2005 Lake Superior Caravan

By Jim Boughter

Fred Allen and I originally planned to trailer my ’34 Packard coupe/conv. to Duluth, MN for the start of the Caravan. Because of the one-way distance of about 1300 Mi. from NJ, the decision was made to have the car shipped commercially - a good move. We arrived in Duluth about two hours before the car. After unloading from the trailer, I backed the car up to a curb at the hotel and, upon leaving for the evening events, the tailpipe extension caught on the curb edge and pulled the tailpipe and muffler off the exhaust pipe, turning the car into a hot rod. Some of the local spectators loved it. Next morning, of course, it was raining, so we not only got dirty doing the repair, we also got wet.

The first evening, the tour group visited a spectacular mansion, Glensheen, now on the National Register, built by a 1905 lawyer/land speculator. Situated on many acres of land next to Lake Superior, the huge home with a boat house, carriage house, stables, and beautiful gardens was a treat to explore, and we saw it all, including the kitchen, laundry room, and servants' quarters. Later, a buffet dinner was served to our group in a huge tent erected on the grounds, where we were greeted by the mayor of Duluth!

Friday, Aug. 26 th . The first day of the Caravan dawned gloomily, and, while we were at breakfast, the rain started. After the chore of reconnecting the muffler and exhaust pipe, we set out for the very north-west corner of Wisconsin along Lake Superior. We did a loop on the peninsula and stopped at the fishing rest town of Bayview where we had a marvelous fish luncheon as a group in a restaurant opened especially for us. It turned out to be the highlight of the day.

On the return trip, I noticed a sudden and alarming drop in the engine oil pressure. We immediately stopped but nothing wrong was readily apparent. I added a quart of oil to the engine with no effect on the pressure. Fred correctly diagnosed the problem. This model Packard has an external oil pressure adjustment device, and adjustment can be done by unlocking a large nut and turning a large screw in or out, which raises or lowers the oil pressure. The large locking nut had come loose allowing the adjusting screw to back out, which lowered the oil pressure to an undesirable level. However, no damage was done, and after an adjustment we were quickly on our way. We also ran low on gas, but a couple in a Pierce-Arrow with whom we had bantered at lunch actually did run out of gas. Incidentally, running out of gas is the most frequent cause of car problems on CCCA Caravans.

Saturday, Aug. 27 th . We walked to the Duluth train station/museum and thoroughly enjoyed a great train museum. Even people who don't enjoy mechanical equipment were impressed with the steam locomotives, which started with an 1861 engine of Civil War vintage equipped with a huge cow catcher and an early funnel shaped smoke stack. Because of huge snow falls in the area, there were two types of giant snow plows on display. One was an ordinary looking pointed plow, but it was 12 ft. high. The other plow featured a huge steam-driven fan in the front which picked up the snow and ejected it out the top of the unit in two directions. The fan was 12 ft. in diameter. The largest steam locomotive was a 6000 h.p. puller with 16 driving wheels. Its appearance was astounding.

Our group then picked up box lunches and drinks and went on a train journey through the back woods of Minnesota. Our car on the train had been built in 1918 and was quite comfortable after windows were opened. Railroad aficionados would have enjoyed this trip but for most of us it was too long.

Upon returning to Duluth, we went on an architectural driving tour to see the large homes and mansions built in the early 1900’s. These homes were built for wealthy barons in iron ore and timber businesses. At one time, Duluth boasted more millionaires per capita than any other city in the world. The homes represented several different architectural styles and were a treat to see. Duluth is a city of many steep hills, which were a real test of the brakes on our old cars. It is also a squeaky clean town. We didn’t see a piece of trash anywhere, and the homes, whether large or small, were well kept with well-tended gardens. Because the winters are so brutal, there are heated passageways to get to various places in the downtown area.

In the evening, the group went to dinner at the Kitchi Gimmi Club, a large traditional old club for the well-off business people of Duluth, situated high on a hill with scenic views of the harbor area and Lake Superior. The food was superb. Kitchi Gimmi is the Indian name for Lake Superior, which is the world’s largest fresh water lake. Its water could cover all of North America to a depth of three feet. The lake contains 10% of all the fresh water in the world, and is the site of more than 350 shipwrecks, including the famous Edmund Fitzgerald.

