Tag Archives: Lake Superior

CRUISING THE GREAT LAKES #6: TOURING THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO

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Bruce and I had $300 of onboard credit with American Queen Voyages to use during our cruise aboard the Ocean Navigator, so we chose to use it for a couple of premium tours, including one in Thunder Bay.

Situated on Lake Superior, Thunder Bay is on the Canadian side of the border, in Ontario.  The French were the first Europeans to settle in Thunder Bay as a fur trading post along the Kaministiquia River.  Mining and forestry were the next industries to develop, and now Thunder Bay is best known for medical research and education. 

This city of about 109,000 residents is quite isolated. Forget about taking a flight in or out of Thunder Bay; you’ll have to go to Toronto for that.  I just looked it up on Google Maps, and the quickest route will take you over 14 hours to get there by car.  As a matter of fact, the closest city to Thunder Bay is an 8-hour drive away! 

Thunder Bay has managed to develop a fantastic culture and arts scene, though, so there is plenty to do for the residents.  Declared the “Cultural Capital of Canada” in 2003, Thunder Bay has a variety of cultural and community centers for the Finnish, Scandinavian, Italians, Polish, and many more.

Arts are also well-represented by Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra (which is the only professional orchestra between Winnipeg and Toronto), a professional theatre, a variety of music and arts festivals, museums, and art galleries.  There is also Thunder Pride, an LGBTQ pride parade that has been held annually since 2010.

Numerous sports and recreation facilities, city parks, and community centers also keep the locals busy and engaged.  It’s impressive how much this isolated city has to offer!

One of the area’s natural highlights is Kakabeka Falls, the second highest waterfall in Canada at 130 feet.  We chose to take the tour that visited these falls, and it was well worth it. 

We walked across the bridge (see previous photo) to see the view from the other side. This is the view from the middle of the bridge.

We also visited Fort William Historical Park, one of the largest living history sites in North America.  Although this is a replica, they do a great job depicting the original inland headquarters for the North West Company, the world’s largest fur trading enterprise.  Our costumed tour guide, a university history student, taught us about what life was like at the fort in the 1800’s.  We were split into small groups, and ours visited the Canoe Shed, Fur Stores, Apothecary, Kitchen & Bakery, and the garden.  I managed to slip away for a few minutes  and pop in to see a few others on my own.

Fort William Historical Park Visitors Center
Beautiful stained glass and wood carvings
These massive canoes were used to transport furs from Thunder Bay to Montreal.
Seeing these real furs turned my stomach!
We got taste these fresh baked breads right out of the oven.

To conclude our tour, we returned to the city to take in the view of Lake Superior.

Next up: Splendid Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

CRUISING THE GREAT LAKES #3: MEMORABLE MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN

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In between our visits to Mackinac Island and Marquette (and on the day before Mackinac), we had two days cruising.  Normally, ships refer to this as being “at sea,” but since we were on the Great Lakes, Bruce and I joked about being “at lake.”

Our first day “at lake” had us cruising by Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes:

Before arriving in Marquette, we cruised what is reputed to be one of the most turbulent bodies of water in the world—Lake Superior.  As I mentioned in my first post, we were very fortunate to have such calm waters!

This is how calm it was while we were cruising!

The Great Lakes (Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario) are the largest group of freshwater lakes by total area and are second largest by total volume, containing 21% of the world’s fresh water by volume.  Bordering both Canada and U.S.A., they connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River, making them a major source for transportation, migration, trade, and fishing.

A note to all my swimmer friends who might be thinking the Great Lakes would be a great vacation spot for open water swimming:  Bring your wetsuit!  Lake Superior averages 40-42 degrees, topping out at 62+/- degrees in the summer!  It’s a very deep lake, too, reaching a depth of 1,332 feet.

Marquette (population 20,629), located on the southern shores of Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, was most memorable for two reasons:  An interesting water feature (for lack of a better word!), and a beautiful lakeside park and beach.

Upon our morning arrival, before heading up to the River Grill for breakfast, I had stepped out on deck to snap a few photos.  This was the first thing I saw:

What the heck is THAT thing?  I hadn’t a clue, but I knew I would find out during our included tour.

Having done no prior research on Marquette before our cruise (very uncharacteristic of me!), I hadn’t realized the port was known primarily for shipping iron ore.  The first mining took place in the mid-1800’s, and by the 1850’s, Marquette was linked by rail to several mines.  Docks were built to transfer the iron ore from rail cars to the freighters below for transport to other cities to be made into steel:

This photo was at the Marquette Regional History Center

Over time, the railroad companies merged and bigger docks were needed.  Those docks were located in the upper harbor, and the Marquette Lower Harbor Ore Dock 3 B W, built in 1931-1932, was dismantled in 1971.  Ever since, the dock has been a source of great interest and inspiration for the community.

A working iron ore dock at the upper harbor

Our included tour took us along Presque Isle State Park, which was a gorgeous 323-acre park featuring sandstone cliffs with outlooks to take in the views as well as beautiful beaches below.  I was impressed by the natural beauty as well as how nicely it was designed for locals and tourists to enjoy for walking, hiking, cycling, picnics, and beach-going.

We also visited the campus of North Michigan University, passing the Superior Dome stadium along the way.  The campus has an excellent art museum, and I found a few pieces that piqued my interest:

This was a painting! The subject matter– collections of a world traveler and letter write– reminded me of me.

Other stops were made at Marquette Regional History Center and Marquette Maritime Museum, as well as the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse.

The Maritime Museum was located in the old City Waterworks building. I loved the color of the local sandstone bricks!
The Maritime Museum had a wonderful collection of lighthouse Fresnel lenses, including this beautifully restored lens from one of the lighthouses that had been destroyed by a fire.
This view was from the lighthouse. North Michigan University’s Superior Dome is off in the distance.

