July 10 - 16, 2025
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| On Thursday, July 10 we left St. Ignace and drove about an hour north to our Harvest Host site at Original Soo Locks Boat Tours. Of course it was no hookups but with the sun shining the solar provided all the electricity we needed. We quickly parked and were able to get on the tour that was leaving 10 minutes later. |
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| This was our tour boat. |
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| We sat in the shade when we could but of course the best views were in the sun. In our hurry John forgot his hat. |
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| The American side of the locks were busy so we went to the Canadian side. This was at the bottom of the lock and it made you feel kind of small. |
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| This was after the water came into the lock and raised us. |
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| As we went out of the lock. |
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| The orange bridge can be used in an emergency, and the brown one can swing over the lock for trains. |
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| The American locks were still busy so we got an extended tour. This is a steel mill in Canada. |
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| These are rolls of steel produced by the factory. A single semi-truck trailer can haul two of the rolls. A barge can hold many more. |
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| This was the Burns Harbor barge. It was moving so slowly that it looked like it wasn't moving. It was built in 1980 and is 1,000' long. |
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| Approaching the American lock. The gate is a safety gate that will stop, or at least slow down, a ship that is going too fast. |
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| In the American lock. There's another lock next to it that the Burns Harbor used. This one wasn't nearly long enough. |
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| Back to the dock. It was a great tour and I would recommend it! Make sure you remember your hat and sunscreen. |
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| We had errands to run and saw the Burns Harbor going down the river but left before it really came into view and I could get a picture. The next morning this barge went by. |
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| On Friday we drove to Brimley, MI and stayed at Sunrise RV Park for one night. We had full hookups and it was $49.05 per night. There really wasn't anything to see so we just stayed in. It was a nice site but close to the road so a little noisy. |
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| On Saturday we drove to Tahquamenon Falls State Park near Paradise, MI for three nights. We stayed at the Portage Campground near Lower Falls. It was 50 amp electric only for $42.66 per night. A little pricey for electric only but I knew Michigan State Parks raised their rates this year. It was a nice site, although because of the trees Starlink was a little spotty. |
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| On Sunday we went to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. They have several buildings such as the US Navy Radio Building, the Lighthouse Keeper's Quarters, the Surfboat House, and the Motor Life-Boat House that you can go in. They showed a short movie, and had interesting exhibits in the buildings. The lighthouse was not open to the public. |
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| The keeper's house, lighthouse, and the foghorn building. |
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| This was the biggest lens I've seen. Click on the picture to read about it. |
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| It was nine feet in diameter and weighs 3,500 pounds. |
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| Many people have heard about the Edmund Fitzgerald. It's popular because of the song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", and because in 1978 it was the last ship that sunk on the Great Lakes. If you don't know the story check out this link: https://www.britannica.com/place/Lake-Superior-lake-North-America |
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| In 1995 they brought the bell from the ship and it is now displayed in this museum. |
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| To get down to the ship and recover the bell they used this Newtsuit. You can click on the picture and read more about it. |
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| We walked down to the beach overlook. |
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| Looking back to the lighthouse from the beach. |
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| A surfboat that they used to rescue people on the lake. |
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| This explains how they used the cannon/gun below, and much better than I can. |
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| They would shoot this Lyle Gun... |
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| that was connected to these ropes. They would shoot over the bow and anchor the rope then the people could be pulled to safety. |
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It was a very interesting museum and I would recommend it. |
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| On Monday we went to the Upper and Lower Falls. |
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| John went to the bottom and back up. I waited for him at the top. |
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| Bridge to the island at the Lower Falls. |
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| So many pretty waterfalls! It was in the 80s, muggy, and the mosquitos were everywhere. I put some No Bite Me on and didn't get bit; John slathered it on and the mosquitos still got him. We got over 7,000 steps that day. |
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| On Tuesday, July 15 we drove to Christmas, MI and stayed for one night at the Pictured Rocks RV Park & Campground. It was full hookups for $56.18. Not really worth that much but it's all about location. |
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| Wednesday we moved to Munising Tourist Park and Campground for three nights. I couldn't get four nights here and that's why we stayed at the previous campground the night before. It's full hookups for $51.66 per night, but we have a nice view of Lake Superior. Right now it's 54 degrees, feels like 51 and is cloudy and cold. But it's 89 degrees at home and feels like 99, so I'll take the cloudy and cold. We have another activity before we'll be... Roving on...
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