Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan – July 6th, 2016 – The Soo Locks between Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and Sault Ste. Marie, Canada on the St. Mary’s River always amaze me. Even after visiting them year after year it fascinates me that a 1,000 foot freighter can fit in the Soo Locks! How do they do it?
A couple weeks ago I took a vacation to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan to visit my folks who were camping along the St. Mary’s River at the Aune-Osborne Campground; it’s a campground that’s owned and operated by the city of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. I love it here! It’s so close to the St. Mary’s River that you can almost touch the large freighters that ride by… most of which are hauling tons of Iron Ore from the Tilden and Empire Mines on the Marquette Iron Range!
The weather was breathtaking! We had a little bit of rain on Friday, June 17th. The rest of the weekend was clear and absolutely beautiful! My folks were camping with a couple of friends. Each night we enjoyed a relaxing night around the campfire. As the sunset over Canada you could clearly see the Canadian night sky from the twin Sault’s!
Check out the video below of the view looking over to Canada from the United States!
On Saturday, June 18th we stopped and checked out the Soo Locks. But, before we could do that, we had a bite to eat at the Lockview Restaurant–which was directly across from the Soo Locks, hence the name. We made it to the Locks just in the nick of time… a 1,000 foot freighter was rising in the Lock closest to the observation tower. What a site to see! In the foreground you could catch a glimpse of the International Bridge!
What a perfect weekend for a visit to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The drive from Marquette to Sault Ste. Marie is about 3.5 hours. I decided to take the LONG WAY back and head back to Marquette down I-75 and cut across to U.S. 2 along Lake Michigan. I then took U.S. 41 from Rapid River to Marquette. I’ve never done this before; it turned out to be a nearly 5 hours drive! Well worth it.
When’s the last time you took a trip to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan? It’s a relaxing drive (albeit very long) and the Soo Locks will keep you in suspense! When will the next 1,000 foot freighter come through?
-Eric Scott “Mornings on 103-FXD”
