The Reflectory Tour: Settings from the Novel
Warning: if you have not read The Reflectory, you might want to stop. This page contains high-level spoilers. Grab your copy of the novel right here. Then come back when you reach "The End"!
Before we begin, if you want to do the actual tour, you need a place to stay, right? There are many fantastic places along the North Shore but I am most familiar with these places that I have been staying at for decades: Superior Shores Resort / The Lake Homes at Superior Shores (south side of the novel) and Bluefin Bay on Lake Superior (north side of the novel).
Get the book1. Two Harbors
In the novel: Chapters 2โ3. Sunday in town: the bookstore, Kate's coffee, lunch, the breakwater.
Castle Danger Brewery
In the revised edition, Castle Danger Brewery, on the corner of 1st Avenue and 7th Street, is where Alex and Kate have lunch on Sunday. Alex works on his Latin translations at a table by the windows while Kate steps out to walk the breakwater. Stop in for a pint of Aurora Haze, the hazy IPA Alex drinks in the book. There's no kitchen, so do what Alex and Kate did: have lunch delivered, or bring your own.
In the novel: Chapter 3 (revised edition; in the first edition this was The Pub, now closed).
Photo: Myotus / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
If you arrive in town early and want some coffee or a pastry, Louise's Place is the perfect little spot. Located at 19 Waterfront Drive, just a block from Castle Danger, this is where Kate grabbed her coffee while Alex was rummaging through the narrow aisles of Paige & Turner Booksellers.
Paige & Turner Booksellers is not a real bookstore. In the novel, it is the section of building with the red roof to the left of the True Value Hardware sign. It's just steps from Louise's Place (in the book it's a little further down the street).
The Two Harbors Public Library. Closed on Sundays in the book; closed on Sundays in reality. Great looking library, though.
The Edna G tugboat referenced in the novel was built in 1896. In the book and real life, it was involved in several shipwreck rescues including the crew of the Madeira. She was the last of the coal-fired, steam engine tugs in service on the lakes. It is permanently located in the harbor next to the ore loading docks.
Kate walked the Two Harbors Breakwater while Alex worked on his translation of John Mead's message. It's about a 40 minute walk to the lighthouse at the end and back from Castle Danger. A perfect, flat hike for after lunch. For more scenery, you can stroll a little further on the Sonju Trail, a paved mile walk that goes around the Two Harbors Lighthouse along the lake and through the woods.
2. Highway 61 and its tunnels
In the novel: Chapter 4. The drive up from Two Harbors, where 61 "tunneled through massive cliffs," and Alex comes out of the second tunnel into something wilder.
And a real tunnel under highway 61. So close, so symbolic.
3. Gold Rock Point (first visit)
In the novel: Chapters 4โ5. Sunday evening, Alex and Kate hike up to the point and catch their first glimpse of Split Rock. The Boxer Tree is in Chapter 5.
The real path to Gold Rock Point is very dark and mysterious in parts. In fact, the characters in the novel have a slightly easier hike! I do not recommend walking through this. For starters, the GRP parking lot is locked and only scuba divers with permission to dive the Madeira Shipwreck are given the key. Visitors would have to park at nearby Split Rock Lighthouse and take the paved path. It isn't far if you want to get closer, but I'd stay off the point, if I were you.
In the story, I call this The Boxer Tree. It perches on the edge of the cliff on the southwest side facing Split Rock and bears a resemblance to the famous Spirit Tree (aka Witches Tree) located further up the shore past Grand Marais. Excerpt from the book:
A solitary, wind-twisted pine stood next to Alex, and he wondered how long it had been there. No taller than he, it was gnarled, misshapen, and bore only a few meager clumps of needles. It would have been a pitiful excuse for a tree had it not survived here, alone, on this inhospitable precipice. As such, it had an appearance of defiant pride, like that of a boxer. Its branches: arms, its tufts of needles: gloved hands. And the seasons: rounds of a never-ending match. The little tree had faced its adversary head on.
4. Tofte: Bluefin Grille
In the novel: Chapter 5. Dinner on a dark, rainy night; the Bryan Hansel print of Split Rock.