Sunday, Aug. 28 th . Leaving Duluth, we traveled northeast along the north side of the lake. The roads were good and the views were helped by sunny weather. The day’s run was to be 188 miles, and more with side trips to interesting places along the way. Our first stop was to get non-oxygenated gas, which is hard to find in northern Minnesota and Canada. Other stops were optional, so we elected to stop at Gooseberry Falls State Park. We took a walking trail through the woods to various places around the falls, but because the area had been suffering a drought, the falls were less than spectacular.

We motored on to Split Rock Light House, which was built about 1909 to help prevent frequent shipwrecks along the north shore of the Lake. The light house features a huge fresnel lens, which was made in Paris. The building stands high over the lake on a cliff and the light can be seen for 22 miles. Huge fog horns can be heard for 5 miles and would scare animals 5 miles away. During construction, all the materials had to be brought in by ship because there were no roads, then hoisted up the cliff. To assure a freely rotating light, the supporting mechanism rides on a bath of mercury in a closed vessel. Because there was no electricity at the time, the rotating mechanism was powered by a weight at the end of a wire rope wound on a spool. As the weight descends by gravity, it causes the spool to turn, which powers a group of gears to turn the light inside the fresnel lens. The weight had to be hand cranked up to its top elevation every two hours. This required three shifts of light keepers to keep the light operating, and each keeper had a separate home for his wife and family. After the light was put into service, there were no more shipwrecks in that region of the lake.

After asking a light keeper for a recommendation for a place for lunch, we traveled on to the nearby town of Beaver Bay where we had an excellent lunch at a boutique restaurant called the Lemon Wolf. Later, feeling the pressure to cover more miles, we elected to stop only for necessities, such as a large ice cream cone in the town of Grand Marais, a tourist attraction.

Pressing on, we finally made it to the Valhalla Inn in the city of Thunder Bay just in time for an excellent banquet in their huge dining room.

Monday, Aug. 29 th . A local Thunder Bay car club [nc] took us under their wing and offered to show us local sights. We motored to Fort William, which is a duplicate of the original fort that was located at the mouth of Pigeon River and Lake Superior. The Fort was non-military and was strictly a trading post for furs and necessities of life during the period from 1803 to 1821. It was owned by Northern Trading Co., a Scottish group in competition with Hudson Bay Co.

We learned the methods of building birch bark canoes and saw examples that could carry several tons of supplies. These canoes were the only means of transport of large quantities of goods during those years. Inside the fort we were shown the bake shop, kitchen, and dining room for upper level people in the company, as well as the poor living conditions for the ordinary workers. Eventually, the Hudson Bay Co. took over, but the fort was abandoned after 1821 because the area had been trapped out of animals with desirable pelts. This was an informative tour with guides who were dressed in clothing of the period and acted the parts with good knowledge of the living conditions and customs of the time. The fort consisted of 42 reconstructed buildings and was very well done. Our car club hosts then escorted us to Kakabeke Falls, spectacularly beautiful water falls. Its height is greater than Niagara, though not as wide, and consists of several streams with many different levels.

Returning to Thunder Bay, a city of 100,000+ people, we drove to the marina, a huge picturesque area for pleasure boats. The marina is beautifully constructed and is the locale of several war memorials.

Later we returned to town for dinner at the Italian Cultural Center. It was a typical Italian dinner, enjoyed with the company of the local car club members. This town has very friendly, well-behaved people. Hundreds of them turned out to see our cars. They were cordial, friendly, and respectful of the Classics. Later we joined some locals at an ice cream hangout and enjoyed the product.

Tuesday, Aug. 20 th . After a good group breakfast, we were on our way to Lutsen Resort. It was to be a short day of driving, so we decided to do some exploring along the way. Stopping first at Pigeon River State Park, we climbed a trail for a half mile and up a series of steps to observe another high and beautiful waterfall. This one had been used to move lumber down river to saw mills. It was also used extensively for hauling freight by canoes, and the falls had to be portaged around. The voyageurs who did the canoeing were rugged individuals who could carry two 90 lb. bales of furs at the same time during the portages.

