Duluth 2026

Last week, the four of us spent a long weekend up in Duluth and the Iron Range. The smoke from the wildfires made the first night we were there a bit tough (1100+ air quality!), but after that, the smoke mostly cleared, and we were able to spend some time outside.

Thursday, July 16

Long drive up north, but we made it! We were shocked that we couldn't see Lake Superior when we got to Duluth, and we could barely see the hill...the smoke was that bad! After we checked into our room, we went to the nearby mall and walked around for a few hours, had some drinks at Applebee's, played at an arcade in the mall, and then went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. All inside activities!

Friday, July 17

After breakfast at the hotel, we drove to the Iron Range and visited the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm. It was a pretty neat place, with many buildings to walk through, and a comprehensive history of the Iron Range. We learned so much about Finnish looms, unions, and mining. Amazing!

After that, we went to the largest active open iron mine pits in Hibbing, Minnesota (Hull-Rust-Mahoning). It's 8 miles long, 3.5 miles wide, and over 500 feet deep! 

We also got a bit of a break from the smoke as it wasn't as bad on the Iron Range as it was in Duluth. For dinner that night, we found a great smokehouse restaurant, and then capped off the night with another arcade visit.

The mine

Minnesota Discovery Center

This photo looked so much like G - I didn't even ask him to pose (see pic above)

Saturday, July 18

The smoke was finally bearable in Duluth, so we wandered down closer to Lake Superior. We opened the morning at the Great Lakes Aquarium, and then walked over to Canal Park. Several huge ships came through while we were there, so that was a fun experience. We ate lunch at Grandma's, had the biggest ice cream cones ever outside, and then retreated to our hotel to cool off. Well, the kids cooled off. Scott and I walked across the hotel parking lot and spent 1.5 hours at the bar at a Texas Roadhouse, just for some 1:1 time.

Dinner that night was at a delightful Italian restaurant, and then we hit up Savers. And then the real fun started! Our smoke alarm tripped in our house, so many fire trucks and police officers were in our yard. Since we weren't there, and our house is locked up super securely, my parents drove over and let the teams in. There was no fire - we think dust may have gotten into the sensor and set it off. But it was pretty chaotic for a while. And I guess lots of neighbors were out, watching things unfold. Glad it's all okay, but it caused some serious panic for several hours.

We were so happy to come home the next day and pick up Pria!

Great Lakes Aquarium

This fish made me so happy!

Canal Park

Italian dinner

Other fun things that took place this week (besides trying to catch up from being gone) included Arya and me spending a huge chunk of time at a local dealership buying her a new vehicle. She finally has something we feel comfortable with her driving to River Falls! Its name is Nelly, and it's a lovely dark blue-green SUV. Perfect!

I also needed to take a breather from all of the stress (vacation, work, car buying, etc) and met up with a friend at a local brewery. I really needed that night with a friend, and am so grateful it worked into both of our schedules.

View from our brewery seats...so calm

We've got another fun trip coming up this week, but it's just the girls...Scott and G are staying home! More to come on that once we're back!