Monday, July 9, 2018 (Glenview Cottages and Campground, Sault Ste Marie, ON)

We had a very lazy start to the day. Steve tried to find an RV dealer who stocked the thermister for our fridge...not one stocks it...but they will order one in for us if we want. Sheesh! That is when "plan b" formulated. The biggest and most popular dealer, Christies RV, said that the part would be in Wednesday, so Steve asked if we could leave the trailer there for a week while we take a trip down to Michigan to see friends. Turns out, they said yes...will install the termister when it comes in and monitor the fridge to see if that was the problem. If not, they will continue with diagnosis and (hopefully) it will be fixed upon our return next week.

After that, Steve sat with the laptop, editing pictures from the last 2 days of driving. I putzed around doing a little of this and that.

Dave and Lisa picked us around 3:30 to take us on a little tour of the city. They...and Lisa's sister, Leonie and husband, Armand, were the first folks we met as we headed east in our first year on the road (we only made it as far as Niagara Falls that year before heading south). That was 8  years ago (in September) and we all still stay in touch! We have seen Leonie and Armand in Arizona a couple of times and one year, all 4 of them came out to Quartzsite for a visit. We were hoping to be able to get together with all 4 of them this trip, but unfortunately we missed Armand and Leonie...they have gone to visit their granddaughter. Oh well...hopefully we can connect down in Arizona this winter.

We went to Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site where you can still see boats rise gently from Lake Huron to Lake Superior, bypassing the St. Marys River Rapids in the recreational lock.

The original Sault Ste. Marie Canal and lock opened in 1895. It was the world’s longest lock and the first to be powered by electricity. Though the historic lock closed more than two decades ago, the original lock gate machinery is still used in the new lock and interpreters/guides will be on hand to share its history. Built inside the original historic lock chamber, the recreational lock opened in 1998 and is available for all pleasure watercraft from kayaks and sailboats to tour boats and yachts.
1 Canal Drive building...
Inside the Visitors Centre...top of the photo the black lettering says "You are here" The locks on the Canadian side are no longer used by freighters. The bottom of the photo shows the locks on the US side in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan that can handle the 1000' freighters.
Model showing how the lock works...



Lisa, Dave and me...
Looking from the above walkway towards Lake Superior...
Looking from the walkway towards Lake Huron....
Back of the 1 Canal Drive building...Love the architecture. There's an old pulp mill nearby with much larger buildings built like this.
Looking towards downtown Sault Ste Marie and Lake Huron...25' below...
Looking at the lock doors from the Lake Huron side...
Above the lock doors looking towards downtown...
Where's that tour boat?
The tent in the distance is the Roberta Bondar Park, born here, she was Canada's first female astronaut and the first neurologist in space...
A tour boat was due to come through the locks...but it wouldn't be for another 45 minutes, so we all got back in the car and headed for a drive through the city and checked out another park...
The bridge to Sault Ste Marie, Michigan in the distance...
We were back 45 minutes later...and we had just missed it! Sheesh! Oh well, the fellows at the centre said there will be another one coming through at 7:00...okay, we'll be back. We'll go for dinner in the meantime.

We went to Chummy's Grill...a popular spot on the Batchewana First Nations Reservation that Lisa and Dave go to often.
There were very cool wood carvings everywhere inside...these are just a couple of them.

We had a great dinner...see the size of Steve's burger and fries?! My chef's salad was also huge! The food was excellent and the company great! Great pick Dave and Lisa!
With our tummies full, we headed back to the locks, arriving well before 7:00 for our third visit. Steve took more pictures of the historic site...


Wow, that's a big butterfly valve!


Steve went up on the roof top of one of the buildings and took 5 pictures, stitching them together...this is the result. No the canal does not curve like that!
While the rest of us wait patiently for any sign of a tour boat coming through the locks...
Nope...there doesn't appear to be a 7 pm boat like we were told...
By 7:15 we had given up hope of a boat coming through...3rd strike! Oh well, it is a beautiful area and we certainly got lots of information on the history of the canal and locks.

Before heading home, they drove us up to the top of a hill where you can get a view of the city and the steel mill...it is huge! The trees are really starting to block the views though...
The other half of the steel mill is out of view from the trees...
Back at the campground, Dave and Lisa came in and we continued our visit for a while longer. It was going on 9:00 when, with big hugs, they said goodbye. It was absolutely wonderful seeing you both again! Thanks for your hospitality...the tour and dinner were perfect!


6 comments:

  1. I sent you a pm on Facebook Messenger about Mackinac. Have fun while you are in Michigan!

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  2. I find the lock systems so interesting.

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    Replies
    1. I do too! We hope to see the big locks on the US side.

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  3. Fantastic, great that we can live vicariously through your amazing adventures!

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