Grand Portage National Monument

After visiting High Falls, we drove back to where the ferry is located, stopped in and made reservations for next week to go to Isle Royale, and then came back to the National Monument.  This monument is dedicated to the Indian's point of view of the North West Company's fur trade business and how the voyagers and owners and Indians interacted with each, how the goods were brought in and then traded, the rendezvous that happened each summer.  Quite a different story than what we had learned from the American Fur Company's business operations out west and the "Mountain Man".  The North West Company was a highly tuned, profitable, distribution company.

Inside the visitor's center - impressive

What they think the fort looked like - at peak, 1000 people

The North West Company merged with the Hudson Bay Company and they were the largest producers/distributors of beaver skins and other animal skins to Europe.  Very well organized, owned by 16 men mostly from Scotland, and very profitable while it lasted.  With outposts to the Seattle area and up into northern Canada, all men were company men, not independents as was the American Fur Company which was owned and run by John Jacob Astor.

Birch bark waiting to be stretched on poles for shelter

Living quarters made out of birch bark

Animal pelts waiting shipment

The Great Hall and kitchen to left

Inside Great Hall

The center had some pretty cool displays.  The interpretive movie was from the Ojibwa's point of view - something we have not experienced.  And of course, the monument is on Ojibwa's land and is managed together with the Federal Government's Park System.

Clothing made out of skins

Inside the kitchen

Outdoors were interpreters in period dress who demonstrated building shelters, tanning hides, wood working shop, a chef in the settlement and what was being prepared that day for dinner, what the Great Hall was all about and who and what happened inside.  Of the 16 buildings that they knew were within the fort, only 3 are reconstructed to the period.

Fog still rolling in 

The fog was rolling in again as we were finishing up viewing the outdoor structures, could hear thunder in the distance, so we headed back.  Along the way back south on Route 61 we stopped to photograph old fish houses still standing - barely.  Out in the distance we could see a very large boat moving southward.

Old fish houses still standing - barely

At 6pm, back at the RV, we heard a ship's horn, looked outside towards Grand Marais bay and saw a very large boat coming in.  It was the same one - USGS survey ship that studies and documents the Lake's fish population, pollution, different aquatic studies, etc.  Left promptly at 6am this morning.
We also saw a wooden sailboat heading out for a sunset sail - part of the wooden boat show going on this weekend.  Pretty sights.

Same boat we saw earlier - Kiyi out of Ashland, Wisconsin

It's a biggem! 

Today meets old world