Here is a Bird’s Eye View of the area, our campground was just off the map, lower right.
Over the last few days, we’ve visited any number of historic sites and museums, some of which really deserve a Post of their own. But for many reasons (one of which is just beating you guys over the head with Museum Minutiae) I decided to give you a brief overview of the same. The Post from two days ago, Sault Ste. Marie, was one of the hardest that I’ve written only because there was too much information and the culling of which became tedious (in a good way!)
So….. here are two Museums that we visited that if included in the other Posts, would have been smothered and would not have received the distinction that they deserve!
I present now, for your Museum Musings….
Two collections of regional interest…..
One is of airplanes (No! Really?)
And the other is ships (Gasp! What a surprise!)
Well, both are vital to this area. If Canada has anything, it has trees. And lots of trees together become forests. And when it gets hot and dry they like to show off what a spark can do and ignite into raging infernos. We all, as of late, have seen and smelled (even as far away as NYC) the effects of the huge wildfires in Canada. These places are hard to reach as there are not a lot of roads that cris-cross these vast arboreal areas. This is where this particular museum comes in as it highlights and documents the efforts of Canada’s Bush Planes and firefighting services.
We poked over the Border to the city in Canada with the same name as the one in the USA, Sault Ste. Marie. The border crossing was uneventful in both directions, they just took a while as the lines were significant but not extensive. It took probably an average of twenty minutes to cross over. This was not the time for levity. No joking with the Border Patrol folks, just answer their questions politely and hopefully move on. You could tell that they are trained…. Small questions about where we’re from, the answers, if given hesitantly, may have morphed into a more serious discussion.
Yes, I know they have it as one word, Bushplane, but I’m not so sure. I’ll investigate and report back to you
The Bush Plane Museum is in an old giant hanger that was used for seaplane service back in the day. It afforded a realistic space for all of the planes in their collection, which were many.
There were also two movie features, one on the firefighting process itself and the other was on Jane Goodall and her positive attitude towards what we can do to help our planet recover from abuse and further survive in the future.
Jane is a World Treasure.
The Maritime Museum, Great Lakes Freighter, Valley Camp
The next day we went to an old (1917) Great Lakes freighter that has been converted into a Maritime Museum, both inside her hull and out. The exhibits were quite extensive and very informative.
Looking at the bow of the Valley Camp
Looking at the bridge from behind. It sits at the very front of the ship, directly on the bow.
The inside of the bridge.
Looking aft towards the stern, 500 feet away.
The stern houses most of the crew, the dining facilities and the engineering department.
A comparison of the Valley Camp, 570′ (left) and the rest of the 1000′ fleet of Great Lakes freighters. BTW, The Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest of the fleet at 760′ when she was built back in the ’70’s.
From the stern looking forward you can see all of the large hatch covers over the holds. That white superstructure with the three portholes is in the center of the ship. There are just as many holds forward of it.
One of the exhibit spaces contained in the holds of the Valley Camp.
The exhibits were so well done that Paula (who I drag to every maritime/aviation museum we find and is not particularly drawn to same) was fascinated by the stories of these ships which did include a detailed timeline and narrative of the demise of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Paula down inside one of the holds of the Valley Camp that was made into exhibition space.
The Great Lakes and their accompanying inclement weather are nothing to be trifled with. The evidence of these mishaps is overwhelming as evidenced by the exhibits in all of the Maritime Museums of this area.
One of the largest “Lakers” is the Edwin H. Gott, she is over 1000′ long. There are only about 13 boats of this size, and they were all constructed in the 1970’s. Even though all of these freighters are “ships’, around here they are traditionally just called “boats”.
Today is your lucky day!
It is time for another Class Trip and fortunately the weather is beautiful because today we’re all going on a Boat Ride!
You all may not be as excited about this as I am (as I will entertain any excuse for a Boat Ride) but I can assure you that this one is VERY interesting!
