Sunday, July 17, 2022

Temperature 83 Degrees, Abundant Sunshine, Clear Blue Skies

Soo Locks, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Another one of the must see attractions for us while in this region were the Soo Locks. So yesterday morning we were out and on the road by 8 am for the 45 minute ride north to them.

In due time we were welcomed into the city of Sault Ste. Marie or as our GPS likes to say Sault Sweet Marie!

Either luck or our early arrival resulted in us getting a parking spot right outside the entrance to the park which then left us with a short walk to

the observation platform. When we arrived there were only a few people present but that quickly changed. Later, talking to others I discovered that some people actually spend the whole day here as well as part of the evening hours. Now, as much as I enjoyed our time here I don’t believe I could spend a whole day. It’s fun and a really neat experience to watch the Great Lake Steamers lock through but after awhile one looks just like the next.

Let’s go watch some ships lock through!

First, as to the location of the locks. The Soo locks are on the St. Mary’s River and they allow ship traffic between Lake Superior (upper left) and Lake Huron (to the right). In this area of the St. Mary’s river is a serious of unnavigable rapids which drop 21 feet from Lake Superior to Lake Huron. Originally, at the rapids in the St. Mary’s river men had to unload and carry everything around the rapids.

Then they actually tried taking the ship and moving it on rollers down the street around the rapids. It took an average of seven weeks to move the ship just one way!

Today, thanks to the locks ship traffic moves smoothly through the area with no need to load and unload. Not to mention with the size of today’s ships there is no way you could move them over land.

A quick note on how the locks work.

No pumps, nothing but gravity to fill the locks and empty them. So simple, so efficient, so reliable.

However, it does take a whale of a lot of water to do so.

So where do you want to go?

Now, for the ships themselves going through the locks.

This is the first ship we saw lock through. This is the CSL Laurentien, a self discharging bulk carrier, just leaving the Poe lock. The ship was built in 1977, its overall length is 739 feet, beam is 77 feet and it has a draft of 31 feet. The ship’s normal cargo is iron ore.

Once the CSL Laurentien was clear of the lock another ship began to move into position to enter the lock.

In the lock and waiting to be lowered to the level of Lake Huron which is off the ship’s bow. This is the Mantoulin. Believe it or not this is actually two ships merged into one. The bow section was built in 2014 and the stern section was built in 1991. In 2015 the two sections from separate ships were joined together to create the ship you see in front of you. The resulting ship is 664 feet in length, has a beam of 78 feet and a draft of 30 feet. The ship’s normal cargo is also iron ore.

Look closely and you’ll be able to see the number 6 on the ship’s bow. This is before the lock is emptied and the ship is lowered.

Look again and you’ll see the number 10 on the ship’s bow. Then compare the height of the ship in the first picture to its height in the second picture. It has now been lowered and is ready to proceed out of the lock into the passage-way leading to Lake Huron.

Here’s an even better example of the difference in height between the two lakes.

This is a tour boat entering the MacArthur lock from Lake Huron. Let’s all wave to the people down there on the boat.

The same boat after the lock has been filled. You could now jump on and join them if you wanted to. The boat is now ready to make its way to Lake Superior.

After we watched the ships locking through, we went to

the Visitors Center to discover a bit more about the locks. Here is a bit of what we learned.

There are currently four locks at Soo.

The two to the right, Davis and Sabin are closed. Sabin is on track to be replaced with a new lock the size of Poe by 2030.

The third from the right is the Poe lock and is 1,200 feet long, 105 feet wide and has a depth of 32 feet. It is the largest and currently the most used lock. If, for some reason, it were to fail a lot of shipping would come to a halt on the Great Lakes.

The fourth from the right is the Macarthur lock and is 800 feet long, 80 feet wide and has a depth of 31 feet.

The need for a larger lock is directly due to the increase in size of ships sailing the Great Lakes.

Today, there are 13 ships that are 1,000 feet in length sailing the Great Lakes.

Think of this: one 1,000 foot ship can carry the equivalent of: seven 100 car trains with a 10,000 ton capacity; or, 3,000 large trucks of 25 ton capacity each. Moving bulk cargos through the Soo Locks and across the Great Lakes saves more than $3.9 billion per year in freight costs.

The Soo Locks I discovered do not operate year round. They are usually closed between January and late March when ships on the Great Lakes are laid up for maintenance. However,

So that was our day at the Soo Locks. We had a great day there and learned so much which made it a great day all around. If you are ever in this area I would strongly encourage you to spend a few hours there. It is absolutely fascinating to see first hand the passage of these great ships between the two lakes. To think of all that is involved and how it happens so seamlessly is amazing.

