Sunday June 23, 2013 ---- Day 22 --- 2nd day on anchor in Murray Bay

Once again the day started out cloudy, but Doug and Garry set off in the dinghy for Munising to get fuel for the dinghies.  No sooner had they left than it started to sprinkle and before they were through it was raining hard.  Garry had rain gear with him, but Doug broke Rule #7 (be prepared for anything) and came back soaked!  The rain had stopped by the time they got back (of course) -- mission accomplished.

Weather radar looked clear, so we set out in the dinghies for a close-up look at the Pictured Rocks.  We came out of the bay around the "thumb" of Grand Island past the "spooky old lighthouse".

We think it's haunted ---- what do you think?

There was a brisk wind, so we were all bundled up for the trip across the bay.  Definitely a fashion statement here!

We ran across this double waterfall just before the "Miner's Castle" which marks the beginning of the Pictured Rocks as we approach from the west. 



Doug and Jan leading with "Miner's Castle " in the background.

                               

"Miner's Castle"



Captain Garry with Miner's Castle behind.

 Around the point from the Miner was a beautiful sand beach.  As we rounded the point, in the lee of therocks, it was sunny and warm.  We pulled up to the beach for lunch.  Although the sand was beautiful, the water was COLD! There were a few brave souls in the water ---- definitely NOT us Lake Erie whimps! 



Admiral Jacque with the beach in the background.





 



Waterfall at the end of the beach



From there we cruised the Pictured Rocks "up close and personal"!  Photos can't really do them justice, but enjoy the view.



Time to head back to the anchorage!



Day Dreams and Waterford at rest.

 


Beautiful sunset sky.

Just another day in Paradise!


I know I'm really behind --- wifi has been hard to come by, but will get you all up to date over the next couple of days.  Thnaks for following our adventure!

Saturday, June 22, 2013 ---- Day 21 ---- 2nd day in Munising

Still hoping to move to an anchorage, at 8 a.m. we were fogged in!  At 10 a.m. conditions were the same.  By 11:30 we all decided to do something constructive, so the guys headed up town to the hardware store (where else?) so they could work on the permanent install of the wifi booster.  Jan and I walked up to the laundry and managed to hit the Visitor Center and a very nice gift shop in the process.We were happy to find the hors d'oeurve plates we'd been looking for (trying to minimize the paper use that generates so much garbage).  By the time we got back, the guys were just finishing their project AND the fog had finally lifted -- hurrah! 

So we quickly unplugged, untied and made the 2 mile jaunt across Grand Island Harbor into Murray Bay.  What a great spot!  We took our time getting both boats set and then deployed the dinghies.



Doesn't get any better than this!

We took a short dinghy cruise in the bay -- we are anchored near the wreck of the Bermuda.  She was a 90 ft. wooden schooner that went down in 1870.  She lies just 12 feet below the surface and is clearly visible in the crystal clear water of the bay.  Kind of eerie!

Then it was back to the boats to prepare for cocktail hour aboard Day Dreams.  I made a big bowl of roasted corn and avocado salsa to go along with Jan's cheese, crackers and grapes.  After all of that, we didn't need dinner!

Back at Waterford, we were just finishing clean up chores when a text from Jan alerted us to the rising "Super Moon".


Super Moon on the rise.





Reflecting in the still water as it comes
up though the clouds.




         

Super Moon - What that means is that the Moon will be closer to the Earth than at any other time during the year — in fact, the upcoming Super Moon will be the closest encounter between the Earth and the Moon until August 2014.



Super Moon, a glass of wine..........

                       Perfect!

   

Friday June 21, 2013 ---- Day 20 --- 36 miles / 542 total miles

 We left Grand Marais at 8 a.m. under overcast skies with a brisk wind blowing us into the dock.  Our 2 boats were sandwiched between 2 small sailboats that had arrived the evening before.   That made it a little tricky getting out, but finally we were on our way.  This was a day of amazing shoreline sights.  The first,  the Grand Sable Dunes.


Day Dreams just coming up on the Dunes





The perfect backdrop for a picture

This was just the beginning of a day of amazing images along the shore!  The wind remained brisk with gusts up to 27 knots, but because of the direction, the waves were only a foot or less.  We'll take it! 






Next point of interest, the Au Sable Light. 

Fun Fact --- Lake Superior has the most lighthouses of all the Great Lakes.





Past the lighthouse and around Grand Portal Point, we found the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore -- America's first National Lakeshore.  It certainly exceeded all expectations, even seen through raindrops on an overcast day!

Just the beginning...............

Forgive me for going overboard (no pun intended).  Though pictures don't really do it justice, you get the idea. 










Both color and shape are amazing



Look at these colors!



And these.........



OK, I'll stop --- just breathtaking!





