Wisps and Windmills

Layers of wispy clouds trace patterns against the blue skies in the fading light of an August day. This wind turbine, near Grand Bend, Ontario, stands silhouetted against a watercolor tableau.

The strong, straight lines of windmills contrast with the softness of the skies. Photos of windfarms have a graphic punch that comes with the juxtapostion of something so mechanical as a windmill and the natural landscape of a rural area. Like the barn silos and church steeples of the last centuries, windmills now stand as  a symbol of rural life.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Goderich Harbor

The Goderich harbor has two things that both Ed and I like -- freighters and food trucks. We saw two Algoma Central lakers, the Algoma Transfer and the Algosoo, tied up in slips at Goderich. The Algosoo was being loaded, probably with salt, we thought, since Goderich is the site of the world's largest salt mine.

We could walk alongside the Algosoo and watch the loading process. Freighters are really big when you see them up close. Out on the lakes, in the shipping lanes, they can be as many as 6-8 miles away. In the harbor or on a river like the St. Clair (Port Huron to Lake St. Clair) or the St. Mary's (eastern Upper Peninsula, into the Soo), a freighter is a huge ship with superstructures that are often 5-6 stories tall.

We spotted a chip wagon, a.k.a. a food truck, right out on the docks at the harbor, too. From the harbor south, there is an expansive lakeside park with playgrounds, several beaches, places to wade out on rocks, eateries, and lots of parking and shade trees. It's a jewel of a lakefront that Goderich has developed.

We asked about the poutine on the menu and found out that this uniquely Canadian dish is actually French fries with gravy and cheese. Yipes! Ed ordered one and enjoyed the cultural tastes of a whole lot of fat and calories. I stayed with a burger and standard fries which were hand cut and delicious.

The Goderich lighthouse stands tall on the bluffs overlooking the harbor and park areas. In this photo the lighthouse is a red speck along the bluff, about one third of the way across the picture, from the left.

One of the opportunities we have living on the east side of Michigan is our close proximity to Canada. From Huron County, Michigan we can be across the border in Ontario's Huron County in an hour or two. Travel is always an enriching experience -- especially when you order poutine from a Canadian chip wagon while watching freighters in Goderich!

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

Goderich Lighthouse

Built in 1847 on the bluffs overlooking Lake Huron on the Canadian coastline, the Goderich Lighthouse stands about 33 feet high and 140 feet above the lake. Square and almost chunky in design, the building contrasts with the usual taller, tapered cylinder look of most lighthouses in the United States.

Ed and I took a day's drive to Canada, specifically to Huron County, Ontario, which is directly east of where our lake house is in Huron County, Michigan, USA. On a clear night we can see the lights of the communications towers and windfarms in Canada, almost 40 miles to the east of Cedar Bluff Lakehouse. We drove up the Canadian coastline to visit Goderich and see the Canadian wind turbines in action.

The Goderich lighthouse is dramatic architecturally. It has stark white lines and surfaces, with red accents trim and roof.

Scottish stonemason Adam MacVicar is credited with building this structure which is now 166 years old and appears to be of stone block construction.

Of course I had to sketch the lighthouse. I started by using graphite pencil and then retraced lines with a fine tip Sharpie pen. A drawing like this would be the beginning of a watercolor painting of the lighthouse.

We spent a pleasant hour or longer on the bluff overlooking the harbor at the site of the lighthouse. With our camp chairs, my sketching supplies, and Ed's reading material, we had a relaxing late afternoon in Goderich, Ontario.

Copyright 2013
Wanda Hayes Eichler

2002 Trip: Canada to The Straits of Mackinac

Frosty fog over Rabbit Blanket Lake, Lake Superior Provincial Park

Ten years ago on Thursday, October 3, 2002, we started our day at Rabbit Blanket Lake Campground in Lake Superior Provincial Park and ended the day at Straits State Park at St. Ignace, Michigan. We travelled 205 miles that day.

Thermometer on picnic table outside the motorhome

The air turned cold overnight and our morning hot oatmeal tasted really good. I went out before sunrise and took photos of the frost and fog hovering over Rabbit Blanket Lake. We drove further north, as far as Old Woman Bay, almost out of the Provincial Park, about 40 miles south of Wawa, Ontario.

