The Soo Locks

As You Can See, I Am Behind in My Posts, but I'm Catching UP!

June 30, 2008

Choo Choo Train?? No! Soo Soo…the Soo Locks!

Before leaving the Mackinaw area, we took a drive up to Sault Ste. Marie to take a look at the locks and those huge lake freighters. We arrived just as the American Spirit had passed through; we missed the opening and closing of the locks on that one.

We had plenty of time to check out the history and building of the locks and view the informative movie in the Visitors Center. We learned that the Soo Locks consist of two canals and four locks. These locks allow vessels of many types and sizes to safely traverse the 21-foot drop in elevation of the St. Marys River between Lake Superior and Lakes Michigan and Lake Huron.
Tour Boats and Pleasure Water Crafts Rising in the Locks
We checked the ETA board at the Visitors Center to see what freighters were scheduled later in the day to come through the locks. There were several arriving that afternoon. This gave us plenty of time to go for lunch.

Our friends, Gary and Jean, told us we had to go to The Antlers (an Irish establishment of course) if we went to Sault Ste. Marie. So we asked around and everyone seemed to know about The Antlers. It was straight down the street from the locks. Upon pulling into the parking lot, it was one of those places that you really weren’t sure if you should go through the door. It was rather seedy looking from the outside…lots of “hogs”, run down mini vans, etc. parked on the lot…what the heck…Gary and Jean recommended it!
We stepped inside to another world…a world of the eccentric collector of all things that had once slithered, roared, squeaked, trumpeted, honked…get the idea?…a world of suspended animation and all hanging overhead and peering at you from those little beady glass eyes while you dined on the “beef”! Everything from Meerkats to Tigers. If you are claustrophobic, it might not be the place for you, but great food and such a curiosity! Thanks Gary and Jean for a terrific recommendation...you should be getting the bar tab real soon! One last note about the place…it had once been called the Bucket-of-Blood Saloon!! Can’t imagine why??!!

After lunch we made it back to the locks to watch several Great Lakes Freighters go through the locks.

Frank Watches the Herbert Jackson Go Through the Lock



The American Valor Approaching






We ended our stay in Mackinaw City on July 1 and headed over to Traverse City to spend the month of July at Traverse Bay RV Resort.