Duluth: Pokemon Go City 7/17/2016

Everyone in this photo was playing Pokemon Go

After arriving in the Duluth area following our marathon drive to get here, we had a cold, rainy day. We replenished groceries and decided to just hang out for a day.

Yesterday we drove into Duluth to check out the Lakewalk, a 4.2 mile path built by the city of Duluth that runs, for the most part directly along the shore of Lake Superior. We discovered that the Lakewalk was built in response to planners who had wanted to extend I-35 500 feet out into Lake Superior. The people of the city revolted against that plan, and the result was that the I-35 corridor was buried under the city, and the lakefront developed into a beautiful park. In the park, there is both a paved path for rollerbladers, bicyclists, runners and wheelchairs, and a boardwalk for pedestrians. This scenic path passes the Duluth aerial Lift Bridge which spans the Duluth shipping canal and is raised and lowered to let ships pass. The trail also passes the Canal Park entertainment district, and sculptures representing Duluth and its sister cities in Sweden, Russia and Japan, the Northland Vietnam Veterans and Korean War Memorials, Leif Erickson Park and the gorgeous Rose Garden with 3000 rose bushes of some 99 varieties and numerous trees, shrubs and other flowers. It's hard to believe that as you stroll through the garden, you are walking over cars and trucks streaming along I-35.

The storm that brought 10 inches of rain to the area a few days ago  (and caused our crazy detour), swelled rivers and streams to overflowing, and churned up silt along the way. As a result, the

The normally clear blue Lake Superior after the storm

normally clear, blue Lake Superior was sporting a lovely shade of brown from the runoff from these sources as well as from erosion from red clay cliffs in the area. It was really amazing to see a brown Lake Superior, when a few days earlier at Munising, MI, the Lake was very clear and sparkling blue.

In Leif Erickson Park we stopped for lunch and did a bit of people-watching. I noted that almost every person in the park was deeply engrossed in their cell phone. It was a beautiful day, and even people in groups were not talking to each other as they strolled, but instead were focused on their phone screens. Others were just standing around staring at their phones. Curious, I approached one group of young men and inquired about the phenomenon, and discovered that everyone was playing Pokemon Go. As we continued our walk, we started noticing the large numbers of people engaged in the game, and had a few near-collisions with people who were walking-while-playing and not watching where they were going. Mass hysteria!
Here are a few others photos of the day: https://goo.gl/photos/eejFPzuG2iRAVA4k7