With blue skies and perfect temperatures we headed north to the shores of Lake Superior.  We set out on our bikes on the Gitchi-Gami State Trail which parallels U.S. Highway 61 and has some of the most beautiful scenery in the state of Minnesota.  Although the bike trail will eventually run the full length of the North Shore, for now it is complete in sections.  We rode north from Gooseberry Falls State Park, through Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, to the town of Beaver Bay a distance of about 14 miles.  The trail is anything but flat, with steep inclines because of the rock cliffs that line the shoreline of the lake.  Today the water was the most beautiful shade of blue, reflecting the clear and sunny skies above.  After an ice cream stop the return trip took us into a headwind, but the scenery and the downhill runs made the effort all worthwhile.  This section of Lake Superior is the closest I can come in the Midwest to seeing an “ocean” – the expanse is so large that there is no shoreline to be seen on the other side.  Just beautiful blue waters on a picture-perfect day all the way to the horizon.