Lighthouses, and a bridge

Upper Michigan has a lot of lighthouses.  All in one day, we were on the shores of three of the Great Lakes (Huron, Michigan and Superior), looking at some of the lighthouses.

 

This is the lightstation at Point Iroquis.  The light has been decomissioned and there is a replacement on the shoal offshore.

In Manistique we saw this lighthouse.

This is in St Ignace. 

 At St Ignace there used to be a railway that went out to collect rail cars which were shipped across the lakes.

We went way up to Whitefish point to visit this lighthouse and museum.  In 1978 the Edmond Fitzgerald sank not far from here on a night that the light was out.

Back in St Ignace we drove out to a park for a view of the Mackinac Bridge, although the weather wasn't cooperative.

Soo Locks at Sault Ste Marie, Michigan

Sault Ste Marie is home to several sets of locks on the St Mary's River.  There are locks on both the Canadian and the American side, and the earliest lock was built in 1855.  Today, about 10,000 ships pass through these locks annually, rising or lowering the 21 feet between Lake Superior and down river.

This is an arial view of the American side of the locks.

We waited at the viewing platform for a ship to come along and use a lock.

 Pretty soon a ship came and entered the lock from down river.

 After about 20 minutes the ship was raised to the upper level, the gates opened and the ship moved along.

Chris on the observation deck.  In the distance is the bridge to Canada.

 I was pretty excited when Phil and Chris told me we were going on a tour of the locks and would actually be on a boat as we went up and down...but once again, guess who wasn't included.

 This is the entrance to the same lock the ship used in the previous photos.

Once the lock filled with water, we continued up river and under the road and train bridges between the US and Canada.  The darker bridge is the train bridge and that whole section lowers to join up the tracks on each side.

 Looks like they were sort of cold on their tour.  At least my fur keeps me warm and I found some fun things to do too.

 

 

There is a steel mill on the Canadian side.

This is another type of train bridge...this one swings around a central pivot to join up the tracks.

 For the trip back down the river we entered the Canadian lock, which is smaller and primarily used by pleasure craft.

It may be smaller, but it is still a massive amount of water.  Jet skis and canoes are not allowed in the large locks.  Once time some jet skiers started swimming in the lock, and the authorities we worried that a swimmer would get sucked down into the water rushing out through the tunnels. 

 Scary thought.

 Chris and Phil both stayed on board and didn't test any of the vortex theories.

 

Fall Colors

We've recently had opportunities to kayak and canoe in Wisconsin.  Nice to be on the water, and a pretty time of the year to be out enjoying these last warm days.

 

Here are a couple of photos on Wilke Lake

This crane sort of blends in with the grasses, but he seemed to be enjoying the nice weather too.

 Three kayaks...three people...where is mine??

From south central Wisconsin we travelled north to Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

 Spectacular fall colors were all over and we probably took way too many photos of the changing trees.

 We stopped in Hiawatha National Forest where it rained most of the time, but here is a shot when the sun finally came out.

 

 Way up north, on the shores of Lake Superior, just outside of a tiny town called 'Paradise' there are these colorful little cottages for rent.  I'm sure they are popular in warmer weather.

 Finally, the beautiful trees were masked with snowfall this morning when we looked outside.  We were shocked, this is really early for snow, even here in Sault Ste Marie.  Maybe we've taken the wrong route to Canada.

Hunting and Fishing

The seasons are changing, leaves are turning and geese are heading south.  Unlike the wise geese, we seem to be heading north through Wisconsin and into cooler weather.  The humans are envious of my fur coat and I worry some days that they may skin me.

Hunters have reappeared on the landscape and I think they are currenty after ducks and geese.
We visited our friend Nick who treated us to a variety of the outdoor activities.  We tried our luck fishing, but nothing was biting.

 This tall structure is where we can sit and wait, with our weapon, for creatures to stroll past.

 Nice view from on top.  The beauty of this property is a variety of wildlife is encouraged to visit.  There are adjacent corn fields in addition to plenty of water and a few other tasty plants on the property.  Successful hunting is not necessarily all luck.

 

All the visitors got to try and shoot a clay pigeon, Phil hit 2 out of 2.

 Nick got his goose!

I was grateful that no one spoke of bear huntning.

New Orleans with friends

Phil and Chris took a short run down to New Orleans and left me behind to keep and eye on the RV.  I think they were worried that I'd cause some sort of trouble down there in the Big Easy that would result in my arrest and them missing their train.

How can you really get into trouble in a city with signs like these??

But I am ahead of myself.

Phil and Chris caught the train from Chicago to New Orleans, a 19 hr ride over night.  They had a little roomette which converted into 2 bunks for sleeping and included their meals which were tasty.  They could sit in the room, relax in the lounge, get a beer or snack in the cafe car, sleep, read or eat.  It was a really relaxing trip and they hope we can travel this way again.

 They were at the end of the train (what happened to the caboose?) and had to reverse out of Chicago Train Station.

Phil enjoys the scenery in the lounge car.

North of New Orleans there is a lot of water to cross.  We've also crossed a lot of water to the west of New Orleans (in the RV).

Once in New Orleans they caught up with our good friends from Fremantle, Max and Kay.

They did all the normal Bourbon Street shenanigans as well as renting a car to see a few things off the usual tourist route.  Cabela's, the big outdoor, hunting, fishing, camping ect store entertained everyone for a few hours and then an outlet mall for some bargain shopping and a visit to Walmart rounded out the day.

Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop is the oldest continuously operating pub in the US. It has been open since 1772.

 

Max found a rum distillary to tour, so the merry band of rum drinkers and wannabe pirates learned about converting molassas into rum.

 

Five days went by so quickly, and soon it was time to say farewell to Max and Kay and head back to Wisconsin.  Another nice train trip, but has the weather ever changed.  Time to find some warmer clothes!