The Niagara

The Niagara is the largest of the Three Tall Ships that were in Duluth several weeks ago (Length: 1980). After the War of 1812, the original Niagara was scuttled in Erie Harbor.  In 1913 she was bought and reconstructed,  and between 1933 and 1943 another complete reconstruction took place. Masts and rigging were installed in 1963.  By the end of the 1980's, time had again taken its toll on the ship, and the Niagara was closed to the public due to severe deterioration.  In 1988, a new Niagara was built that includes some original timber.

We arrived in Duluth on the last day of the Three Tall Ships appearance and too late to reserve a spot on one of them for a short sail on Lake Superior.  Next year!!

Theme Day: August 1, 2011-Postcard Worthy

Two of the Three Tall Ships

on Lake Superior

The Pride of Baltimore II

The Lynx

Today is August's Theme Day.  To see many postcard-worthy photos posted by CDP bloggers from around the world Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Come back Thursday and Friday and I'll show you more of the Three Tall Ships.

Three sisters

On a short day trip from St. Paul to Duluth to see the Three Tall Ships, I ran into these three sisters.  When we met on a path that skirts the harbor, I asked if their bright pink shirts were the traditional breast cancer shirts.  Nope, the three of them were celebrating Maggie, the youngest sister's  60th birthday.  They turned around so that I could see and photograph their birth ranks.  Top Photo: Penny on the far left is from the Twin Cities, Sue hails from the Chicago area,  and Maggie is from Colorado but works in Singapore.  The sisters get together several times a year, and from what I could observe, they have a grand time together.

Northern Pacific 1-"Minnetonka"

Northern Pacific 1 "Minnetonka"

The Nothern Pacific Railway's first locomotive was the "Minnetonka", a Smith & Porter 0-4-0 built in 1870, and used in the construction of the railroad as it started west from Carlton, MN. The engine was later sold to a logging company, and spent many years hauling logs before being repurchased by the NP for preservation. She is still owned by the NP's successor, the Burlington Northern/Santa Fe, and in recent years spent some time on display at the company's headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas. Happily, she is now back home at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum in Duluth.

If you are a railroad buff, go to this link http://parkengines.railfan.net/MN/content.shtml to see some fantastic images.

DMIR (The Duluth Missabe Iron Range Railroad)

The Lake Superior Railroad Museum is one of  four museums that are housed in the St. Louis County Historical Society in Duluth, MN. When we visited the National Geographical Portrait exhibit we also went to the area that exhibits railroad cars, engines, locomotives, cabooses, and other smaller artifacts of the railroad era.  When our children were small, we often visited this museum, and I think I now get just as big a thrill as they did when they were young. These wheels are on one of the articulated locomotives of the Duluth Missabe Iron Range Railroad. The (DMIR)  is a railroad operating in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin that hauls iron ore and later taconite to the Great Lakes ports of Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota. Control of the railway was acquired on May 10, 2004 by the Canadian National Railway (CN) when it purchased the assets of Great Lakes Transportation.

On the Beach

Photographer: Jodi Cobb, 1987
"On the Beach in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia"

This is another striking photograph in the National Geographic Portrait Exhibit I recently saw in Duluth, MN.
For an explanation, see yesterday's post.

To learn more about the photographer, Jodi Cobb, read her bio here. 

ABC Wednesday-"I": Cigar Store INDIAN

I was surprised to see this wood-carved cigar store INDIAN statue in front of a souvenier shop at Park Point in Duluth, Minnesota since our Native American INDIANS are not happy about the way that they are depicted. Because it is not PC anymore to use sterotypical images of INDIANS, it seemed somewhat out-of-place, but it certainly offered an IMAGE for ABC Wednesday!