The North Shore scenery was great, and we had excellent weather. On Friday, Gene and I went to explore Gooseberry Falls State Park, just north of Two Harbors. We saw the Falls near the Highway 61 bridge, where the Gooseberry River tumbles nearly 30 feet as it makes its way to Lake Superior. After some hiking on the trails, we stopped for lunch at a rustic restaurant known for it's homemade pie. 
On Saturday we explored Two Harbors. This small town on the big lake continues to be a busy shipping port, and it's harbor at Agate Bay has some of the largest ore docks in the US. From shore one can watch 1000+ foot ships being loaded with iron ore. Ore arrives by rail from mines on the Minnesota Iron Range. The ore is unloaded from the train cars into huge bins on the ore docks. The bins are emptied via chutes that are lowered to fill the ore ship's massive cargo hull. Once filled, the ore ships head back to the lake to deliver the iron ore...
Near the ore docks, we toured historic Two Harbors Lighthouse, which was constructed in 1892, and remains today as the oldest operating light station in the state of Minnesota. The lighthouse
also serves as a Bed & Breakfast operated by the Historical Society.
While on our history tour of Two Harbors, we also visited The Edna G, one of the last steam powered tugboats to work Agate Bay. It was placed on the National Historic Register in 1974. Nearby was the Railroad Museum, filled with exhibits of Lake County's pioneer days, including logging, mining, railroading, and fishing.
A tour of Two Harbors would not be complete without visiting the 3M Museum. The museum is located in the original 1902 office building where 3M had it's beginnings...exhibits within highlight the development of 3M products from sandpaper to scotch tape!