Wanda and Val, out on the boulders along the Sand River

Coming back south, we stopped to explore the cascades along the Sand River. Val got into the act and ventured out on the big boulders along the rapids of the wild river. 

Driving south on the Trans Canada Highway 17 took us back throught the twin cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Canada and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. On the Michigan side we watched freighters on the St. Mary's River and got to see ships locking through the Soo Locks.

German cruise ship Columbus, headed to Chicago, at the Soo Locks

We watched the German cruise ship Columbus as it was locking downbound while a freighter was upbound for Lake Superior. We saw the Columbus, the Ogelbay Norton, the Roger Blough, and the Reserve -- all in one visit to the Soo.

Roger Blough, 858 feet long, upbound for Lake Superior
on the St. Mary's River, just east of the Soo Locks

Our arrival at a wooded campsite at Straits State Park was later in the evening. This was the night that we saw the Northern Lights about 9 pm. The sky wasn't colorful, but the plumes of light waved and wandered in the night sky.

Tomorrow's Post: Mackinac Island and Home to the Farm

Copyright 2012
Wanda Hayes Eichler

2002 Trip: Tahquamenon to Rabbit Blanket Lake in Ontario

Stan and Val in Canada 2002 -- Agawa Bay

On Wednesday, October 2, 2002 we traveled from the United States into Canada, rounding the east end of Lake Superior, one of the wonders of our planet. We saw the Point Iroquois Lighthouse near Brimley, Michigan, watched a few tour boats at the Soo, and continued up across the International Bridge at The Soo, through customs, and into Canada.

Our drive took us up the Trans Canada Highway 17 into Lake Superior Provincial Park, a wild and wondrous place in the north woods.

Da Bear!

 

 

Ed and I have camped at Agawa Bay several times so we knew our way in and around some of the side roads. On the way down to Sinclair Cove where we have canoed, we saw a bear. It is the tiny speck in the road in the photo. Mom refused to get out of the RV all the while we were on that road. She did not like that bear, even though it was probably more afraid of us than we were of it.

 

When you canoe in Sinclair Cove there are boulders the size of locomotives that line the bottom of the clear, cold waters of Superior. It is an awe inspiring paddle.

 

Val on the shore of Katherine Cove, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario

 

 

We walked the beach at Katharine Cove. Mom enjoyed the sand and the sights. Canada geese greeted us. The leaves were changing color. Tree branches that fall into Lake Superior stay for years because the water is so cold. Since it is also clear, all of that fallen vegetation is easily seen. You gain a new appreciation for the power of cold temperatures when you wander the shores of Superior.

 

Scrabble time

 

 

Once we were settled at the campground at Rabbit Blanket Lake, Stan built a fire and read the newspaper outside while Wanda and Val fixed a chili supper. Then we hauled the camp chairs inside the motorhome and played Scrabble. The temperature got down to 25 degrees Fahrenheit by morning and we used the furnace for the first time.

 

We had driven 205 miles, crossed an international border, and were camped along the shore of the largest freshwater lake in the world. You can't do that in Vegas!

 

Tomorrow's post: Rabbit Blanket Lake to Straits State Park

 

Copyright 2012

Wanda Hayes Eichler

 







Fall Color Trip, Ten Years Ago

It was the trip of a lifetime. Mom and Dad said they would like to see the fall colors up north. We agreed that would be a good idea and rented an RV for a week.

That was ten years ago this week. Mom has been gone since 2007. She died in January of that year. Dad turned 91 in April of 2012 and lives on Mom's home farm in Wisconsin. His home farm is just around the corner and he loves living in the neighborhood where both he and Mom grew up. Ed and I, well, we were ten years younger back then.

I guess that we had an inkling of Mom's oncoming dementia. There were constant signs of it that we could not avoid as we travelled together for a week. But, oh, did we have a good time! We played games at night. We cooked good food. We saw the grandeur of fall color in the northern forest. We savored the northern lights.

I had a digital camera, maybe a 2 or 3 megapixel wonder, back then. It was enough to document the travel. