Sault Ste. Marie trip

Still catching up.

In early August my friend Ken and I went to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan to do some ship watching  Our first stop was Mackinac City.

I think this is the old foghorn building.  It currently housed the gift shop.

The Bridge.

A view of the lighthouse.

We made a quick stop at Detour.  I'd never been there and Ken said it was a good place to watch the boats pass.  As luck would have it, the Edgar E. Speer was about five minutes behind us. 

Heading towards Sault Ste. Marie.

We got to Sault Ste. Marie just as the sun was setting.  We headed to Sherman Park.  This boat had just left the locks and was heading into Lake Superior.  I don't recall which it was.

This one is docked in Canada.  I seem to recall Ken saying she's headed for scrapping.

The International Bridge from Sherman Park.

We were up early the next morning.  We stopped at the park where the Sugar Island Ferry is based out of.

First up was the Cedarglen.

Downbound. 

Next up was the Great Republic a short time behind the Cedarglen.

The crew was busy loading the supplies they'd picked up while going through the Locks. 

Down the Saint Mary's River.

Afterwards, we headed to the Locks.  There were two ships locking down.  The James R. Barker was already in the lock as the American Courage approached.

The American Courage lines up.

After the American Courage got into the lock we headed back to the park for a couple of pictures.

Downbound.

After the James R. Barker passed, we headed to Four Mile Beach.  Ken told me that this was another good spot to see the boats.  He was not wrong.  This became our pattern for the weekend.  We'd shuttle between the two parks getting pictures as they passed.

The American Courage heads towards Lake Huron.  One of the great things about Four Mile Beach is that as the boats approach, the water is drawn out away from shore.  As they pass, it comes rushing back in.  On the day we were there, it seemed like the water change was about 8 inches.  It is pretty noticeable, in part because the beach has such a gentle slope to it.

The Birchglen followed by the Honorable James L. Oberstar.

The Birchglen passing Sugar Island.

The Honorable James L. Oberstar heading north.

The power station at Sault Saint Marie.

The power plant was built between 1898 and 1902.  It is a beautiful building.

The Lee A. Tregurtha heading down. 

Downbound with the Paul R. Tregurtha in the distance.

The fleet mates approach each other.  We got to hear them salute each other.

The Paul R. Tregurtha.

The Kaye E. Barker.  I think this was her first trip after being converted to diesel power.  She was also sporting a new paint job.  At least on her starboard side.

Heading on.

The night before I'd noticed this fountain.  That night, I went out and tried to get some images.

The lights in the fountain would change color.

The shift to red didn't last long.

Most of the time, it was this color.

I don't remember anything about this fountain.

I shot a lot of pictures of this fountain.  I don't do much night photography so I was trying a lot of different things.

The American side of the International Bridge, lit up to celebrate it's 50th anniversary.

The Candian side.

The next morning the Roger Blough was heading down.  Since she was ahead of schedule and this is Ken's favorite ship, we stuck around.

This old ferry was sitting along the river.  I don't recall her name.

She's awaiting scrapping.

The Roger Blough.

Back at Four Mile Beach.

One last shot.


All in all, it was a great weekend.  We put about 850 miles on the car and did a lot of running around, but it was a great week to be up there for boat watching.  I need to do something like that more often.