Seeing as we are here at the Soo Locks, and even though we all saw them from the Observation Deck yesterday, what better way to experience these marvelous engineering works of wonder than to actually get into them and be raised and lowered the twenty-one feet that is the difference between Lake Superior and Lake Huron.
We chose for our outing The Original Soo Locks Boat Tour which started in 1934 with a wooden cruiser named Bide-A-Wee. No one (banks) would loan Captain Beechgood the capital that he needed to start this venture up, because the Bean Counters did not think that anyone would want to go through the locks as everything was visible from land. So, the Beechgoods mortgaged their home and bought a boat. 90 years later we sailed on Bide-A-Wee III (built in 1953!) and there were two sister ships at their dock ready to go also. The family still owns and operates these boats 😊
The original Bide-A-Wee, 1934
Our Boat du Jour, Bide-A-Wee III
Our two-hour tour consisted of a trip up to the American side of the locks, then we returned by the Canadian side. The Canadian side was once much larger and was the original, but when the American side was built and started operations, it took most of the business away from the Canadian side. The Canadian locks were eventually shortened and modernized to accommodate tour boats, pleasure craft, jet skis, and even kayaks. There is no charge to use any of these locks, even on the American side.
Ok, it’s time to board, please watch your step!
On the American side sits the Union Carbide Hydro-Electric plant that uses the 19′ drop from Superior to Huron as its power source. Erected between 1898 and 1902, it is still the longest horizontal shaft hydro-electric power plant in the world. The new concrete in the foreground is the start of a new Cruise Port that will allow smaller cruise ships to dock at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
The arrow points to this building that straddles the canal that brings the water from Superior. The building acts like a dam and the water drops vertically inside the building turning the turbines. The water exits 19 feet lower and come out on the right side and into the St. Mary River (Huron)
Here you can see the tunnels that allow the water to exit the turbines. Please note the care and architecture used in the construction of this building….. check out the vertical embossments on the sides, they are in the shape of lighthouses!Hurray for the architects of the late 1800’s!
Darla and Sandra who live right on the Waterway were on shore watching us go by.
And here is the photo of us that they took from the shore! I’m standing (black shirt), Paula directly in front of me.
We are now entering the smaller of the American Locks as the Edwin H. Gott is using the larger one to our right. Up on the left you can see the Viewing Platform that we were on the day before. You will notice that tour boat from the rival “other” company in front of ours. We made sure to book you all on the best tour…. Ours!
Here we can see the Edwin Gott in the larger of the two American Locks. This is the only one that can handle this size of ship until the construction of the “new” lock is complete in about ten years.They are presently combining the 3rd and 4th locks into one gigundo lock that will be able to handle the larger boats also.
We went through the MacArthur Lock; the Edwin H. Gott went through the Poe Lock. On the left you can see what the new “combined”, larger lock will look like when it is finished. Presently there are two locks there the size of the MacArthur.
We are approaching the Presque Isle which has the distinction of being the largest Barge/Tug combination in the world. She is also over a 1000′ long and you will see the next photos how this all works.
For perspective……
Here you can see how this combination works. The tug nestles inside an indentation in the stern of the barge and thus provides the power and maneuvering for it. This allows for a barge to be dropped off somewhere and then tug to be utilized with another barge.
We will pass the Saginaw on our Port side, wait until you see what this actually looks like from the side!
The Saginaw was built in 1953 and is about 579 ‘ long, quite a bit smaller than the biggies, but still plying the Great Lakes successfully!
So, what happens to the old ships? Some are sunk on purpose to create artificial reefs, the lucky ones become Museum Ships, but by far the most end up at the “breakers” to be torn down and turned into scrap metal.
I am uncomfortable talking about this.
Here is an example of one being used locally. It was brought to the Canadian side, sunk, and then filled in with slag from the iron smelters, filled over with dirt and is now a sort of ‘dock’ and bulkhead combined. The hull is from 1903.
