Marquette to Keweenaw Peninsula

Saturday, July 6th, we left Munising around 8:45 with rain threatening-- our intended destination Marquette, MI.  We called Cinder Bay Marina to see if they had space available for that night, but we got only an answering machine.    We were about ten miles out by the time they returned our call and told us that the only room they had was on a wall that was not very protected.  So we decided to head back to Grand Island and anchor for the night.  About five miles into the turn around,  the marina called back and said they had made arrangements to move a smaller boat from a large slip so that we could have a space.  Gratefully we turned again and arrived in Marquette around 2 p.m.  Had anyone on shore been watching our morning maneuvers, we probably would have been stopped for drunken driving.  ( We later learned from the 50+ footers that they had spent the night on the wall.  Apparently around 2:30 a.m. when the bars closed, about 50 twenty to thirty year olds came to the park by the wall,  stripped naked and jumped into the 55 degree water.  Then they climbed out and sat on the grass to dry off.  Apparently this is a week-end event.  Hearing this, Tom was quite disappointed that we had not chosen the wall!)

Since Sault Ste. Marie we have been seeing statues, plaques, and churches honoring the beloved Father Baraga--also known as the snowshoe priest--who lived and worked among the Native Americans in the mid-1600's.  The Catholic church in Marquette honored him also.

At one time, Marquette was the leading harbor on Lake Superior used for shipping ore, lumber , fish and sandstone.  When the Soo Locks opened in 1855, ore shipping from this location was increased one hundredfold. Today all that remains is the immense ore loading dock.  The trestle leading to it has been torn down.  A similar dock about 10 miles to the west is still in use.

The historic sandstone county courthouse is remembered as the site where Teddy Roosevelt brought a libel suit against the local paper and as the location for the trial scene in the movie, "Anatomy of a Murder".

(For some unknown reason, photos from Tom's iphone are refusing to transfer to my computer at this location.  So I will publish now and update with photos later when they decide to cooperate!)

We stayed two nights in Marquette and then headed to Houghton in the center of the Keweenaw Peninsula on Monday.  We left in a light rain with a beam sea of two footers, so we rocked most of the way.   Just before the entrance to the Portage River (which bisects the peninsula),  we passed Lighthouse Island.  True to its name,  the only thing we saw on the island was a lonely lighthouse.

Lighthouse on Lighthouse Island

Soon we were at the lower entrance to the Keweenaw Waterway (at this point the Portage River).   There were some beautiful homes along the waterway.

Breakwater entrance

Beautiful home site and boat dock.

Once in the waterway we were again in smooth water.  I was more than ready to leave the roly-poly behind!  The marina, which was across the water from the town of Houghton, had older high fixed wooden docks.  We went bow in and had to stretch the power cord a long ways to reach the standard.

Town of Houghton, MI
Home to Northern Michigan University

The lift bridge at Houghton is thought
to be the heaviest lift bridge in the world
and larger than the lift bridge in Duluth.
It has road beds on the top and bottom levels,
so traffic is interrupted only when it is lifting.

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Sault Ste. Marie to Grand Marais, MI

We pulled out of Kemp Marina around 8:30 a.m. on  Tuesday, July 2, in order to catch the first opening in the Canadian lock.  This is the lock used by pleasure craft and small tugs as it is too small for the freighters.  We went through right at 9 a.m. with a tug/fishing boat that was headed to Michipicoten Island.  I was tending the front line so I had a chance to visit with the crew on the tug.  They had lots of questions about how we had arrived at this point.  Their boat had been in the races and they invited us to join them next year.  You never know!!!!

Canadian Lock sign

Canadian lock with international
bridge in the background

The fishing boat/tug that went through
the lock with us.

 The Algoma Steel plant takes up most of the shore just past the locks.

Algoma Steel plant

Channel marker on the St. Mary's River

Just past this light we saw a salvage ship near an orange buoy.  The night before a 45 foot Corps of Engineers tug had sunk as it was being towed.  We heard the radio chatter between the Coast Guard and the salvage boat.  Think somebody's head will roll for this!

Soon we came to the large Gros Point Reef Light marking the entrance to Whitefish Bay and Lake Superior.  This is believed to be the oldest lighthouse on the lake, built in 1849.

Lighthouse marking entrance to Lake Superior

We decided to skip Whitefish harbor and go straight to Grand Marais, a stretch of 92 miles.  The lake was flat and it couldn't have been a better day to travel that distance.

Whitefish Bay lighthouse

Just north of this point in 500 feet of water lies the Edmund Fitzgerald.  The night she went down in gale winds and 10 foot seas, this light was out.  Add that to the loss of both of her radar stations and a disaster was inevitable.  This part of the lake is known at the "Graveyard of the Great Lakes".  Even though we were perfectly safe,  I was glad when we passed this point.

Along this stretch of the lake we started seeing sand dunes like along Lake Michigan.  The difference is very few people are swimming.  With 58 degree water that is not too difficult to understand.

Sand dunes run for miles 

Grand Marais Marina was filled with three large 50+ footers, so we anchored in the bay.  It was a gentle night and the bottom was sand,  making for a fine evening. This was the virgin use of our new 50 lb. anchor and 120 feet of chain (replacing 40lb and  40 feet). We plan to stay put when we anchor this year!  Soft chimes started at 9 p.m. and sang to us for 15 minutes.  What a beautiful way to end the day!

