The Honeymoon Trail, in Lutsen, is a great place to enjoy the beautiful fall colors. | JULIE KINNEY
CHASING COLOR AND KNOWLEDGE
A Fall Drive Up the Shore By Casey Fitchett While the words chlorophyll, carotenoids, anthocyanins, and tannins conjure distant memories of a biology course for many people, these biochemicals are crucial to the phenomenon that draws so many to the woods in the fall. Poets, recreationalists, photographers, artists, sightseers; all find overwhelming beauty in the biological process of the changing of seasons. The combination of reds, yellows, greens and oranges provide reason enough to put the car in drive and take a journey to a few spots on this side of Lake Superior.
“Early settlers in the forest often described the hazy days of autumn and while not so evident now, that haze is thought to have been from the decaying leaves, releasing compounds which filled the air in a haze and can still be smelled when you walk in the autumn woods,” explains the note. “Our local trees are at the border of the eastern hardwoods and the boreal forest, a border where there are intermingled patches of the two forest types, but from here, the eastern hardwood forest sweeps down over half the nation.”
Our fall color drive will take us through historical sections of Duluth to a loop around Lutsen, on the gravel back roads of Cook County, and across an international border to a popular provincial park in Ontario. The fleeting fall in the region increases our leaf looking haste and quest for scientific knowledge on our drive in late September through mid-October.
It is here we also begin to take notes about our route from Dennis Lamkin, a knowledgeable Duluth historian. Lamkin explains a few notable spots on our trip to better appreciate our trek.
The southernmost point in our journey begins in Duluth as we head west on the popular Skyline Drive. The hardwood forest below, which, according to the Superior National Forest Naturalist Notes, “stretches from here to the east coast” is undergoing a change that affects the atmosphere that was enough to pique the interest of those on the land long before us. 26
SEPTEMBER 2018
“You’ll first come upon Spirit Mountain, named as such because the area had special significance to the Chippewa Indians who, at one time, occupied the area. Traveling further west, you’ll come across a monument which, until about a year ago, had long been forgotten. The monument is marked by a newly installed sign denoting that this area was a result of Sam Snively, a four-term mayor who championed the park system and the East to West Boulevard connector,” he explains. “Traveling further west you’ll pass Bardon’s peak, a former
NORTHERN WILDS
No matter what road you drive down this fall, the colors are sure to impress. | DENISE DUGAN stone quarry which yielded much of the bluestone (Basalt) used in the construction of bridges, retaining walls and even such places as Fitger’s Brewery.” After turning left onto Beck’s Road, we drive past the cut face of Bardon’s peak,
through Gary and New Duluth, both established when the United States Steel works were formed. A right turn on Highway 23 brings us to the oldest section of Duluth, Fond Du Lac. “Here there are ancient Indian burial
