Great Lakes

Explored! #260 on Friday, September 21, 2007. Thanks! At the Sleeping Bear Lifesaving Station. The tracks made it simpler to get the boats from the boathouse to the water. That's Joan, of course. Another picture from our trip north in late February.

"Sunday September 12 1965 SS. Munson [sic] of Limestone fleet upbound [downbound] under Ambassador Bridge Detroit-Windsor boundary on Bridge" While Mr. Borucki's label believes this to be the John C. Munson, it's pretty clearly the Taylor (now sailing as the Calumet). My thanks to the nameless flickr commenter for the correction. Borucki's Lakers

Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, June of 2005.

"Saturday September 12, 1965 SS. Detroit Edison passing downbound [sic] under Ambassador Bridge with coal from Toledo Middle of Bridge" 9/12/65 was obviously a beautiful day in Detroit.... Detroit Edison, as you might guess, carried coal to the power plants along the river. She was scrapped (in Texas) in 1987; evidently Belle River replaced her pretty directly. Borucki's Lakers

Interlake's Herbert C. Jackson @ Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; Engineer's Day, 2005

"Wednesday August 16 1967 SS. Leafdale [sic] self unloader [down]bound for Toledo. Taken from Bob Lo boat SS Columbia trip down Detroit River @ Livingston Channel entrance" Sorry, no information about this ship. I've severely cropped this photograph; the original mostly shows water. Late edit 6/12/10: Built and launched as straight decker Harry Yates in 1910 for American Steamship Company. Converted to self-unloader in 1934, when she was renamed Consumers Power. Later named Fred A. Manske before becoming Leadale in (apparently) 1966. Last shipment in 1977; broken up in Columbia the next year. Borucki's Lakers

Barge Sarah Spencer waiting for a break in the lock traffic at Sault Ste Marie in 1998. The blue paint job's pretty unusual; most photographs of this ship show her in a more conventional scheme. At this time she was being pushed by tug Atlantic Hickory, a tug with a high pilot house that made for a real exotic look. (Sorry, no picture: I ran out of film.) Jane Ann IV, her current pusher, is less odd-looking. For thirty-odd years this ship was called Adam Cornelius, and to my view was one of the best-looking lakers. In 1989 they chopped off part of her stern and inserted a tug; this happens to occasional ships, and keeps threatening to become common because the crew requirements are different, and less expensive for the shippers. Most of the resulting conversions destroy the ship's looks; not so with this one.

Another view of the barge Sarah Spencer at the Soo in 1998. ================ I shot this photo with my Chinon Genesis III, an exasperating camera I had (still have) a love/hate relationship with. It's certainly capable of taking terrific photographs, but it's got a mind of its own (the documentation calls that mind a "microcomputer", which was already an odd usage when the manual was written), and it likes to argue about things. The idea was to build a fully automatic camera--it's fully autofocus, allows no direct control of exposure, is only marginally programmable, and by default it makes framing decisions for you. Not exactly an ideal camera for this photographer. At least a point-n-shoot doesn't offer its own opinions.... I've been playing with the camera this week. Still takes fine pictures; still drives me batty.

"Sunday November 1967 SS Robinson of Bradley Trans Co upbound for Rogers City Taken from Coast Guard Station Belle Isle Detroit Mich." Robinson was one of the first lakers with a steam turbine powerplant when she was built in Lorain in 1925. She'd continue shipping until 1979, and be scrapped in 1987. Borucki's Lakers

Still approaching the lock at Sault Ste Marie, June, 2005. International Bridge in the background, as is the railroad bridge.

Tall ship Roseway, docked at St. Ignace, Michigan, last summer.

Still creeping into MacArthur Lock at Sault Ste. Marie....

As a ship approaches the viewing platform above the MacArthur lock at Sault Ste. Marie, the perspective suddenly changes. Instead of looking at an approaching ship, you can suddenly see all the machinery on the deck and you start to get interested in the details.

Escanaba's old iron ore dock was "the largest wooden structure in the world." It was replaced with an elaborate conveyor dock which doesn't rise far above the waterline. Much of the mechanism which moves ore from the yard to the ship shows in this photograph. 1990, at Escanaba, Michigan; taken with my Minolta Freedom camera.

Herbert C. Jackson at Sault Ste. Marie; June of 2005.

This is what I like best about watching boats at the Soo: You can see the people who work on these ships. Particularly if the boat's in Macarthur. Engineers Day, 2005.

Not sure where Dad was standing when he took this, but the Mackinac Straits Bridge is barely visible on the horizon. Slide developed in 1978....

Then they get even closer. Engineers Day 2005. (Engineers Day 2006 is June 24 --next week. Just in case you want to go.)