Sault Ste Marie, MI - August 9, 2012 Day 8 took us from Hammel Lake near Aitkin, MN to Duluth, MN, where my great-niece Ashley Rollins is a student at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. In a wonderful turn of events, she had the day off and was able to give us a mini-tour of what is really an interesting city on the shore of Lake Superior. Originally it made the map with the arrival of the railroads bringing grain from western Minnesota and the deepening of the Soo Locks so that freighters could enter the lake. The Duluth harbor has a unique "aerial lift" bridge to allow the freighters to enter the harbor area. Ashley took our picture in front of that structure.
Later we drove north to Gooseberry Falls, which is a series of cascades over the volcanic rock that forms the rim of Lake Superior. The weather, which had been rainy, turned beautifully sunny as we arrived. The total drop from the upper falls to the lowest falls is about 300 feet, but the going was made easier by the steps and paths of a great observation center created way back in the 30's by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Day 9 was a journey from Superior, WI, to Sault Ste Marie, MI -- a good eight hour drive through northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The weather was off and on rainy, but during the respites, we saw deer, wild turkeys and a sandhill crane along the highway. The terrain is much like northern Minnesota -- somewhat flat and swampy with major forests surrounding Lake Superior. Many of the trucks we passed were hauling logs.
Arriving in Sault Ste Marie, we ate and then found our way to the Soo Locks for which Sault Ste Marie is famous. Tomorrow, we hope to do much more exploring in this charming town.
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