Bluefin Grille is for real. And it's a gorgeous little restaurant attached to Bluefin Bay Resort. Here is Salty. He's inside the front door as a greeter and has been there for years. Behind him are the stairs that lead to the upstairs portion of the restaurant (upstairs dining is often closed, btw). The wall just past the railing is where the Bryan Hansel photograph of Split Rock is located (in the book). His work is amazing and captures the aura of the North Shore so well, which is why I included him in the novel.
Alex and Kate were lucky to get the large booth upstairs in the corner overlooking the lake (except it was dark and rainy, so they couldn't see it, anyway).
5. The Shipwreck of the Madeira
In the novel: Throughout, starting in Chapter 2. The anchor and the Edna G rescue come up in Chapter 6.
On November 28, 1905, the Madeira, under tow of the steamer William Edenborn, was caught in a fierce storm with winds around 70 to 80 miles per hour, blowing snow onto the deck and kicking up huge swells. The ship slammed against Gold Rock Point and sank. The event is captured in The Reflectory and is a major historical reference point for the entire story. The massive anchor of the Madeira is on display at the GRP parking lot.
The buoy marks the Wreck of the Madeira. I'm not a scuba diver but if I were, this would be my first dive. I hear it's an incredible wreck to explore. If you are a diver, you must dive The Madeira.
6. Split Rock Lighthouse
In the novel: Chapter 11. On Tuesday, Alex and Kate tour the lighthouse and the head keeper's quarters, where Millie plays keeper Young's wife. The light stays in the background all the way to the end.
Alex and Kate catch their first glimpse of the lighthouse when they hike up to Gold Rock Point on Sunday evening. They tour the lighthouse and head keeper's quarters on Tuesday. It is a prominent backdrop to the story and is mentioned in several chapters all the way to the end of the novel. Split Rock Lighthouse was decommissioned on January 1st, 1969.
The Minnesota Historical Society does a fantastic job of representing the lighthouse as it existed in the 1920s, complete with period costumes...
7. Day Hill and the Tudor House fireplace
In the novel: Chapter 11 (Ranger Reese: "up Day Hill there by the large house?"). The fireplace at Tudor House appears in Chapters 13 and 15.
The photograph of the storm clouds was taken from Day Hill, part of Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. The lighthouse is barely visible in the bottom left of the picture. Love the storm clouds in the distance over Gold Rock Point.
Here is the Day Hill fireplace. Built on a slab of rock over a century ago, a reliable source has shared with me that the mysterious fireplace was likely not made by Frank Day, as the folklore of the area would have you believe. Hmmm.... In the novel, this is the fireplace at Tudor House.
8. Stonebrook, the slope, and the Circle of Trees
In the novel: The brook runs through the whole book from Chapter 4. The Circle of Trees first appears in Chapter 10.
Below is Gold Rock Point, as seen from Split Rock Lighthouse. In the novel, it has a higher cliff face but is otherwise the same. Can you spot the Circle of Trees?
The inspiration for Stonebrook is this little brook that runs along the northern side of GRP. I'm not aware that it even has a name. The novel version is much larger than this.
This is the northeastern slope that leads to GRP. I've walked this a thousand times in my mind. In the novel, the path from Stonebrook Cottage leads to the point through these trees. I take great liberty in the book by actually taming it down, making it a little easier to climb. In fact, there's a section of the hill where I give the characters stone steps that do not exist here. I call them The Reflectory Steps.
9. The Reflectory Steps (Temperance River)
In the novel: The stone steps on the path from Stonebrook Cottage to the point.
And here are The Reflectory steps. Their actual location is further northeast, along the Temperance River, about 1/8 mile in from Hwy 61. It is a paved and easy walk to reach them. Temperance is right before you get to Tofte, MN (location of the Bluefin Grille scene from the story).
10. The cove (SPOILER)
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In the novel: Chapters 24โ25. The antique Chris-Craft hangs on its chains in the boathouse. Here is the cove from a scene involving an antique Chris-Craft, Alex, Paul, Erik, and Kate. It is just as rocky but much less serene in the book. Okay, I won't say more (in case non-readers are sneaking a peek).Spoiler: tap to reveal
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