Driving west, we stopped at Grand Portage State Park, an original site for the first white settlement in Minnesota in 1731. It was the center of North America’s fur trade. The setup was similar to Fort William. This time we learned how the birch bark was removed from the trees in a thick veneer form for use as the skin for canoes. In late spring, when the sap is running full, the bark of the trees is thinly cut with a sharp knife or axe with one vertical cut and two horizontal cuts around the tree for each slab of bark desired. The bark starts to come off the tree of its own accord and a hand inserted under the bark slab will readily remove it. If done properly, the tree will not be damaged.

We saw 40-foot long birch bark canoes that could carry 16-20 paddlers and 4 tons of freight. That was the only way relatively large quantities of freight could be moved in those times. The canoes were used for shelter at night, but new pitch had to be applied every evening to plug holes.

Driving on, we arrived at Lutsen Resort, located about half way between Thunder Bay and Duluth. The resort had truly deluxe accommodations and was right on Lake Superior, with virtually every type of winter and summer sports. That evening we enjoyed our barbecue dinner on the shore under tents for some and next to a large bonfire for others.

Wednesday, Aug. 31 st . We needed gas the first thing, so we went to a one-pump station because it had been recommended as the best place for breakfast. We filled the tank at $2.98/gal. and the total was just under $60 - a shocker! We did have a great breakfast there, joined by two friends who own a ’37 Packard Super-8 conv. The best part of these Caravans is the camaraderie, and we really enjoyed our meal with these two fellows, one from Duluth and the other from Chicago, who had been close friends since college.

We then went up the Gunflint Trail, which reaches the highest point in MN. We explored around and visited a lodge on Lake Poplar. The woman owner came to greet us and appeared to want some humans to talk to. She was in love with my Packard. She narrated a complete history of the lodge. On a wall I noticed a framed photo from the early ‘30’s showing the lodge with nine cars in front. The oldest cars were from the late ‘20’s and up to about 1932. Apparently the lodge had been a speakeasy during Prohibition; booze was smuggled in from Canada. We had a good conversation with the lodge owner who waved vigorously as we left.

We had agreed to have lunch with the same fellows we met for breakfast so we headed for a rustic restaurant which had been recommended. The place had been completely decorated with antique animal traps hung from the ceiling, old fishing gear, birds’ nests of nine different types, an old gas pump, a woman’s corset, a very early radio and TV, old motor oil signs, etc. Our waitress was a 72-year-old retired school teacher, and she was a delight. She lives in a small cabin with her recently retired husband and “works two days a week waitressing so we can avoid a divorce.” The food was excellent and she was the entertainment. The restaurant was on a branch of Lake Poplar and the setting was beautiful. We spent 2½ hours there and then went somewhat reluctantly down the hills to our lodge, ending the day with a group of friends for cocktails and dinner.

Thursday, Sept. 1 st . Our first destination this day was the International Wolf Center in Ely, MN. This required a long drive north from Like Superior. The car was covered with a heavy dew in the morning, caused by a Lake Superior fog overnight. The northern drive was a long uphill grind. Thanks to the Packard’s impressive torque, we had no problem with the mountain climb other than a moderate cooling-fluid increase. Arriving at the town of Ely, we went to the Wolf Center, a beautifully designed and constructed building devoted to the history of North American wolves. An extensive movie and a lecture on the lives and procreation of wolves was of great interest. Five wolves live there in an authentic wildlife enclosure and can be observed in their natural habitat.

We then enjoyed a luncheon of Mexican-style food in a local club before driving a short distance to the Soudan Underground Mine State Park. This was the first iron ore mine opened in MN [1892]. At first it was an open pit mine, but because of numerous tragic accidents caused by rock falls, it was converted to an underground mine. The ore was of very high quality, with its high oxygen content, and was used to make high quality steel in open-hearth furnaces. Eventually, however, low cost ores from the Mesabi Range took over and the mine was closed in 1962. Trips to the mine pit show how the mine was worked. These trips are a ½-mile below the surface and are made in the same crude double-level elevator used by the miners. Once down there, a ¾-mile train ride takes passengers to the last and deepest area mined. The temperature is a uniform 50 degrees F year round.