Thanks again for spending some time with us.  It’s always great to be able to share our story with family and friends. Comments? Feel free to share them with me. And always remember, cherish every moment of every day that God gives you and live those moments to the fullest. 

Our continuing mission remains the same: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

Friday, July 15, 2022

Temperature 69 Degrees, Overcast

Mackinac Island

Our first big sightseeing trip was to Mackinac Island. But first, the way to pronounce Mackinac was somewhat in question so the first thing I did was ask for the correct pronunciation. I was told that the c is always silent so the correct way to say it is Mack i naw. Ok now that that is cleared up.

So, now the question became what was the best ferry company to use, and how best to get to their dock. There are several ferry companies in St. Ignace but based on local recommendation we chose

a company that has been providing ferry service for over 75 years. Now, we could of course drive to their parking lot but no need to because

they provide free shuttle service there and back. How about that!

Once at their dock we joined the many others going to the island.

Soon enough we were under way but taking a slight detour. We were going to go under the Might Mac first before heading to the island. It was a beautiful day to be out on the water but a bit cool for sitting topside – which is of course where I took us on boarding!

Under the bridge and back then we were on our way to Mackinac Island. It was quite something to look up and realize that you had cars, tucks, RV’s and so much more whizzing over your head!

This was our first glimpse of the Grand Hotel, one of the island’s principal landmarks. It was built in 1887 to accommodate the many summer visitors who came to the island by railroad and steam-powered passenger boats. The prominent feature of the hotel is its 660-foot front porch where wealthy patrons would parade back and forth dressed in their best.

Time to disembark and visit the island.

OK, disclaimer right up front. There is so much to do on Mackinac Island that I can’t possibly post it all in one, even two, or even three blogs. So I’ll try to hit some of the highlights of what we did and where we went. And we, unfortunately, didn’t even get to all that we wanted to.

The one, and probably the only thing, we knew about Mackinac Island was that cars are banned. That wasn’t always the case we discovered but as the story goes after a few incidents in the early years between cars and horses the city council permanently banned all automobiles. It makes for an interesting experience, no honking horns, no road rage, exhaust free air, as well as quaint and narrow village lanes.

That means to get around you have several choices: the two feet that God gifted you with

or how about a bicycle – by the way this is nothing in terms of a load for this young man, later we saw him on the same bike with a load that towered over his head. He had to stand and pedal and peer over the top of the luggage that he had strapped to the front of the bike. Speaking of bikes, you could either bring your own over or there were a multitude of shops that would rent you one.

Then there is real horsepower available. There are horse drawn carriage tours,

as well as horse-drawn taxis . I also learned later that you could, if you wanted to, rent your own horse, or horse and carriage. Oh no, not me.

Speaking of horses, that is the way that everything moves on the island. Supplies, luggage, you name it comes in at the docks and then is taken where it needs to go by a horse- drawn wagon. Hey, even the garbage truck is horse drawn.

One thing I quickly learned is that you don’t want to walk in the street like these people. As the day goes on bicycle traffic as well as horse-drawn carriage traffic increases and you take your life in your hands by venturing off the sidewalk.

A quick glance down Main Street with its many shops. This was early morning just after we got off the boat. All looks calm, but that was not the case an hour later.

Later at the Visitor’s Center we learned that two years after Yellowstone, Mackinac Island was declared a United States National Park. Fort Mackinac soldiers served as the first park rangers. However, with the closing of Fort Mackinac the island lost its caretakers. Concerned citizens successfully lobbed to have the national park transferred to the state. The Mackinac State Park Commission was created to care for the park. Today the park has grown to include over 80 percent of the island and the park commission is always looking to add to that amount.

Remember the Grand Hotel and its front porch that I mentioned in the beginning? Here is a better look at that front porch. If you wanted to walk it today and were not a registered guest, you could do so for a fee of ten dollars. Really? Count me out. Oh, if you wanted to become a registered guest, rooms range in price from $500 to $1200 per night.

There was a most impressive flower garden at the entrance to the hotel.

Remember I mentioned those horse-drawn taxis? They were our chosen means of transportation to

Fort Mackinac which sits

150 feet up there on top of a limestone bluff. Now for some that would be an enjoyable walk. But for the two of us, well that is why we went by taxi. Not to mention, the taxi ride is really relaxing and enjoyable.

