Point Iroquois Light Station and the Famous Soo Locks
We rode out one day to the lighthouse at Point Iroquois. Steve loves lighthouses and always has, Gari thinks that they are nice. Gari loves the mountains, lakes and streams. The light station did not disappoint, as it had a small museum, an experienced elderly gentleman and very nice history of the light station that was run by the US Coast Guard for many years. We also got to get a little closer look at Lake Superior there at the mouth of Whitefish Bay.
Then on our second visit to the Soo Locks we got to see the largest ship (and according to some locals the best ship) on the Great Lakes go through the locks northbound to get her next load of coal. We were fascinated by the enormity of the ships and locks; and it is a very well run operation.
Would this be the front of the Light Station even though it is the side facing away from the lake? In any event, this is the Light Station at Iroquois Point on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It is situated on Lake Superior at the mouth of Whitefish Bay.
The property was trimmed with local lake rock masonry fencing and nice flowers were found in abundance.
More flowers found inside and out.
The property had a lighthouse theme in the air... here we see sheer curtains in one of the windows of the house.
In the back yard we see lighthouse themed bird feeders.
Gari exploring the entirety of the property.
There was a board walk going down to the lake, which we had to investigate.
Lake Superior! We saw an abundance of smooth lake rocks on the beach...
...and in the clear cold water. The water temperature was about 48° F while we were there in mid-July.
We came upon two local gals collecting rocks on the beach. The far gal is letting the water out of her boot.... and that is how it is done on the UP!
They use the rocks for decorating they told us. They have a couple of buckets full of fine specimens!
Steve wants to be sure he gets into Lake Superior while we are here.
Gari sneaks close to the water but doesn't get wet.
Of course Steve has to explore further... and he came back with a soaker (that's a wet sock & tennis shoe)!
Below is a shot from Steve's excursion looking back up the beach... lots of bigger rocks down here.
We returned to the light station and prepared to ascend.
Gari leads the way up the spiral stairs.
A rest station halfway up for weary visitors.
Gari framing the tug boat.
There's the tug with swirling seagulls exiting Whitefish Bay...
Steve enjoys the view of the lake.
This is the hatch that we had to negotiate going up and down from the light platform.
Next stop the housing area of the light station....
The living room where the USCG family spent time.
Gari reviews the kitchen area of a time gone by.
Someone left the refrigerator door open!
Now inside the artifact exhibit area. Steve by a Fresnel Lens.
A little chronology regarding the station.
Navigation artifacts.
Light Keeper's uniforms.
Common sense duties. Why isn't life as simple and logical today?
We though we were covering some ground until we saw this tree at the Big Pine picnic area just up the road...
Another day, another bike ride to the Soo Locks. This time we saw the Paul R. Tregurtha, the Queen of the Great Lakes come through the locks. Originally christened William J. De Lancey in 1981, she was designed specifically for carrying iron ore for Republic Steel from Lake Superior ports to their mill at Indiana Harbor, IN. Included in her construction were elaborate luxurious accommodations to be used by Interlake’s most important business customers. For her crew, the William J. De Lancey’s construction included air conditioning throughout, elevators, and luxurious décor in the dining, mess rooms, and crew’s quarters. She was thusly and affectionately given the nickname “Fancy De Lancey”. She was rechristened Paul R. Tregurtha in 1990, renamed in honor of Mr. Paul Richard Tregurtha; Vice Chairman of Interlake Steamship Co.
The large self-unloading bulk carrier is powered by 2 diesel engines each rated at 8,560 h.p. whose power is directed to twin 17’06” (5.33m) diameter controllable pitch propellers giving the vessel a rated service speed of 15.5 m.p.h. She is equipped with a 1,500 h.p. bow thruster. She has 36 hatches servicing 5 holds; the vessel is capable of carrying 68,000 long tons of iron ore or 63,616 long tons of coal. Her loop belt elevator system feeds a stern mounted 260’ discharge boom that can be swung 100 degrees to port or starboard and is capable of unloading at a rate of 10,000 tons of ore per hour or 6,000 net tons of coal per hour.
We had seen the Paul R. Tregurtha pass by the campground at least three times during our week stay. Without further ado, here she is in all her glory at the Soo Locks! She's lining up to enter the lock in the picture below.
The bow enters the lock...
The stern almost in the lock.
She's in the lock; couldn't quite get everything inside the lock safety arm, so they left it vertical. Note the level of the ship name with shore fixtures...
She's just about up to level for the lock to open. See how far up the ship name went? We guessed around 12-15 feet.
Gari smiles as the Paul R. Tregurtha revs her diesels (see the smoke from the stacks?) and shoves off for the next leg of her journey.
The next leg of our journey will take us toward Munising, MI and some hiking around Pictured Rock.
