Soo Locks at Sault Ste Marie and Museum Ship Valley Camp

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The St Marys River drops 21 feet from Lake Superior to Lakes Huron and Michigan.  The only water connection between Lake Superior and the other lakes, the natural barrier of the rapids made it necessary for the construction of the locks.  Canada built the first lock in the late 1700’s.  That lock was destroyed in the War of 1812.  The first lock on the U.S. side was constructed in 1853. 

 

The locks have been rebuilt and enlarged many times since to accommodate the increase of freighter size, some now 1000 feet long.

 

As many as 11,000 vessels pass through the locks annually.  We were told now, though, due to the poor economy, as few as 6 – 8 may traverse the locks daily.  With that in mind, we were fortunate indeed, to ascend to the top of the observation deck just as a large freighter, the Alpena, entered the area.

Boat rides through the locks are available, and just prior to the Alpena entering, a tour boat entered the locks, as did a coast guard boat.

The tour boat looks fairly large, until you see how little of the locks it occupies.

The Alpena seems huge coming into the locks, then the loudspeaker announces that it is 500 feet long.  That’s only half as long as some of the ships which use the center lock.  Some of these vessels enter the locks with as little as one and a half foot clearance on each side.  We learned later that radar equipment helps the captain steer into the lock.

 

 

The Alpena must seem huge to the tourists, bearing down on them.  Workers on the dock secure the Alpena in place.  The water is raised 21 feet before the upper gates open, allowing the vessels to continue into Lake Superior.

Here the gates are opening, and the boats prepare to leave the lock.

 

After lunch, we browsed the street fair on Main Street.

We then decided to tour the Museum Ship Valley Camp.

The Museum Ship Valley Camp at Sault Ste Marie, Michigan is the World’s Largest Maritime Museum housed in a Great Lakes Freighter, the Valley Camp.

Much of the ship has been kept as it was when in use.  The cargo holds, once bearing loads of coal, iron ore, and limestone, now house more than 100 exhibits showcasing maritime memories, shipwrecks, lighthouses and local history.  One exhibit relates the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank in 1975, taking its crew along.

We toured the holds and the engine room, then went up on the upper deck to see the pilot house and walk the length of the ship, peeking into the galley, dining room and living quarters of the officers and seamen.  Then it was down into the depths of the ship where there are four 1200 gallon aquariums, holding fish varieties common to the Great Lakes.

For a look at our photos from the ship:

For a closer look at the freighter, Alpena, CLICK HERE for website.  For more on the Locks, and their operation, CLICK HERE.

Into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

We traveled the shoreline, again on U.S. 31, catching glimpses often of the lake.

Since entering Michigan, we have seen countless orchards and roadside stands selling fresh cherries, but had not found a place we could park the RV while purchasing some.

Today, we continued to drive past huge cherry orchards, and eventually found a lady selling cherries in her yard with enough room for us to park along the road. 

She had three varieties.  After trying each, we decided on the Sweet Black Cherries, huge cherries almost as big as quarters.  Not knowing when we’d be able to stop for more, we bought three quarts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We continued to pass through scenic towns.

 

 The fields are covered with purple flowers… what I believe are asters.  

MACKINAC BRIDGE

This was the second time (first in 2004) we have crossed on the famous Mackinac Bridge, 5 miles in length.  It’s quite an amazing feat of engineering.

      

 

We are parked in a city campground for the next three nights at Kinross, a small town about 20 miles south of Sault Ste Marie.

For the Mackinac Bridge Website, CLICK HERE 

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

We stayed on U.S. 31 today, along the shore, although the lake is not often visible for all the forests.  I am continually impressed with the attractiveness of the towns, such as this intersection in Manistee.

Our destination this morning was the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.  We knew campground sites were at a premium in the park, with only one third on a walk-in basis and we didn’t have a reservation.  We called  yesterday, and were told to be at the park by 8 a.m., and we might get a site.  Once again, Michigan roads tricked us, and we had to backtrack about 6 miles when we missed a turn.  We arrived at the park around 8:30, only to find out that no sites with electric had become available.

The park gave us a list of nearby campgrounds.  One was a Passport America Park, Sunny Woods, in the small town of Honor, MI, just a few miles from the park, so we set up there.  A little overpriced, it nevertheless was a quiet setting, and included laundry facilities.

