On the Water – August 16, 2015

The heatwave has hit the UP with a forecast of 88 degrees and people are miserable.  This morning we went back to Canada to attend church services at Pine Wood Church of Christ.  They have a two story building and the sanctuary is on the second floor with no air-conditioning but all the windows were open.  I thought it was quite comfortable but the first words we heard were, “I know we are all very hot.”  I guess we really do have thinner blood than the people up here.

It was a nice sunny day so we decided to take the Locks Boat Tour for two hours on the water going through several locks and seeing some of Lake Superior and Lake Huron.

Tour boat for tour of Soo Locks

From the boat dock we headed directly to the US Soo Lock which is 1,200 feet long and 80 feet wide.   You can picture this tour boat in this great big lock that normally handles freighters of 800 to 1,000 long; kind of like a toy boat in a swimming pool.

The two oldest locks on the US side, built in 1901 and 1922, are scheduled to be remodeled into a super lock as soon as Congress allocates the funds.  There is a steel plant that ships its product more economically via this waterway along with other needed materials that keep things moving in our economy.  I had no idea that so much commerce was still done using water as its main method of transportation.  When you see the size of these ships you realize how much a ship can hold compared to a semi and it becomes obvious which is less expensive.

Two of the four American locks

Gates of lock on both sides as we enter lock

Inside the lock waiting for water to rise

Water level almost to the top

Gates opening allowing boat to go into Lake Superior

Leaving the lock

The tour took us back to the Canadian Soo Locks .

In Lock waiting to be lowered to Lake Huron 21′

Going down in lock

Gates begin to open when water reaches level of Lake Huron

Exiting to Lake Huron

We could see a Wave Runner on the other side waiting for the lock to open for him to go the opposite direction.  My immediate thought was, “what a waste to fill this lock with water for a Wave Runner, but if you think about it, the hydro-electricity generated by the water opens and closes the gates.  Gravity actually fills and drains the water and you are just simply using the water that is flowing in both lakes so nothing is being wasted.  The whole operation is pretty amazing.

We then saw a sign that told us about a lighthouse at Brimley, MI, which was only about 30 minutes away, so we had to go since we both enjoy lighthouses.

Pt Iroquois Lighthouse – Brimley, MI

View from Pt Iroquois Lighthouse of Lake Superior