Driving from Ludington, where Mic and Paula live, up to Traverse City provided rolling hills and beautiful scenery. Crossing the Mackinac Bridge brings you into the UP. An hour ‘s drive north and you arrive in Sault Ste Marie and the Soo Locks. The locks are gravity based and it takes 22 million gallons of water to fill the lock.
The size of the ships in the locks is amazing. The ships are big! Thirteen of the ships are over 1,000 feet long and carry 26,00 tonne. It is fascinating to watch the ship enter the lock and slowly rise or descend. It takes 15 to 20 minutes to fill or empty the lock once the ship is secured in the lock or about 40 to 60 minutes for the entire process.
Then I looked for the hotel I had booked for the night and found that it was clear down by the Mackinac Bridge instead of Sault Saint Marie. So, I drove an hour back to the hotel. It was right on Lake Huron so I could step outside the door and see the lake. It was nice and quiet but was getting a little chilly as fall is definitely on the way.
The next morning, I headed northwest without an exact destination in mind. That’s when I saw a sign with a Moose that read Next 35 Miles. Wasn’t expecting that. I was hoping to see one but didn’t. I have seen moose up close in Idaho and Montana. One of the things that surprised me was how much water there was along the road.
I considered driving to Whitefish but decided to head further west toward Marquette. From there driving to Copper Harbor looked like a long drive so I stopped in Baraga for the night. I’m glad I did. The motel was on L’Anse Bay which is a smaller bay of Keweenaw Bay of Lake Superior.
The village is named after Bishop Frederic Baraga known as the Snowshoe Priest. He was a missionary priest who was born in Slovenia and came to the Grand Rapids area in 1830. He would often travel 700 miles by foot to baptize a person or anoint the sick. He used snowshoes in the winter, so he became known as the Snowshoe Priest.
After I checked into the hotel, I asked what was in the area. I took the advice from the front desk and went to the Shrine of Bishop Baraga, the Snowshoe Priest. He would travel 700 miles to his far flung Native American tribes or some of the small cooper mining villages to serve his parishes. He converted roughly 25,000 Chippewa Natives to Christianity.
The statue rises six stories high and is suspended in the air above a stainless-steel cloud. He is holding a 7 foot cross in his right hand and the snowshoes at his side are 26 feet long. It’s very impressive, rising 35 feet above the cloud and weighing 4 tons. He was made the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette, Michigan, (originally Sault Sainte Marie).
From there I went to the waterfall that was recommended. The instructions were a bit puzzling. Turn into the Burger King and park at the back of the parking lot. Follow the trail for ATVs which will become a narrow walking path. This took me to the Middle Falls and eventually down to the Lower Falls. It was peaceful and serene in the quiet of the water gurgling over the rocks and the birds singing in the trees. I’m glad that I took the time to see it.
After the hike back up to the truck, I went to the hotel restaurant for dinner. I sat outside to enjoy the nice weather and the view of the lake. Listening to the birds was peaceful while waiting for dinner. The whitefish from the local area was delicious.
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