Our next big adventure was a daylong car caravan to a variety of stops including the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, Tahquamenon Falls, and Oswald’s Bear Ranch. We drove along Lake Superior much of the way to Whitefish Point to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum which we had visited on our Great Lakes trip in 2009. It was just as impressive the second time as it depicts the sinking of many ships in the Whitefish Point area.
Whitefish Point Light Station is the scene of the most ship wrecks on Lake Superior. It is a place where the lake narrows and ships are funneled to the locks at Sault Ste. Marie. In the old days there were 3,100 ships on the lake with no radar. Collisions were common. Today there are about 200 big freighters. The most recent (1975), famous, and mysterious ship wreck is the Edmund Fitzgerald. It was caught in one of the worst storms ever on the lake with 90 mph winds, 30 foot waves, and blinding snow on a night when the Whitefish beacon was not working. The Edmund Fitzgerald sank, taking all lives aboard. Its bell was raised from the wreckage and replaced by a bell with the names of all the crew engraved on it. The original bell is displayed in the museum.
Equally impressive is the rescue exhibit with lifeboat and a series of lines in graduated sizes to throw lifelines to those in need. The docent explained the process and told us that their motto was “You have to go, but you don’t have to come back.” That succinctly expresses the danger of their job in rescuing people from the lake and their commitment to it. We saw an excellent video telling about the work of the life saving station, and Rod, Yankee RV Tours wagon master, also commented on their daring work (bottom photo).
The lighthouse keeper’s home has been meticulously restored with period furniture and shows how the family lived. It’s the red roofed building next to the light.
Irene enjoyed seeing the kitchen with its Eureka woodstove.
From Lighthouse Point we caravanned to Lower Tahquamenon Falls where we ate our picnic lunches. Then we walked the trail to see the falls, a pleasant walk through the woods.
One of the things we love about northern Michigan is the trees including all kinds of conifers. We especially love the “Christmas trees” which we see frequently as we drive.
From the lower falls, it was a short drive to the Upper Tahquamenon Falls, one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi. It has a drop of nearly 50 feet and is more than 200 feet across. The amber color of the water is caused by tannin leached from the cedar, spruce, and hemlock in the swamps drained by the river. On the way to the falls, we stopped for a photo op with a “moose.”
Our last stop of the day was at Oswald’s Bear Ranch, a refuge for bears. The bears were behind fences with viewing areas for visitors. Females, males, and cubs are in separate areas.
From Oswald’s Bear Ranch, we returned to the RV park, having had an interesting and varied day.
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