| Sault Ste Marie is the home of the locks between Lake Superior
and Lake Huron. There are four locks on the US side and only one on the
Canadian side. This is now only used for pleasure craft but it was the site
of some major innovations in its day. The bridge in the background is the
road bridge to the USA. |  |
 | One of the
innovations was this safety feature. The gate swings across the lock and
metal barriers go down to stop the flow of water. Only seven of this type
were built in the world, but this is the only one to have ever been used in
an emergency. A ship had hit the lock gate and damaged it causing a massive
flood of water to tear both lock gates away. This feature stopped much
greater damage and enabled the lock to be repaired and back in service very
quickly. |
| Looking over from the Canadian lock, you can just see the
superstructure of a ship passing through the American locks. These carry a
greater tonnage of shipping than the Suez and the Panama canals combined. |  |
 | The road bridge over
the locks carries a huge amount of freight down into Michigan. It is high
enough to allow the largest ships to pass under. The girder bridge carries
railway tracks and is used several times a day. It has lifting sections to
allow the ships through. |
| The lock gates are quite massive and control a fall of 35ft. They
were opening them for a test. It was quite interesting to watch the
machinery through the windows of the control rooms. The water flows through
grills in the bottom of the lock thus greatly reducing the turbulence. |  |
 | The locks are a self
contained entity and have their own power and support shops. This is the
blacksmith's shop. These buildings were built of the red sandstone excavated
in the course of constructing the lock, and have been beautifully restored
and now operate as a museum. |
| Just up the road is the Canadian Bushplane museum. We didn't
visit this but it could well have been quite interesting. This plane faces
you as you drive down the main street and you think it is about to land on
the road! |  |
 | Lake Superior is the
largest of the lakes, and the largest freshwater lake in the world. It is a
bit difficult to realise the Great Lakes are only lakes since you can't
usually see the far sides. They are also subject to all the weather
conditions you would expect in a sea. All along this road we alternated
views of the big lake with views of little lakes. In the end you stop
noticing. |
| The same is true of the trees even with the changes in foliage at
this time of the year. The scenery is so vast that the camera cannot
adequately capture it. You just sit back and enjoy it. |  |
 | The smaller lakes
are quite sheltered and so there are good reflections and a real air of
tranquility. |
| Eventually you lose track of what you shot where and what it was
called, if indeed you ever knew. It took us five days just to get out of
Ontario with scenery like this all the way - over 1200 miles. |  |
 | We drove from Sault
Ste Marie north through Wawa to Terrace Bay on the north edge of Lake
Superior. |
| This is mining country with iron, copper and nickel mines. They
don't advertise who they are or what they do much but you can't miss the
effect on the landscape. |  |
 | Most noticeable are
the huge mountains of waste which surround them. We passed these as we
approached Terrace Bay but they were really miles from anywhere. |
|