After leaving the mine and on the way back to Duluth, we again admired the beautiful scenery, being careful of deer and seeing many peaceful lakes, many with no evidence of humans around them. Arriving in Duluth, we did a mileage check and found that the Caravan had covered just under 1000 miles.

Friday, Sep. 2 nd . The Caravan group boarded a tour boat for a trip around Duluth Harbor, which proved to be a hit with the group. First the boat Captain signaled to the operator of a lift bridge that we wanted to go under it. At the same time, a giant ship loaded with power plant coal was to go under the bridge, which serves as a causeway to a long narrow island. The bridge rises horizontally to a height of 300 ft. It is a recognized treasure in the area, having been built in 1905. It is lighted at night to show all of its superstructure and is an important landmark.

Duluth boasts a large harbor, handling coal, grain, cement, and taconite [used in iron and steel making]. One of the ships was taking on wheat and had come up through the St. Lawrence Seaway, then was headed for Poland. Enormous groups of silos are used to store the materials, and huge handling equipment is necessary for loading and unloading. One of the systems won an international award for the most important civil engineering project in the world in 1976. For such an important and active harbor it is kept very clean, both the shoreline and the water itself.

After lunch we made a side trip to the Richard Bong memorial war museum. Richard Bong was the foremost American air ace during WW-II, shooting down 40 enemy planes in the Pacific theatre. He flew P-38 Lockheed Lightning fighter planes and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. The museum contained a historical chronicle of the war starting with an excellent motion picture of the attack on Pearl Harbor. These pictures were not reenactments but were assembled from Japanese and American films starting with pre-flight preparations on board the Japanese aircraft carriers before the planes took off for the attack. The movie was extraordinary in its details and had many frames we had never seen before.

Friday evening was the last organized event of the Caravan and we enjoyed a fine dinner at the Railway Museum. We again went through the museum seeing in more detail this great collection of railroad equipment and related antiques.

Our Saturday flight home was scheduled for late in the afternoon, so after arranging for shipment of the car to my home, we went sightseeing in the Duluth harbor area. We went on board a 650’ x 60’ ore ship which had been taken out of service several years ago because it was replaced by larger more efficient vessels. Despite being small by modern standards, this was an enormous ship. The hold now contains what must be the world’s largest maze, which is open to the public during Halloween. We were told that it is so scary that kids must be 13 to enter, and many adults stay away. After leaving the ship, we observed a 1000’ x 90’ modern bulk-carrying ship entering the harbor to take on a load of coal. The afore-mentioned lift bridge was elevated to a height of 300’ to allow passage of the ship, which we learned could be loaded in about 9 hours, a real feat.

We then visited Duluth’s maritime museum, which has exhibits related mostly to boat and ship traffic on Lake Superior. This is a large museum, considering the population of Duluth, and we regretted being unable to spend more time there. One of the exhibits is an accurate model of the wreck of the ore ship, Edmund Fitzgerald, which was discovered in 600’ of water several years after it mysteriously disappeared. It had broken in two during a winter storm and its stern half was upside down on the bottom.

As an aside from the scenic portion of the Caravan, I attempted to interview the Caravan trouble truck mechanic to learn what problems were encountered during the Caravan. Every Caravan has a trouble truck and trailer with two mechanics to help with problems entrants may have with their cars. If the problem can’t be fixed on the road, the car is put on a trailer and taken to the evening destination.

The head mechanic said they had practically nothing to do during this whole Caravan. A Lincoln had a stuck valve, which they were able to loosen. There were a few fuse and carburetor problems, but nothing serious. This says a lot about how well the cars were prepared for the Caravan.

In my own case, I thoroughly inspected, tuned, and lubed the Packard in preparation for the trip. I discovered that the rear wheel bearings were bad and decided I didn’t have the tools to tackle that job myself. Disassembly showed that one of the right rear bearings had frozen and scored the axle shaft. The axle had to be spray-welded and turned to correct size before new bearings [two per side] and seals could be fitted. It was an expensive repair, but I was glad that the problems were discovered prior to going on the Caravan. I also had four spare inner tubes but didn’t need any of them.

In all, about 90 cars participated in the Caravan, and the lack of serious problems shows that they were all roadworthy.