Arriving so early gave us the opportunity to see the park today, catch up on our laundry tonight, and be ready to hit the road in the morning.

SLEEPING BEAR DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE

 

  “Long ago, in the land that is now Wisconsin, a mother bear and her two cubs were driven into Lake Michigan by a raging forest fire.  They swam and swam, but soon the cubs tired and lagged far behind.  Mother bear finally reached the opposite shore and climbed to the top of a bluff to watch and wait for her offspring.  But the cubs drowned.  Today “Sleeping Bear”, a solitary dune in Michigan overlooking Lake Michigan, marks the spot where mother bear waited.  Her hapless cubs are the Manitou islands.”  CHIPPEWA INDIAN LEGEND

The Native Americans were the first to try to give reason to the shape of the land.  More recently, scientists have sought other reasons and attribute the sand dunes of Michigan to the Ice Age, wind, and water.  It continues to change.  Twice in the last century, landslides have dramatically altered this coast.

The park scenery is diverse and encompasses birch-lined streams, dense forests, beaches, and rugged bluffs towering as high as 460 feet above the lake.

The most oft visited area of the park is the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, a 7 mile loop with panoramic views of the dune and lake.

One of the most amusing stops along the drive was a public beach area that extends 450 ft almost straight down to the lake.  Only the young or the brave attempt slipping and sliding down to the beach, and the almost crawling return to the top.  We were neither, but enjoyed watching those who were.

Occasionally, paramedics have to be called to help individuals with the ascent.

We did not attempt any dune climbing, as I have been experiencing a knee problem.

After our picnic lunch and the scenic drive, we drove north to Glen Haven and Glen Arbor.

For a slide show of our day at the park and nearby communities, click below:

Click here for the website for the SLEEPING BEAR DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE

and for more on GLEN HAVEN or GLEN ARBOR AREA

Into Michigan

We decided to spend our ten weeks between Indiana and Yuma, AZ traveling North and West.  We encountered roadwork at the state line. It seems no matter what highway we choose, there is construction occurring. 

Once in Michigan, this morning, we thought to drive along the west shoreline, but found that to be a bit more difficult than we anticipated.We are very disappointed with the Michigan highway system.  There are few, often none, signs alerting you to the next intersection coming up.  We had planned to get on the shoreline highway at Holland, MI, but missed our road there.  We did find a road over at Muskegon, only to find a detour, and then very rough roads.  After driving for a short time along Lake Michigan, we decided the view was not worth the rough roads and found our way back to U.S. 31.

My initial impression of the Michigan communities was that of Flowers.  The homeowners express their pride in their home by planting large numbers of flowering plants in their yards.  Street after street was adorned such, and often even the city sidewalks were lined with color, usually lush petunias. 

We have stopped for the night at the small town of Hart, in their city campground, the John Gurney Park.  It’s an attractive small park on a small lake. 

A Few Last Days with Relatives

 

  We spent Thursday through Sunday with granddaughter, Cassandra, in Muncie, assisting her with a move to a different apartment.  Friday, the three of us relaxed in the campground (Big Oak), enjoying the chance to visit.  Grandpa used his time to work on the chain he is carving for Cassie, also.  On Saturday evening, the family pitched in and painted Cassie’s new bedroom, and moved all her items into the apartment.

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Sunday morning found us on the road northwesterly as we moved to Lakeville, south of South Bend, IN.

 

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As we passed through the small town of Wabash, we noticed an interesting sign (which I later checked out online).  Wabash has the distinction of being the first electrically lit city in the world! Check out the website HERE.

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We joined Passport America this year for the first time, and are finding we are using it more than we thought we would.  We found a Passport park in Lakeville, Beaver Ridge, which placed us only a few miles from son, Tom and Liesel.  They joined us for lunch and the rest of the day.  We don’t get to see them as often as we’d like, so it was great having a long afternoon  for a leisurely walk and visit with them. 

Monday we backtracked a bit, driving to Milford, where I have uncles and aunts. 

Milford sits in the heart of Amish country, and the roadside scenes having you feeling that you’ve stepped backward in time.

We try to stop in Milford for a brief visit anytime we pass through northern Indiana.  It’s always fun to touch base and reminisce with each relative.  We didn’t have the chance to visit with any of the cousins this year, but were glad to get to see each of the aunts and uncles.

Howard and Mary Jean Vanlaningham

Hazel and Helen Vanlaningham

Esther Vanlaningham