There are two boats in this photo. First, the red hull was once a full-sized ship. When she reached the end of her usefulness, they cut off the bow and stern and removed the deck. The remaking U-shaped hull became a floating dry-dock because her ballast tanks remained and were able to be flooded and discharged to raise and lower her in the water. The second ship, the Mississagi is not so fortunate. She is being broken up as she sits.
This is the one I want to buy! The Norgoma is just itching for a new owner and I’m positive that I can get her for a song! Built in 1950 as a steam-powered boat she was used as a ferry/transport and worked all over the Great Lakes, some voyages were five days long as she sailed from one end to the other. Eventually she was to become one of those Museum Ships in Sault Ste. Marie, Canada but things fell through. Isn’t she a beauty! (Don’t tell Paula! It’s a surprise!)
Now we’re entering the Candian Lock. (Notice we’re still following that loser boat in front of us.) Also, take note of the small pleasure craft that use this lock also.
After being in the much larger locks, you can notice how small this one is, but the Captains of the Tour Boats actually prefer these as they get to know the Lock Masters and local crew!(Note how high the water is in the lock)
Now note the water level! We shared the lock with a small yacht, the “other” tour boat, and some Wave Runners.
The inside of the lock gate holding back all of Lake Superior! (in theory!)
And finally, on our way back to our dock we can see the rapids of the St. Mary River that descends that 19′ elevation difference between the Lakes and in which these very large boats would definitely have a problem!
Our Co-Hostess Paula
We hope that you have enjoyed your Boat Tour of the Soo Locks, and we hope to see you again on one of our Tours of just about anything that we come across! Remember admission is always free and virtual snacks can be had for the asking!
Stay tuned for some diagrams of how the Locks work. If you have been bored to tears, feel free to exit now before we get really technical!
This diagram is self-explanatory, but you should know that all the water that is used in any lock system needs to come from “Upstream” so that it requires minimal energy to operate.Note the bottom of the lock and the water chambers underneath it.
Here is the bottom of one of the Locks after it has been drained for repairs. You can see the slots used for filling and draining.
A “laker” ore freighter heading westward into the Soo Locks on its way to a port somewhere on Lake Superior. It is empty as evidenced by how ‘high’ it is riding in the water. When fully loaded it sits much lower.
The legend lives on
From the Chippewa on down
To the Great Lake they call
Gitche Gumee…
If I were to select one theme that is pervasive here on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, it would be that of the maritime thread that sews this region together and binds everyone to the history and drama of the ships and sailors that ply these waters.
There are many others, but I’ll start here.
We are up here in Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan which as you can surmise by the spelling of the name, was founded by the French in the early 1600’s making it one of the oldest permanent settlements in the country. But, for us folks who took Spanish, etc. in High School, it’s pronounced Soo St. Marie and that’s evidenced by another accepted way of spelling it because when the Brits took over, they morphed it phonetically.
The Great Lakes do provide the bulk of the traditions of this area, and no one minds at all. This tiny area of the Soo is the home to the Soo Locks, a project started way back in the 1800’s and carried on by the indomitable force of the Army Corps of Engineers to this day. All of the ships that transport the commodities of this region have to transit through these locks in order to get around the elevation difference between Lake Superior and Lake Huron and the rest of the world. Lake Superior lies about six-hundred feet above sea level and unless you want to watch a giant ore freighter try and navigate some Class V rapids or go over Niagara Falls, then a system of canals and locks is quite necessary!
We started our day with Darla and Sandra, our friends and tour guides, with a stop at a Native American cemetery. This particular one belongs to the Bay Mills Tribe, one of five recognized Tribes on the UP. These tribes have their histories intertwined with the Chippewa, Menominee, and Dakota.
