Soo revisited

September 8, 2011
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Yesterday, we took a drive out to a section of the St. Mary's River called "the Rock Cut", where a narrow channel was excavated to allow the large freighters passage to lake Huron.  Unfortunately, there wasn't any easy way to get a view of the passage, so we headed back home, with a quick shopping stop on the way.  For dinner, we had a very nice linguine and meatballs with sauce I'd made back in Traverse City.

Today was another beautiful day.  I headed out mid-morning for some sightseeing (Geri wasn't keen on the places on the agenda).  My first stop was the "Tower of History" (), a 200+ foot tall concrete tower right off the downtown area that looks and feels totally out of place.  It turns out that it was built as an adjunct to St. Mary's Church, designed as a modern interpretation of the Crucifixion, and eventually turned over to the City to run.  The views were great.

The Edison Power Plant is in the center, still generating 25-30 megawatts despite being over 100 years old.

The museum ship Valley Camp, to be toured later...

From there, it was off to the Soo Locks Visitor's Center, right at the locks.  Since the next ship wasn't due for several hours, I collected Geri and we had a great lunch at Karl's Cuisine, right across the street, before climbing the observation deck and watching the "American Spirit", a 1,004' ore-carrier, up-lock.

The section of Portage Ave right by the Locks is the most "touristy" area in town.

Fudge is very popular...

The Army Corps of Engineers runs the Locks.

Observation deck

Freighter "American Spirit" heading into the Poe Lock.

1,004' feet long...

...and off into Lake Superior.

Our next stop was the museum ship Valley Camp (), but only because the "combo ticket" admission to the Tower of History included entry.  It was interesting, though, as they've converted a 700'+ 1917-vintage freighter into a semi-floating museum.  In addition to being able to see the inner workings of this type of ship, they have hundreds of artifacts relating to all things "Great Lakes".  A little scattered and disorganized, it was nonetheless intriguing.

Like a lot of museums in The Lakes, there are a few artifacts from the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Tonight, we were still full from lunch, so a nice salad was all we needed.  We'll do some inside packing tonight, since we're back on the road, starting our westward leg, tomorrow morning...