June 19/20 Day 18 & 19 of our Lake Superior Adventure, We are now in LAKE SUPERIOR!!

Wednesday & Thursday

Traveled 79 miles, making our cumulative 505 miles, it took us a while to get to 400, but that last 100 went pretty fast. 

Left @ 6:30 AM because of going thru the Lock this morn. Garry called the lock master on the US side & he didn't have anyone going through (which the guys knew this cuz they checked the AIS for freighters). So he said come on in.  It was 45 degrees when we got up this AM.  Waterford led today so we took many pics of them entering the lock. We were right behind. We were even lucky enough to be thrown brand new lines, even though I was ready with my playtex rubber gloves on.  On the Erie barge canal locks, the lines would be slimy and the wall slimy & gross but not here at the Soo.  It only took a half an hour to lock through. We locked up 21 feet.  Very efficient & the lock master was a real nice guy. We had heard that the Canadian lock was easier & faster than the USA locks for pleasure boaters but they don't open till 11:00 AM & we have a long day ahead of us. We couldn't have asked for a smoother journey through the lock. 

History lesson: In 1789, the North West Fur Company built a 2,500 foot canal on the Ontario side. This was burned by the Americans in the War of 1812. The first lock on the Michigan side was completed in 1855. Consisting of two 350 foot locks in tandem, taking 2 years, 1,000 men & about 1 million dollars. Over the years, additional locks were added & upgraded. Currently, there are 4 locks but only 2 are being used. The Poe lock, the one used for the freighters, was completed in 1968 and is the largest on the Great Lakes. They are currently in the planning stages of combining 2 locks and making one much larger. The Canadians were the first canal, completed in 1895,  to utilize electrically operated machinery. Today, the Sault Ste Marie locks are the largest & busiest locking system in the world. Who knew?? Many of the freighters are transporting iron ore from Lake Superior's North shore. Currently some of the freighters that lock through are over 1,000 foot long. Most of my info is taken from the book "Superior Way"  by Bonnie Dahl, if you want to check my facts. 

This freighter entered the locks after we left

After leaving the Soo Lock, we entered Whitefish Bay.  On November 10, 1975, The Edmund Fitzgerald sank about 15 miles from the entrance to Whitefish Bay on it's way to Sault Ste Marie from Wisconsin, it was headed to Detroit, MI. All 29 of her crew perished. 

Point Iroquis light established in 1871, is located on Lake Superior near Bay Mills MI.  which is the entrance to St Mary's river from Lake Superior. The station's Fresnel lens is in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC.  Station was deactivated in 1971, when the Canadian Gros Cap Reef light was built. The square top is because it has a helipad on it. 

Whitefish Point Lighthouse

Ile Parisipnne Light, est 1912

Trivia fact: Lake Superior in surface area, is the largest fresh water lake in the world. Russia has a lake with more volume meaning it is deeper. Deepest depth in Lake Superior is 1330 feet.

Crisp point light house, near Two Heart, MI, est. 1904 on Lake Superior





As we entered Lake Superior from Whitefish Bay rounding Whitefish Point, we were welcomed by our first Loon of the trip.  How appropriate, it flapped it wings & cried out, how cool is that!  Water temperature here in this part of Superior is 52 degrees, not bad.

Lake Superior was very calm, we sure are lucky so far.  Beautiful.  We were hoping to stop in Whitefish Point Harbor of Refuge, it's a small place, unmanned with no amenities, which is ok.  We had heard it was silted in and pretty shallow and open to South winds, which is what is forecast for the next couple of days, so we are being conservative & choose not to pursue that risk.  That means we won't get to visit the Ship Wreck Museum and buy some smoked whitefish @ Brown's in Paradise, MI, a place that was featured on the cooking channel for Hook, Line & Dinner.  We may be able to hit it on the way back after obtaining some local knowledge regarding the depths there.  




Doug & his love for freighters!