Following our tour, we enjoyed strolling through downtown, which was quite attractive with its hanging baskets of flowers, historic buildings, and gift shops.

Next up:  HOOFIN’ IT AROUND HOUGHTON

AMAZING AMNICON FALLS & DELIGHTFUL DULUTH

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Before visiting Amnicon Falls State Park, we took the scenic route around the tip of Bayfield Peninsula.  The little town of Cornucopia was having a festival, so we pulled over to check out the crafts booths and shops along the marina.

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The vibe we picked up on throughout Bayfield Peninsula was that many of the residents were progressive, so this awesome solar-powered pottery studio fit right in place:

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Amnicon Falls was well worth the detour before continuing to Duluth, Minnesota.  The scenery was spectacular, and the hiking trails throughout the state park were so peaceful.  From any location, we could hear the rushing water from the falls.  The day was gorgeous, and we had chosen the perfect place to have a picnic and devour the remainder of our smoked fish and hand-picked berries.

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The remainder of the final full day of our road trip was spent up in Duluth, Minnesota, located on the south-western shores of Lake Superior.  The Downtown Lakewalk sounded like a nice way to spend a beautiful afternoon, so we put more miles on our legs while taking in the sites around the lake.

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Fitger’s Inn up on the hill looked interesting, so we climbed the stairs to see what was up there.  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Fitger’s was Duluth’s first brewery, dating back to 1857.  After 115 years of brewing beer, the brewery closed in 1970.

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The Fitger’s Brewery Complex was re-opened in 1984, and it appeared to be thriving during our visit.  Between the Inn, brewery, restaurant, and shops; the place was bustling.  It was warm, so many people were out enjoying a cold brew while relaxing on the patio and taking in the view of Lake Superior.

We opted for a cold Bridgeman’s ice cream, instead, and thoroughly enjoyed this local favorite.   Dating back to 1936, Bridgeman’s began as a family-owned business, and it remains in the Bridgeman family to this day.

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This was a great place to enjoy the sunny afternoon before heading south for the last night of our road trip.  The following day, we would be joining the American Queen Steamboat Company for a pre-cruise stay at Radisson Blu, at Mall of America.  Soon, we would be rollin’ on the river!

Coming up next:  ROLLIN’ ON THE RIVER ON THE AMERICAN QUEEN STEAMBOAT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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BAYFIELD: FROM BLUEBERRIES TO BOATS

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Gloomy skies and occasional light rain showers continued during our drive from Ashland to Bayfield, so we went straight to Winfield Inn to pick up our key to the rental we would be staying in for the next two nights.  After settling in, we decided to spend the remainder of the late afternoon exploring the area.

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Click on the picture, and read the “instructions,” because they are a hoot!

Bayfield is Wisconsin’s self-proclaimed “berry capital,” so we headed out to the berry farm trail located just up the hill from our apartment.  Our plan was to return in the morning to pick berries for breakfast; however, we found a pick-your-own berry farm that was still open, and the blueberries looked too delicious to wait until the morning!  Compared to the blueberries we pick every June in our area of Georgia that tend to split from the heat while they are still small, these berries were HUGE, and the bushes were LOADED.  We grabbed a box and went to it, ignoring the rain and mud.

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The weather forecast looked promising for the following day, so we planned to return in the morning to pick more, and then see the other farms on the trail.

Meanwhile, after enjoying our afternoon snack of delicious blueberries while gazing at the view of Lake Superior from our rental, we headed back down the hill to town.

Located on Lake Superior, Bayfield is small and hilly; however, the town is attractive and quite nice to stroll around.  It served as a perfect base, too, for exploring the area.  They even had a community center with a 25-meter swimming pool!

The following day, we woke up to sunny skies and a beautiful day, perfect for the outdoor activities we had planned to enjoy, including exploring the remainder of the berry trail.  We returned to Rocky Acres Farm to pick more blueberries, and picked some raspberries as well—the best I had ever tasted.  It was such a beautiful setting, too!

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This is one of the other farms we stopped at along the trail (the one with the self-kicking machine):

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After our breakfast of fresh-picked berries, we enjoyed the gorgeous day poking around town, doing some photography, and visiting the excellent Bayfield Maritime Museum.

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My mid-day swim at Bayfield Area Recreation Center was wonderful—and, much needed.  It was my first opportunity to swim on this trip since we were in Minneapolis, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Bruce, meanwhile, returned to the maritime museum to see the remaining exhibits.

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Having worked up an appetite, we were ready for the picnic lunch we had planned to enjoy at a table overlooking the marina.  Bodin Fisheries, located near the pool, had a nice selection of tasty-looking fish, so we picked up some smoked salmon and white fish, as well as a filet of sugar-cured smoked lake trout.  Ritz Crackers claims that everything tastes better when it sits on a Ritz, and we both agreed.  That fish tasted great sittin’ on a Ritz!

It’s amazing how thoroughly enjoyable such a simple experience can be.  Start with a beautiful day, add a pleasant setting with a lovely view, toss in some delicious smoked fish and crackers, and then finish it off with some fresh Wisconsin tart cherry juice.  Life is good!

It was also good that our Apostle Island sunset cruise that was scheduled for the same evening rather than the rainy evening before.  We had waited to book the cruise until the 10-day forecast clued us in on what to expect for weather, and the gamble paid off.  Fortunately, the cruise hadn’t yet sold out, and the weather forecast was spot-on.  What a beautiful evening!  Check it out in my next post!

Next up:  THE APPEALING APOSTLE ISLANDS