As you can guess, we were Oh'ing and Ah'ing for the whole 10 miles of incredible beauty.







When Garry wasn't shooting the pictures above, he was being completely frustrated over his navigation computer, so I was at the helm the majority of the trip.

We had hoped to anchor a couple of nights, but the threat of storms caused us to head for the Munising City docks instead.  I'm wearing my rain gear with my headset under the hood in a steady downpour (you get the fashion statement?) as we tie up at the dock about 1:30 pm.

Garry was able to resolve his computer issues temporarily over the phone AND get the appropriate replacement ordered for delivery at our next port -- a much happier camper!  So we celebrated with a cocktail and dinner at Sydney's in town.  Another take on fresh whitefish, this time blackened and very good. 

If the weather cooperates, we'll head for an anchorage tomorrow.  For tonight, it's lights out.

Thursday June 20, 2013 ----------- Day 19, our second day in Grand Marais ------------- Total 506 miles

Time for a breather after our 79 mile trek yesterday ---- wouldn't want to over do it!  It had rained overnight as predicted and continued off and on throughout the day.  We shared our morning coffee with not 2, but 3 Loons cruising by between the boat and the shore.



We later found the 4th one up on the sand.




The 9 N Ford, circa 1941,  is as rare a sight as the Loons!



What a handsome guy!



During a lull in the action, Garry and I took a walk into town, making the first of what would be 5 trips to the post office --- don't ask!  On the first stop, the post mistress was out to lunch, of course.  In the meantime, we asked a local fellow where we might buy some fresh Lake Superior whitefish to cook for dinner.  He directed us to a local diner/deli/gift shop around the corner.  Picture a Victorian house with a retired railroad dining car crosswise instead of a front porch -- sounds weird, but it worked.  So we went in and found a unique little retro diner.  We got our whitefish, some local wild blueberry jam, and then spotted the old style fountain milkshakes.  Lunch!
Then back to the post office --- it would take 3 more trips to get the appropriate packing material, etc. to get a package for Millie, cards and a money order all on their way --- sheesh!

Doug and Jan were off on a bike ride and got back in time to pick up dessert at the Farmer's Market.  Then it was time for cocktails on Day Dreams and a beautiful whitefish dinner aboard Waterford.

Mmmmmmm!  As they say in Lake Erie, "so fresh it slept in the lake last night". 








After dinner, we had a little excitement.  As the skies darkened, this 72 foot government ship decided to pull in for the night -- into the dock behind the four of us already tied up there.  Never mind that the depth at that end of the dock is 8 feet and he draws 11, and, oh by the way, there's not 72 feet of dock space left!!  He figured it out after nudging into the sand on the approach, then backed out and dropped the hook like he should have in the first place -- duh!  Another training exercise???

Wednesday June 19, 2013 Day 18 79 mi / 506 total miles

We were up very early today to check on freighter traffic in the St Mary's River that may impact our ability to lock through. 

I did say VERY early..........

Now I don't normally do sunrises, but this one was spectacular!  And it was just the beginning of a perfect day.


With no freighters up bound to cause us delay, we called the lock master and he directed us to "come on in".  He would lock us through while waiting for the freighter Alpena to arrive down bound.

Entering the "MacArthur" lock.  This one is too small for the giant 1000 footers, but fit our two trawlers nicely.

And here we go ---- we would rise 21 feet to enter the upper St. Mary's River for the final leg into Lake Superior.






Remember that down bound freighter I mentioned earlier?  There's the Alpena waiting to enter the lock as we were leaving.
                                                                                                                                                                

You can see how calm the water was ------ again.  We exited the lock at 7:12 a.m. and continued up the river and into Whitefish Bay, passing another of those 1000 footers along the way.

This guy is 200 ft LONGER than the Alpena pictured above!







We had originally planned on stopping at the Whitefish Point  State Harbor, but after a check of the weather forecast for later in the week, we decided to proceed to Grand Marais Marina about 40 miles farther on.  Conditions were perfect for a long day (79 miles - about 11 hours at our speed).  Even "Father Superior" was calm as we rounded Whitefish Point.



Whitefish Point Light


First lit in 1849, the Whitefish Point Light is the oldest active light on Lake Superior.  It  marks the end of an 80 mile stretch of shoreline known as Lake Superior's Shipwreck Coast. This light has shined onto the big lake unfailingly for almost 150 years except for the night when the Edmund Fitzgerald went down in November of 1975.






Local fisherman tending their nets just in front of the light.

