A Boat and Trains Weekend!

This rock and it's cross shape is said to have been the inspiration for the name given to the river... The St Croix.

Trying to squeeze in all that we can this summer!  This is the mighty St Croix River which delineates the boundary between Wisconsin and Minnesota.  This spot was near a town called Taylor's Falls.

We visited to hike the park and for a dinner cruise on an authentic paddle wheeler!  The ring you see in this rock face was put there well over a hundred years ago to chain logs as this river played a significant role in the lumber industry of the two states in the 1800's.

There she is!  We cruised on the boat on the left.  The River Princes.

Many fishermen were on the river last night.

The propulsion system are two hydraulically driven paddle wheels.  This vessel only draws 17 in of draft!

This rock is known as the "Old Man of the River."

Hard to find a better place to be!

Campsites dot the shores on both the Minnesota side of the river (right) and the Wisconsin side as you cruise down river.

As the sun set we went below deck for a wonderful dinner.  After dinner most went to the upper deck and listened to Charley O strum his guitar, play the keyboard and harmonica!

So on Sunday, it was a North Shore train ride on museum tracks for a 90 minute ramble along Lake Superior.  BEAUTIFUL.

The train station is a museum that houses some pretty amazing trains, cars and historical displays.

The car above was the funeral car used to transport the deceased  President Abraham Lincoln.

One way to clear the tracks of snow.  This turn of the century plow was placed in front of a steam engine and pushed into and cleared deep snow from the tracks in the Northern Minnesota winter.

It is a large structure.

We rode in the upper deck on the observation car.  This car was built in the 1950's and is still going strong.

The controls of one of the larger steam powered locomotives on display at the museum.  It reminded me of a Gato class submarine.

This caught my eye!  Look at that pedal mechanism!

1892!  The human mind is so creative.  Although not considered a viable product to build, it was non-the-less ingenious.

Notice the eccentric drive.

And the adjustable moment arm.   This mechanism could be tuned to the human factors of an individuals own physiology.  I think it's brilliant!

Hope you all like the pics.  It was another busy weekend in the beautiful North Woods!

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