On the Mesabi Trail, part 2 - Northeast Minnesota 2023 - CycleBlaze

September 19, 2023

On the Mesabi Trail, part 2

Day 13: Hibbing to Virginia

YES SANTA CLAUS, there is a Virginia.  It's a small city in northern Minnesota, and it's where I am now.  Along with the rest of my merry band of travel companions, I got here by riding the Mesabi Trail east and a bit north from Hibbing.  Rolling out of Hibbing gives me an opportunity for a few final photos of what might have been my favorite town of the trip, though in fairness it's also the only one I really explored at any level of detail.

Self portrait in an empty windowfront.
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Hard times for the Oddfellows.
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Final church shot from Hibbing.
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I've been after this toothbrush for a couple days now.
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Charmaine RuppoltThat's a eye-catching sign for a dental office!
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This monument caught my attention yesterday evening, so I had to check it out this morning as we left town.
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"Died poor, after having led many to riches." Sad.
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So long Bob. It's time for my bike wheels to be wanderin'.
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It's definitely still iron mine country.  We pass a number of open pit mines- the water-filled ones we presume are no longer active producers, where the active ones still show signs of life.  Along the way we also pass a few more splashes of emerging autumn color.

Milkweed, but I assume the monarch butterflies have long since departed for Mexico.
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Purple.
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Yellow.
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Red.
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Bill ShaneyfeltVirginia creeper can be quite vivid against green backgrounds since it turns red early. Some of it is turning here in Ohio.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Parthenocissus_quinquefolia
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There are also large piles (hills, now) of overburden and rock that have accumulated as the quest for iron continued.  The lakes are pretty enough, but the piles of rock rather less so.  Still, without iron mining the region would probably be economically desolate so there's that.  And the country has benefitted greatly from access to the iron.

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It's what trucks are *built* to do, isn't it?
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Gretchen CarlsonI enjoy your quips about the awkward signs you've encountered
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Keith AdamsTo Gretchen Carlson"TRUCKS HAULING" seems to be unique to Minnesota, or at least I've never encountered the phrase anywhere else.
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Happily, we're screened from the view of much of this industrial carnage by the walls of trees that line both sides of the trail.  There are times when view blockers are a virtue.  They do impart something of a sameness to the trail scenes, as I've mentioned in earlier posts, but are appealing and make for pleasant riding nonetheless. 

Used and abandoned.
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Industrial litter.
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Relics of the past.
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We skirted or passed through a number of small communities on the way: Chisholm, Buhl, and Mountain Iron.  

Churches in Buhl.
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City park in Virginia.
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In Virginia, near the hotel.
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Virginia mural.
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Fountain in Virginia. Created by the WPA during the Depression, it nearly fell into disuse and ruin but was rescued after local citizens raised money to repair it and return it to operation.
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That last one was, apparently, the town that was first associated with the vast iron deposits in the region.  There's a small park in Mountain Iron with some heavy equipment on display.  It's only a handful of miles from our hotel in Virginia, leaving us the luxury of time to poke around.

A mineral (? I couldn't see any sign of motion nor hear any roar of falling water) waterfall, across the (artificial) lake created by the iron mine adjacent to the town.
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The lake itself, with an active processing facility on the far shore.
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Old No. 806, a switching engine that worked in the local rail yard.
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Front-on view. Try to avoid seeing them from this angle when they're in operation.
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View from the cab.
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A relatively small shovel.
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A relatively small bucket.
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Not sure whether this is still an active church, or whether the building's been turned to some other use.
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Huh.
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When they close a road around here, they *really* close it.
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Weather-wise, it was on the cool side for most of the day thanks to a pretty consistent overcast, though we did get glimpses of sunshine toward the end.  And we had a lovely sunset, which for once I was able to appreciate in real time. 

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Charmaine RuppoltBoy, almost looks like "northern lights".
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Keith AdamsTo Charmaine RuppoltThey were supposed to be out later that evening, but when I got up at midnight to look I didn't see them.
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Charmaine RuppoltGreat sunset picture! :)
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Keith AdamsTo Charmaine RuppoltThanks. I must've shot 40 or 50 frames in 15 minutes.
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Today's ride: 32 miles (51 km)
Total: 548 miles (882 km)

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Bonny SkovbrotenHopefully you can catch the Northern Lights tonight. They are predicting another good show.
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Keith AdamsTo Bonny SkovbrotenI tried but downtown Virginia may be too bright. Too bad because it's a lovely evening.
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