These are Spirit Houses which cover the graves of their deceased. They hold items which will help their loved ones in the afterlife, and each has a hole in the south end of the cover for their spirit to leave by
We visited another local cemetery that had this grave and memorial in it. When the Myron went down all hands were lost, and it wasn’t til sometime later that eight of the men’s bodies came up encased in ice. They were interred here, just a short distance from the shore where they were recovered.
Our next stop was out on a point jutting into Lake Superior that had one of Michigan’s 129 lighthouses on it. Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state, coming in second is Maine with almost one hundred less!
The Iroquois Point Lighthouse, opened in 1870
Our primary objective of the day was a visit to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum way out on Whitefish Point, near what is aptly monikered as the Graveyard of the Great Lakes. This area, just off of this point is, in fact, the site of the foundering of the Edmund Fitzgerald, which for better or worse brought the ever-present possibility of catastrophe on these waters to the forefront.
The Museum is located at an old Coast Guard facility and the Whitefish Point Lighthouse.
The light and the Keeper’s residence.
I am one-hundred percent sure that my opening lines of this Post were familiar to you. Gordon Lightfoot considered The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald to be his finest work. He wrote and recorded it just weeks after the Edmund Fitzgerald went down in November of 1975. This song is obviously used at the Museum as this is the organization that spearheaded a dive to the site (over 500 feet down) to bring the bell of the ship up to the surface to be used as a memorial. The families of the crew were all involved in this endeavor, and they replaced it with an identical bell inscribed with all of the names of the twenty-nine men that perished that day.
We watched a film documenting this entire (very dangerous) process which ended with a ceremony where family members came up one by one and rang the actual bell in remembrance of their lost loved one. It was an ending that most families don’t get to have when there is a tragedy at sea. Mr. Lightfoot’s lyrics rang particularly true at this point…
The church bell chimed ‘til it rang twenty-nine times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald
The actual bell recovered from the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
We could have spent a lot more time here as the Museum had an exhibit on most of the ships that have gone down over the past hundred or so years. I would not hesitate to return to this area!
Ponds filled with flowering Lily Pads were a common sight on our route through this region
The Upper Peninsula is mainly composed of large swaths of forests and waterways. Bogs filled with blueberries and cranberries work their way in from the shoreline where the beaches are as sandy as the Jersey Shore, and the water looks like it could be in the Caribbean!
Lots of timber washed ashore after storms.
We drove long stretches of roads that had absolutely nothing on them until a small settlement would appear and then just as quickly disappear behind us. At the end of one of these roads was our next destination and lunch! We were headed to Tahquamenon (which rhymes with phenomenon) Falls State Park, the home of the falls and a local brewing company of the same name, and their accompanying restaurant.
We saw a Bald Eagle swoop down and snatch a Trout Dinner off of someone’s plate!
Lunch over, we walked down to the Falls, which are quite impressive as these falls are second only to Niagara Falls in volume. In the Spring over 50,000 gallons per second drops over the edge of the falls on the river of the same name. I think they just like to say “Tahquamenon” 😊
The water is ‘tea colored’ due to all of the tannins from the surrounding forests in it.
We arrived “back in the Soo” just in time for ice cream and a walk across the street to visit the Soo Locks Visitors Center run by the Army Corps of Engineers. This viewpoint was multi-level, had loudspeakers which explained what ship was coming through, and was situated just a few feet from the edge of the Locks. The inside of the Center provided an incredible amount of information about shipping, lock technology, history, and the current ships and marine traffic at any given time. It was very well done!
Yes, we were actually this close to the workings of the Locks. This ship will soon rise up and become level with the next body of water, which is for all intents and purposes, Lake Superior.
Here you can see the new level of water. Across that ‘gate’ is Lake Superior. The ship just off to the right had just come through an adjoining lock and the one off in the distance (on the left) is waiting to come down and to the locks and descend down to Lake Huron.
One of the best parts of traveling around our country is discovering things that we never knew existed but are in fact very important and interesting. We are only one day in on our visit to the UP and this has already been exemplified well beyond our expectations.