The view from the Fort looking out over the town and bay.

These are just a few of the structures that make up the fort. .

Now for a bit of history. Fort Mackinac was founded during the American Revolution. The Fort served as a military outpost for British and, later, American soldiers from 1780 to 1895. The role of the military took many forms during the fort’s 115 year history. In the beginning it was a crucial Great Lakes border post and its soldiers helped to protect the lucrative fur trade. By the late nineteenth century it had outlived its military importance but when in 1875 Mackinac National Park was established its post commander became the superintendent of the park and its soldiers assumed new duties as park rangers.

You are free to roam the fort buildings in any order that you wish. There are a total of 14 original restored buildings, exhibits, cannon and rifle firings, and more. Every building in Fort Mackinac was originally built by the army and used by its soldiers during their post there. All have exhibits within them and are well interpreted and complete in themselves. It is one of the best, if not the very best of all the forts we have visited over the last four years.

The largest building of Fort Mackinac is the Soldiers Barracks which was home to the enlisted men.

Across from the Soldiers Barracks were the Officer’s Quarters.

This was the Parade Ground that separated the two.

During the day there were many demonstrations of various sorts. We were lucky enough to in the right place at the right time to witness

the ceremonial firing of one of the Fort’s cannons.

Truth be told there is so much more to the Fort than I’ve been able to share here. We spent several hours there and still missed several significant exhibits and movies. If you have a bucket list of places to visit this one definitely deserves to be on that list. But be prepared to spend a significant amount of time there.

The same goes for Mackinac Island. It definitely deserves to be on everyone’s bucket list. There are so many wonders to explore. There are the sights of the downtown area to the scenic beauty of the park. My only advice would be to arrive early in the day. And plan on doing a lot, a whole lot of walking or maybe a lot of pedaling. We are already talking about a return visit in the future.

Thanks again for spending some time with us.  It’s always great to be able to share our story with family and friends. Comments? Feel free to share them with me. And always remember, cherish every moment of every day that God gives you and live those moments to the fullest. 

Our continuing mission remains the same: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before.

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Temperature 71 Degrees, Abundant Sunshine, Clear Blue Skies

Around St. Ignace

We decided to do some sightseeing today but to keep it local. That meant a trip to the attractions in and around St. Ignace.

Our first stop was the town Boardwalk at the end of which you find

the Wawatam Lighthouse. Today this is an active aid to navigation 7/24 but that is not how it started out. This was once a roadside attraction at a welcome center in Monroe, Michigan.

It was designed and built by a gentleman by the name of Ed Morris who believe that tourists should not have to go to remote locations to have their pictures taken next to a lighthouse.

In 2004 the state of Michigan decided to refurbish the welcome center and deemed the lighthouse no longer necessary. Well, city leaders in St. Ignace heard of its availability and quickly purchased it. They then had it disassembled into five pieces and shipped to their fair city.

A suitable foundation was built for it at the entrance to the city marina and the lighthouse was then reassembled and became an actual working aid to navigation. Not how about that!

Coming back I snapped a picture of the water along the boardwalk. It is so crystal clear for many, many feet out. It’s like this in Lake Michigan, Superior and Huron.

On the way back from the lighthouse there is also a small park off to the side

An interesting name for a park. Hey, look in the background there is the gentleman who the park is named after. He was a distinguished Ojibwa chief of the 1760’s. Yes, the lighthouse is named after him as well as

a coal-fired steel ship – The Chief Wawtam, or just The Chief – that was based during its working life, 1911 to 1984, here in St. Ignace.

Moreover we discovered the boardwalk we were on was once known by local residents as the Chief Dock. The Chief at a length of 338ft with a beam of 62ft and a draft of 20.7ft once served as a train ferry, passenger ferry and ice breaker that operated year round between St. Ignace and Mackinaw City.

In its hey-day the Chief’s crew consisted of 54 people including hotel service staff. The crew lived aboard since the ship ran 7/24. She could carry 348 passengers and had comfortable quarters for men and women.

Moving on we happened to look out over the water and saw

these four identical round cylinders. What were these?

We discovered that they are called mooring dolphins. These dolphins were constructed in 1957 to provide a secure mooring facility for Great Lakes ships carrying jet fuel to the area to be offloaded. The jet fuel ran from the dolphins through an underground pipe to a storage facility on shore. The jet fuel was then pumped through another underground pipe to the now defunct Kinross Air Force Base that was located 37 miles north of St. Ignace.

