Today, Tuesday July, 31, is the mid-point of our summer travel season. We generally travel six months during the summer, and then spend the winter in Tucson, Arizona. We tour as much as we have energy for, and we always leave an area not totally explored, so we have something to return for.
Monday we had a short day of touring, because of the van having a repair appointment at the local Ford Garage. The heater now functions in all modes, A/C and heat/defrost.
The Tower of History is a concrete structure with a height of 210ft, and has three observation decks, and all provide a spectacular view.
The tall picture distorts the actual dimensions of the structure, but it does show that it is a long way up. The views of the waterway were great, and we got to see a freighter ship entering the locks.
To show the size of these monster boats, The white pilothouse is larger than most buildings in town as seen above the trees, as it slips into the locks. From this viewpoint we could see the Museum Ship, Valley Camp, that is to be our next stop. The old freighter is smaller than the now operating ships, but it was huge in its day.
A wide view of the Museum Ship, taken from the parking lot, and from on top of the pilothouse. This ship had the pilothouse in the front of the ship and the engine room was in the rear structure, the newer big ships have the pilothouse structure in the rear of the ship.
The Museum exhibits were mostly around the old cargo hold and covered two levels. The exhibits covered everything maritime, from antique tools used to construct wooden boats to lighthouse styles, and the ships lost on the waters of the Great Lakes. There was a little too much to absorb in just one visit.
The crews quarters were a little sparse, and the captain is the only one who didn’t have to share a room, that I could find. Some rooms had been painted since the ship was put in service, and the natural wood being darker, looks a little nicer than the paint.
The wheel to steer the ship in the pilot house, and a gauge panel in the engine room.
The engine room, and the three cylinder engine with exposed crankshaft, and connecting rods. The engine worked on steam from a boiler fired by burning coal, and the sign says that it was fed by hand. The working conditions were poor at best, the temperature would get up to 120-130 degrees. The mechanism to raise and lower the anchor is shown in the wide picture with the portholes open. each link of the chain weighs 23 pounds. The anchors were located under the pilothouse.
After we dropped the van off at the Ford dealers, Anne-Marie and I walked downtown to find a restaurant for lunch. We were treated to another huge ship navigating the locks, and this is the largest one yet for us. The white pilothouse is 6 or 7 stories tall on top of the deck of the ship, and the ship looked to be nearly a quarter mile long. We walked by some Canadian geese, and these are as used to people as the ones at the marina in Hood River, Oregon.
Today is a travel day for us, and we are heading South, and I will let Anne-Marie choose the route and stopping point. I haven’t even looked at a map to plan todays travels, but it might be fun to tour a town or two on Lake Huron, on our way South
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