Northern Road Trip, Day 8: A Thirsty Pagan in Superior, Wisconsin.

Duluth is in Minnesota, and Superior in Wisconsin. The two cities are considered as one in terms of the metropolitan area, and they comprise one big and important port. We spent much of the day in Superior on Friday, August 1, and it seemed to us that Superior is to Duluth as Oakland is to San Francisco; it's an admittedly shallow observation, but one seemingly borne out here: Duluth vs. Superior

Yes, Superior has an ample supply of payday loan storefronts and empty lots… but you can buy booze on Sundays and have fires on the beach. Advantage Wisconsin.

That said, we had much fun in Superior, which to me is pleasantly summarized by this photo.

More specifically, there was a drive to nearby Wisconsin Point, where the lighthouse at the Lake Superior entry can be accessed via ankle busting boulders. We duly clambered over them.

Lunch was at the Thirsty Pagan Brewing Company. Upon being seated, the first thing I noticed when the server passed through the swinging kitchen door was a familiar growler, situated second from the right atop the walk-in cooler.

It was a very good omen. The beer and pizza were superlative, and the vibe somewhat "Rich O's" in overall feel.

The Thirsty Pagan brewer is Allyson Rolph, who gave us a brief tour. Her house beer lineup, brewed on two small systems, was nicely balanced -- something I'm coming more and more to appreciate. Thirsty Pagan's ABVs generally are on a milder end of the spectrum, but there was plenty of interest, including a dark spruce-spiced ale and a brown ale with rhubarb.

I didn't have a bad beer in Duluth, and in fact, they all were quite good. Consequently, I'll probably catch a measure of flak for saying it, but seriously, and in my brief experience in the area, the best beer in Duluth is found across the state line, in Superior, at Thirsty Pagan.

It's just my opinion, and with purely intentional analogies to the metro Louisville area, of course.

Returning to Duluth later in the afternoon, we parked across from Leif Erickson Park and caught the pedway downtown, emerging at Tycoons Alehouse & Eatery, located in the restored former city hall in the epicenter of downtown. Tycoons, which is a nod to Duluth's gilded age glory, serves Fitger's beer and offers a local smoked fish appetizer plate.

A better way to say goodbye to Duluth? I can't think of one.

ON THE AVENUES is on vacation.

Instead of a rerun, enjoy the view of Duluth and Lake Superior from the Enger Tower.

Northern Road Trip, Day 6: Introduction to Duluth.

The first time I can recall seeing a timber wolf, it wasn't Kevin Love cleaning the boards. Rather, it was a real wolf, bounding across a highway that looked like this ...

 ... and missing the car by a few feet. It was that close, and shocked me so badly that later, I was compelled to drink beer at Fitger's.

At any rate, we made the two-hour drive from Minneapolis to Duluth on Wednesday morning, July 30, having elected to navigate the back roads rather than the interstate. It was uneventful apart from the close encounter with a timber wolf. For those interested in Northwoods history, outdoor recreation, honest food and great beer, Duluth and adjoining Superior, Wisconsin have much to offer.

Around the year 1900, Duluth had more millionaires per capita than any other American city. The reason was shipping. There was iron ore and timber to be sent across Lake Superior to fuel the Gilded Age, and the middlemen and ship owners made considerable bank. Their homes and commercial buildings remain largely intact. Today Duluth is more than a lake port; it's a bona fide seaport, because ocean-going vessels can reach it via the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Appropriately, we boarded the Vista Star for an afternoon tour of the harbor, and learned that last winter's harshness as yet is causing delays to Great Lakes shipping schedules, as the catch-up game continues into August.

Our airbnb hosts noted that while 30-below days always are to be expected in Duluth, the past winter featured day after day of bitter cold, making the city's 3.5 miles of climate-controlled skywalks even more essential. Our hosts were young and delightful, and a Bengal cat named Leo to die for.

Like other ports from Vladivostok to San Francisco, Duluth clings to a ridge facing the water. It is a long and narrow city. on the north side of downtown, easily walked from Canal Park via the lakeside pedway, is the old Fitger's brewery building. Think of it as the Falls City of Duluth, and like Louisville's Falls City, there also is a newer, exemplary Fitger's brewing company. It operates on multiple levels of the 19th-century premises, which also contains shops and a hotel. Of the following images, the lakefront panorama of the Fitger's building and the label are borrowed images.

That's right: Buy a pre-filled growler of Fitger's beer, but first, you must decide whether you'd like glass, plastic or aluminum. We returned to Fitger's later, and my salad of greens, Minnesota wild rice and smoked local trout was superb.

On Thursday, we planned to leave the car at our residence and go walking. It turned out to be quite a lot of steps.