These are the kinds of sights that we, as Itinerant Travelers, get to see along the way. Who would think that in some random Walmart Parking Lot we would be treated to such an exquisite scene….. Shopping carts still strewn about the lot, garbage cans dotting the landscape, the vehicles of the Night Shift workers, all bathed in the light of a crescent moon, I call it…Moon over Walmart. Signed copies available at the front desk.
The Great ‘Back to Texas’ Western Migration by Way of Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Washington, Oregon, Utah, and Colorado has begun!
Our first day on the road was thankfully uneventful, Miss Biggie ran like the champion that she (presently 😊) is. It’s a good thing that we had all of that AC work done as the temps were in the 90’s and with our big, clear, “Greenhouse Effect” front window in full sun all day makes for some uncomfortable temps inside our version of the Space Shuttle. We have definitely come to realize that products are made for averages and when one gets to the extremes of the ranges from which those averages are extracted….. well, let’s just say that the design envelopes tend to stretch a tad and things can be a bit dicey. I cannot report that it was cold in there. Maybe just tolerable?
But just in time our Walmart of Oregon (Ohio) came into view and our chosen spot for the night had some fortuitously placed trees that helped to shade us as the sun went lower on the horizon.
So Don, why ‘Oregon’ in Ohio?
I’m glad you asked that Cartography Class!
Here’s my theory….. back in the day, Leroy loaded up the Conestoga Wagon with the missus, Abigail. The rest of his family, Jeremiah (his oldest), Hank, Clara, Daphne, Lucas, and his youngest, Tillie, piled in after her except Jeremiah whose job it was to herd the little livestock they brought with them along the way.
Leroy was a dreamer and ever since he had heard of the West and all of the adventures that could be theirs for the taking, he had that migration mantra plastered in his brain, Oregon or Bust!
Well, let’s just say that the rest of the family did not really share Leroy’s enthusiasm for this adventure, but like the good, obedient family that they were, they followed him out of the yard, down the road and hit the trail westward.
Now Leroy lived in northern New Jersey and according to Google Maps it takes 44 days and 16 hours to walk from there to Pacific City, Oregon. That’s without stopping to sleep, eat, or take numerous ‘Go behind the bushes’ breaks. Then add in the herding of the sometimes-errant critters that were accompanying them and the occasional stops for repairing a wagon wheel, fighting off bears and villainous waylayers, and of course, Interstate 80 was still a hundred-plus years in the future.
So it was no surprise that after just two weeks on the trail with everyone asking, “Are we there yet?” (especially little Tillie) that Leroy, in exasperation, finally gave up when they hit this section of Ohio, turned to his dragged-along family and shouted, “Yes! This isOregon! And looking out across what was Lake Erie added, “See! There’s the Pacific Ocean! We are here!”
Everyone cheered (except Tillie who was napping) and was happy. Leroy opened a General Store along this route and quickly named the place Oregon so as to stake his claim that they did, in fact, get to Oregon anyway.
Eventually the General Store expanded, added a line of clothing and household goods, some frozen foods and a shop where you could have your wagon wheels changed. This enterprise was eventually re-named Wall-Mart by Lucas (who followed his father into the business) because they had built a wall around their little compound to thwart evildoers.
That is where were are presently staying the night.
The End.
Today we should be pulling into Sault Ste. Marie (pronounced Soo Saint Marie) way up on the tippy-top of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Excursions to hopefully include a trip to (Bucket List!) Mackinac (Mackinaw) Island where the Grand Hotel (!!!) (of Somewhere in Time) along with some great local State Parks on the shores of Lake Superior. Plus, our campsite is directly across from the Soo Locks which all of the giant ore freighters use on their way to and from the “mills in Wisconsin” (Ballad of the Edmund Fitzgerald). To sweeten this trip, we get to visit Darla and Sandra who we met on the World Cruise. The live in Sault Ste Marie.
