Day 2: Michigan Road Trip

It was a later than normal wake up but was so nice to just be a bit lazy after a long day of driving yesterday.  The main reason we came to Sault Ste. Marie was to visit the Soo Locks.  Several people mention it on travel boards so thought, why not?  This is a multi-generational trip (my parents, me, and Colin) so it is sometimes difficult to find places that will appeal to all generations.  Of course for a teenager it is almost impossible to appeal to him but he went along and pretended to have fun.  I wanted to get up close and personal and actually be on a boat in the locks so we took a boat tour.

A think layer of bedrock holds back the waters of Lake Superior where it joins St Marys River.  At this point it creates a 21 foot drop that prevents boats from passing through.

On the boat . . .

Approaching the US locks . . .

In the lock . . .

Waiting for to water to bring us up 21 feet so we can exit . . .

. . . and just like that our boat is up 21 feet and out of the lock . . .

On our loop back to the dock, we used the Canadian Locks.  This is a good viewpoint of being on the high water looking to the lower water . . .

Water is high . . .

. . . waiting for the water to go down . . . and the gates open . . .

You can see the side wall at how much the water went down.  After the gates opened, it was back to the US we went.  It was an absolutely beautiful day!

We enjoyed being on a boat passing through the locks but now we went to the viewpoint that was cool to watch from above too.  Both locks have a boat in them . . .

 Another boat arrives just as the other exits . . .

It was a beautiful day walking around town and on the water too.