The U.P (9-6-10)

     Once we made our way back to St. Ignace, our first destination was Sault (pronounced Soo) Sainte Marie- home of the Soo Locks.  The Soo locks were first put into place back in the 1800s.  Prior to that, any ships that wanted to travel from Lake Superior to Lake Huron had to be portaged because Sault Ste Marie is also home to some major rapids.  In fact, the name Sault Ste Marie means "Rapids of St. Mary" in French. The water level of  Lake Huron is about 20 feet lower than the level of Lake Superior.

Two freighters approaching the locks- the docked freighter
a museum.

     In the 1800s, no one was too concerned that boats had to go around the rapids.  People in the lower peninsula of Michigan didn't really feel that the upper peninsula had anything of value that they needed, and it was mostly wilderness at that point.  Aha, but then Iron ore was discovered in the U.P, in large quantities, which made the building of the locks worthwhile.  All through the 1900s, "Lakers" carried iron ore, limestone and coal through the Locks.  Lakers are freighters that mostly stay on lakes, and "Salties" are larger, taller and heavier freighters that frequent the ocean.   In recent years the number  of freighters here has diminished considerably. 

      We started the afternoon at the Tower of History.  It turned out to have a great view of the city, including the locks, so it was worth the investment.  It also doubled as our exercise for the day since I insisted on walking up the 296 steps to the top.  That gave us a great overview, and from there we headed to Valley Camp, a museum that is actually inside a freighter.  That had interesting information about the area, the freighters and the people who have lived here through the years. Since it is an actual freighter, we also got to peak into the cabins where the crew would have lived and the engine room.  All in all it was very well done.   
    The locks themselves have an observation deck and museum, so we headed there next to see if we could watch a freighter come through, but they move so slowly we gave it up.  There were 3 or 4 waiting to go through the locks but we found out afterwards that only one of the locks is large enough for most freighters,  so Poe Lock handles 79% of all the lock traffic.  We elected to eat dinner instead, choosing a restaurant with a view of the locks.

    Today was the reason we came back to this area.  The annual Labor Day Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw) Bridge Walk.  The bridge is 5 miles long, and for many years it was the longest suspension bridge in the world.  Walkers can start at 7 am, but must start walking by 11 am at the latest.  We wanted to get there early to make sure we could park our beast of a truck.  When we woke up, it was in the 50s outside, so we weren't thrilled, but we layered up and headed out.  It turns out the weather was actually perfect, especially since the wind behaved itself today, and the rain held off.    It took us about an hour and a half to walk the bridge, which ended in Mackinaw City.  Some people walk it twice in the same day, but we felt no need to do that.  Once on the other side, we did some shopping.  Mackinaw City is the jumping off spot for the ferries to Mackinac Island, so it has a lot of tourist shopping and restaurants.  I bought a new sweatshirt that advertises the fact that I "walked the bridge in 2010."   For $5 per person you can catch a trolley or bus back to St. Ignace and we caught the trolley..  This event is very well organized! 

  It was a fun time and I am glad we came back to do it.  Tomorrow we head out, but we aren't sure exactly what town we'll land in.