The next morning we pulled anchor and headed to Munising.  Just west of the entrance the dunes get higher and soon we were looking at miles of Grand Sable Sand Dunes Park.  One of the dunes had a sand slide known as Devil's Slide "once used in logging days to transport logs down the dunes where they were then floated via log booms to mills at Grand Marais".

Grand Sable Sand Dunes

Perhaps Devil's Slide

Au Sable Point Lighthouse

Munising--Fourth of July

When we arrived in Munising,  the 50+ footers were already there and dock space was TIGHT.  Somehow Tom parallel parked Raydiance in a space with no more than a foot to spare fore and aft.  The captains and crew of the adjoining boats heartily congratulated him on a superb landing.

Jimmy and Macy's 52' Grand Banks
was one of the 50+ footers on the wall with us.
This picture was taken as they passed
Pictured Rocks.

They did  the loop in 2011 in a Tiara named Outta Here.

A tight fit on the wall

Small towns really know how to celebrate the Fourth of July.  In Munising that meant starting with a hometown parade.  I've included a few pictures of things we would normally not see in a parade.

Coast Guard boat
Jimmy and Macy on far right.

Local camp Superheroes float

Munising Municipal Band
Memories of Dad and Platteville City Band

Munising HS band

Pictured Rocks float

Smokey
This one's for Lisa and Jim

Following the parade, the lakeside adjacent to the marina became the center for food, games and music.  We enjoyed all of it, but especially the chicken poop bingo.

View from the boat.

After all the numbers are purchased, a chick is set on the
numbered board.  Whatever square s/he chooses to poop on
is the winner.  In case of a "line-poop", winnings are split.

First order of business was to buy a number.
I happened to get lucky 6 and was sure this was an omen.
Not to be.

 What else for lunch but a whitefish sandwich--the local favorite.

Another interesting contest was the greased pole.  The idea was to grab the red flag at the end of the pole before falling into the freezing cold water.  No adults were attempting this.  I wonder why?

This young man with the
stretch and slide technique
ended up in the brink.

This young lady succeeded
with the scooch and lift
method.  She was awarded $5.

That evening the Legion put on the most amazing fireworks display over the harbor.  I would have enjoyed it more had our boat not been less than a 100 yards from the detonation spot on the breakwater.  We had the option of going out into the bay for the duration, but that meant coming into those tight quarters at dark.  Tom kept reassuring me that the wind was from the south blowing away from the boat, and Raydiance came through without an ash.  

Friday morning Tom left early to dive two wrecks with a local dive shop.  He arrived back at the boat around noon.  One of the dives was a schooner that had sunk after being rammed in the fog.   The other was a tug that had been intentionally sunk for a dive site.  They were in forty degree water.  Tom enjoyed it.  I enjoyed my late morning of leisure.

Small dive boat, big cold lake!

Pictured Rocks

Waterfall at the start of Pictured Rocks

Arriving at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore reminded me of taking a trip down the Wisconsin River near the Dells.  The sandstone cliffs have been eroded by wind and wave into amazing formations and the colors of the minerals runs from yellow to black to green to blue to orange.  At first we drove slowly past.  Then we turned around and anchored, again in beautiful clear, still water, and took the dinghy to shore for a closer look.  It is a beautiful area.  I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves.

 (Click on pictures to enlarge)

Approaching Pictured Rocks

So many colors stain the cliffs.

Clear, cold water--wave patterns in the sand

The water had that tropical turquoise color
with the sun and sand interacting.

Dells look alike

The calendar shot!

Ancient wave patterns on the rock.

Entrance to hideaway

Looking out of the hideaway

This kayaker went though the passage
after I took the picture.

Miner's castle

Lots of opening that do not go anywhere,
but still fun to explore.

View from the main lake.

Inside the hideaway

Raydiance at anchor

Tom at waterslide

Tree view east

Tree view west

waterslide

The rock formations go on for several miles toward Munising.  Grand Island, directly across from Munising, has an old wooden lighthouse on its shore.  We hope to anchor on Grand Island for a few days before heading to Marquette.

Old lighthouse on Grand Island.

Change in Itinerary

So…..plans have changed.  While at Sault Ste. Marie we learned that the marinas we were counting on as fuel stops are not presently available.  Three have been shut done by the Canadian version of EPA for not meeting standards and the other experienced a flood in May which silted in their harbor. Without one of those fuel stops, we cannot safely cruise the north shore.

As a result, we have gone to plan B.  The south shore and then hopefully the north shore.  Here is the revised guess as to an itinerary.

July 2    Leave Sault Ste. Marie,  arrive Grand Marais, MI

July 3-6  Munising

July  7      Marquette

July  8-11   Keweenaw Pennisula

July   12  Ontonagon, MI

July 13-14   Bayfield, WI

July  15-20  Apostle Islands

July 21  Silver Bay, MN

July  22  Grand Marais, MN

July 23-24  Grand Portage, MN

July 25-31  Isle Royale

August 1    Thunder Bay, Ontario

When we reach this point,  we hope the north shore will have their fuel issues resolved and we can continue around via Red Rock, Slate Islands, Michipicoten Bay, and back to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

If that does not work, we will wait for really good weather and jump across the lake from Isle Royale to the Keweenau Penninsula and retrace some of the southern shore.

Either way, we plan to be back in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario around the 18^th of August.  We will then start to work our way to Chicago on a plan similar to the first agenda I posted.

To date we have had extraordinarily good weather with calm water.  I know this can’t continue the entire trip, but we surely are enjoying it while its here.