                                                                                      
Looking out on this, it's hard to imagine the 30 foot waves the Edmund Fitzgerald faced.  It was so beautiful, we had our first "bridge" day --- steering from the outside upper helm station.  We were comfortable in sweatshirts in the sunshine!  We left the bridge as we got within sight of the entrance to Grand Marais harbor, arriving about 5:30 p.m.  What a beautiful little harbor.  We were met at the dock by harbormaster George with a hearty "Welcome to Grand Marais".  As we got settled in, we were welcomed  a second time with the distinctive call of a pair of Loons.  They were right here in the harbor!  We have seen them and listened to their calls in our previous trips "up north", but never as close as these 2.





Loons mate for life and are always seen in pairs.  You can't mistake their call (remember On Golden Pond?).



After cocktails and dinner, we walked over to the beach to enjoy the sunset.  Clouds gathering in the west partially obscured the view.  Still, a beautiful way to end the evening.

        

Tuesday June 18, 2013 Day 17 0 miles/ 427 total miles

Our second day in the Soo.  The morning was spent with work, laundry and a trip to Walmart and the hardware store courtesy of Cody, one of the dockhands.  After stowing the groceries and laundry, we were off to lunch.

As you might imagine from the name, the decor is "early taxidermy"!  There are animals of all shapes and sizes everywhere.  And the whitefish Po Boy was darn good, too.



After lunch it was time to take in some of the local history.  Immediately next door to the marina is the freighter- turned- museum, Valley Camp. 




Early freighters had the pilot house forward.




The exhibits inside included a very complete hisory of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Although it seemed huge as we walked the decks and cargo holds, this ship is only about half the size of the

1000 footer we watched lock through last night.  These models show the Valley Camp (on the far left end) compared to the largest of today's freighters.

Next stop, the "Tower of History".  We're not sure about the hisory, but it definitely is a tower!  At 210 ft, it gave us an amazing view of the surrounding area.

Jan and I did a little shopping while the guys went back to the boats to work on "projects".  Then we did an appetizer supper and called it a night.  We want to get an early start tomorrow to lock through to Lake Superior and begin the next phase of our adventure.

Monday June 17, 2013 Day 16 44 mi / 427 mi total

We left the dock at Drummond Island at 8 a.m.   The skies were overcast with a brisk breeze as we set out for  the "Soo" (Sault Ste. Marie for you non-Michiganders).  Another cool morning, but the seas were still relatively calm with just a light chop.  As we made our way into the main channel of the St. Mary's River, there were 5 freighters within sight --- 2 upbound, 2 downbound and 1 just hanging out!  We slipped in between the 2 upbound and then decided to just let the 2nd pass as there were none behind him for many miles.

The St. Mary River at times reminded us of our Mississippi River days as it wound around.  Like the Mississippi, at times it was up to 4 miles wide and at times split into an upbound and a downbound channel.



Day Dreams in the lead in the St. Mary River.

We were making great time and were within about a half hour of our destination when the "Coasties" decided to do a little training exercise.  With lights flashing, they pulled up next to Day Dreams and boarded for a SAFETY INSPECTION!

 




That added an hour to our trip!







Waterford was next on the list, but Jan convinced them to wait until we arrived at George Kemp Marina --- she's so good!  We arrived a half hour later and sure enough, they pulled in behind us and proceeded with their inspection while we took care of pump out (by a pro this time!).  Of course both boats passed with flying colors --- it was just one of those days they were out on a training mission.  We still had to fuel up, so it was after 5 by the time we finally were secure in our slip.

Oh No!  It was past cocktail time!  So we decided to do cocktails on the go and set off for the Soo Locks park and observation deck.  We arrived in time so see the State of Michigan training vessel for freighter captains.  We have seen it several times over the last 2 weeks ---



Locking practice



And out we go - up into Lake Superior

 



By this time, the skies had cleared and it was an absolutely beautiful evening, if a little cool as usual.






After he left the lock, we went through the visitor center.  There was a fascinating history of the building  of the locks up to their present day operation.



 This is a relief map of the Great Lakes.  The darkest areas are very deep.  Lake Superior (top left), at the deepest point is 1300+ feet.  The lighter shades represent shallower waters.  You can see how shallow LakErie (bottom right) is in comparison, just under 300 feet at the very east end.



An aerial view of the Soo Locks

 The center also keeps a current schedule of freighters scheduled to enter the locks.  We were in luck, the largest freighter on the Great Lakes was scheduled to arrive downbound at 9:30 pm.  So we decided to go back to the boats for dinner and return to see this Great Lakes mammoth lock through.

After a great dinner of marinated flank steak, roasted potatoes and salad, we made our way back to the lock.  We were all bundled up in sweatshirts, etc. and it was still freezing!  But we got there in time to see the 1013 ft monster move into the lock.  Kind of like watching paint dry --- the big guy just inched in and filled the entire lock.



Slowly inching into the lock.



He fills the entire lock.

Not exactly like Mississippi River locking!  We actually got back to the boats and were able to see him take off down the river from our back decks.  Pretty amazing!  Time to call it a night.