waves. Then there was the Stewart River dumping into the lake and the shots it enabled. Finally, after repeated stops and an urge to explore more, there was risking crossing the bridge over the Stewart River while hugging the low railing, making our way carefully down to the other side's shore, and discovering an abundance of Lake Superior Agates.
Oops, now everybody knows where to find them! Then again, they get picked over soon after ice melt. It could take another big storm to bring more agates ashore. After road construction/"improvement" a couple years ago, crossing the highway in that spot can be extra risky since the former pullout is inaccessible by car, traffic is faster there, and the new bridge no longer has a safe raised margin along the railing for crossing the river. One has to cross the busy hiway on foot, or take a steep path along the river bank under the bridge, or start from a different pullout, the only one left.
That's also the large parking lot for all the customers for Betty's Pies, or as our favorite metro news station puts it, "The Iconic Betty's Pies". The road improvements have made it safer for vehicle traffic, getting in and out, but not so much for pedestrians with old bones and joints trying to reach the shore. Parking has expanded, porta potties are lined up for the people waiting to get in or to hike. One can even hike upriver to a falls, I'm told. Since it's a 9 mile round trip, I don't plan to do so. The place has really grown over the years.
Because Betty's Pies is iconic. We stop there every trip, either to have a single slice each, with or without an order of a full meal, or order multiple pies to go in a prepared cooler over ice. Sometimes all of the above. Note those pies aren't just for us. When we know we're going up there, we take orders from people who can't get there themselves. We'll pay up front, they pay before they get their pie(s). We arranged to do so for our planned two day trip to Duluth last fall, which turned into swapping vacation plans for 4 days in the hospital. On the plus side, once health returned, we did manage lunch and picked up pies for the trip home. The boat trip didn't happen. Agate hunting didn't happen.
And now, Betty's Pies might not be open again this summer when we plan to head north again. That one fire damaged part of the restaurant, and as I write this, still is not under control though planes are scooping up water from Superior to drop on it. The staff has said they will be back in business as soon as they can. Since we plan to head back up with better luck to take advantage of the boat trip we paid for last summer, we hope to time it out for when they are open again.
Best of luck, folks! We'll be waiting!
Anybody want to put in an order for pies again?
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