Our next and final stop was on the outskirts of town and down by the water.

This is where we got our first real look at the

Big Mac and learned a good deal about its history. A funny side note, I follow the blog of a gentleman who with his wife full timed for over twenty years. He stated that he would never, ever drive over this bridge. He always made his wife take the wheel when it came time to go across. Come on now!

The first thing you notice when entering the park is this statue dedicated to the five men who lost their lives during the bridge’s construction. Also, contrary to modern folk lore there is no one buried in any of the foundation piers.

We then went inside the interpretive center that is part of the park.

There we learned the history of the ferry service that ran between St. Ignace and Mackinaw City prior to the completion of the bridge . During their 34 years of service the ferries carried approximately 12 million vehicles and 34 million passengers across the Straits of Mackinaw.

We also learned about the construction of the bridge from the first feasibility study to

its opening on November 1, 1957. It’s an interesting history and I encourage you to take some time to google the history of the bridge yourself and discover all that went into its construction.

We also learned some interesting facts about the bridge

but this is the one that really caught my attention. Possible that it could move as much as 35 feet, east or west due to high winds. And then it would just sort of ease back to center because of the weight of traffic going across. I’m definitely going to make sure we go across on a calm day!

By the way, look who went with us today. All I can say is that once he got home he promptly went to sleep in his chair and didn’t even get up for his supper.

Oh, one more thing

If there is a body of water I just have to stick my toes in. Let’s see, I’ve been in Lake Superior and today Lake Michigan. I guess I have a few more to go.

So that was our day on The Road of Retirement. We have more sightseeing in the works for the next several days. And then we’ll probably just collapse! Oh, but we are having fun and are not about to stop now.

Thanks again for spending some time with us.  It’s always great to be able to share our story with family and friends. Comments? Feel free to share them with me. And always remember, cherish every moment of every day that God gives you and live those moments to the fullest. 

Our continuing mission remains the same: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before.

Tuesday, July 12, 2022

Temperature 71 Degrees, Partially Cloudy, Some Sunshine

Travel Day

With a touch of sadness we packed up and began to head south today. We weren’t sad to leave the bugs behind. Nor the ants. But the sadness was due to the fact that we now knew we were on the homeward leg of our trip. Yes, we were heading toward home. Always in the past when someone asked where we lived, with a touch of pride we would say Wherever we park our rig. But that is no more and never will be. It just doesn’t make sense anymore to go back on the road fulltime for a whole lot of reasons. Ah well, enough of that, I’ve got to remember that no matter what the glass is still half full.

Jack Pine Lodge and the UP are now in our rear view mirror. Sort of, because I guess technically you could correctly say that our new home is still in the UP. We have yet to cross the Big Mac and until we do we are not in Michigan proper.

OK, about today’s trip. The trip today was short and easy. All total it took us just a little over 2 hours to arrive at our new home.

This is our new home for the next 7 days. It is not a resort but rather a plan jane campground in the best sense of the term. It appears to be well maintained and has great reviews. How about that moose, you sure can’t miss him coming down the road

The main office where you stop to pick up your registration packet. The flowers are just gorgeous.

Our row – yup that is us down there on the right. The big guy among all the little ones.

Our new home. It’s a grass site, perfectly level, shaded, but only 30 amp. When I read their web site they made it seem as if all sites were 50 amp. Not! So we’ve had to make some adjustments. We’re running the water heater on propane, which we haven’t done for months. No problem there since I believe it’s good to exercise all the systems from time to time. The forecast is such that the only time we’ll need AC is when we leave Proton home alone. Then, we’ll just run the front one. Otherwise it is supposed to be cool enough that we can just open the windows. Albert is hooked up to all 3 satellites so our TV is working great. Bottom line, we’re settled in and enjoying life.

Sightseeing? We have plenty of that planned beginning tomorrow. Oh yea, we’re going to have a great time running around and see the main attractions

So that is were we are at on The Road of Retirement. The summer has gone by so fast. It seems like only yesterday that we were rolling out of the driveway. When we stop and look back at all the states, the places, the attractions we’ve been able to see, and all the people we’ve met, and all of our friends that we’ve been able to visit we realize just how blessed we really are.

Thanks again for spending some time with us.  It’s always great to be able to share our story with family and friends. Comments? Feel free to share them with me. And always remember, cherish every moment of every day that God gives you and live those moments to the fullest. 

Our continuing mission remains the same: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before.