We arrived @ Grand Marais @ 6:00 PM, a longer day for this trip, but a normal length trip for our usual summer vacation.  I enjoy the longer journey because we are able to accomplish more.  Doug actually wired a rear view camera while underway.  Our friend, Jim let us try the camera and Doug loves it, so he permanently wired it in, drilling holes and pulling wires.  I napped & worked on recovering my pictures I had lost on the computer & oh yeah, one of us was driving the whole time.  We did see some fish nets around White Fish Point and we passed the one fishing boat that was putting the nets out.  We did not see another boat, other than freighters, the whole 11 hours out on the water.  


We passed sand dunes as we got closer to Grand Marais, which sits on the southern shore of Lake Superior, Michigan.  It actually got warmer as we traveled into Lake Superior, the thermometer hit 70 degrees. We went up to the bridge while we were in Whitefish bay, which we haven't done under way on our trip so far.  It was warm, (did I say warm-70!) when we docked.  Grand Marais has always been a sleepy small harbor, very rustic.  Well, we pull in; they just have a wall, no docks, no fingers, just a wall built along one of their shores.  What we saw there are signs of  progress. They are installing a sewer system.  So much for the sleepy rustic town. There is a front end loader with it's back up alarm beeping continually with big piles of dirt and dump trucks in the marina parking lot.  Obviously not a state job, because it's after 6:00 PM & this guy is working like a maniac. Big clouds of dirt & dust are everywhere.  There are a few people fishing from the dock and no boats @ the dock, so we have easy entry. Even with all that noise & commotion, after we are tied up, what do we see near the sand beach, not far from our boat?  A trio of loons, who were oblivious to all that was happening around them.  Beautiful!!


The friendly ranger for the campground was here to help us dock & greet us, even though he was glad to take our money, he really couldn't tell us much, other than the bathrooms & showers that we could use were located in his campground, up the street & around the corner.  We met a nice gentleman, John, who with his wife, Janet built a home here 5 years ago right on the shoreline.  He helped us with some local knowledge of where to go & what to do.   

Our dock partner, Bill back @ the beach, gave us an impressive bottle of wine for our voyage & told us to save it for something special. We considered our first night in Lake Superior was pretty special, so we toasted to that & to Bill, thanks!

We walked to the beach for sunset, never disappointed.  The shoreline is breathtaking.

It rained during the night, love that pitter patter over our heads.  It was overcast, but warm in the morning. We watched the loons playing around our boats and did a few things around the boat.  After lunch, Doug & I got our bikes out and checked out the small little town, no surprise; a hardware/market store, 2 bars, post office and a couple of gift shops.  No wait, there is a gas station too.  

We then headed out of town to the Grand Sable Dunes & Sable waterfalls.  What a lovely surprise!  It was beautiful, a forest to walk through, the waterfalls dropped 120 foot as it travels to Lake Superior and the dunes tower 300 feet above lake Superior.  We walked barefoot through the dunes, better than a pedicure.  

When we returned to town, we checked out the farmer's market that was advertised to start @ 5:00 PM.  It consisted of 4 card tables. First one selling homemade pasties, bought one. Second, selling cookies & bread, we bought cookies. Third selling fresh baked cake slices, bought 2. Fourth, selling pasta salad & potato salad, bought pasta salad.  May not have been much there, but I helped the local economy & it all was good. 

Returned to our boat, hosted a cocktail party on board Day Dreams inviting John & Janet to join us.  Remember our saying our boat; drinks 6, eats 4 & sleeps 2. So later, the 4 of us dined on Waterford, Jacque made the best whitefish dinner we have ever eaten, fresh whitefish to boot, (Jacque bought @ the local market, Garry hasn't started fishing yet-but watch out when he does). 

Meanwhile, two sailboats have joined us on the wall.  This has been a lovely visit.  

Duck loves to swim!

 
 


For those of you who know these things, let us 
know what these pretty flowers are, please 








 

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