Sault Saint Marie

We learned a lot about the history of how ships travel between lakes of different water levels using the locks at Sault Saint Marie. Well done models of locks and great personnel at the visitor center made this a great stop.

Of the four locks only two are in service. The other two have had congressional approval to be replaced, but no funding has been forthcoming to do so for the past several decades.

We watched several ships lock thru and enjoyed interaction with the crew of the ship in the lock nearest the viewing stand.

Models of the very early locks were on display

There is a multi-level viewing platform for visitors to watch ships passing thru the locks

The really big ships are the 'rock stars' of the lakes - the 'Mesabi Miner' is one of them

Notice the height change as the water flows into the lock

Ships that pass through the locks are met by the supply ship "Ojibwie". The supply ship stays alongside while the ship is underway and transfers supplies needed aboard ship

It was fun to watch the process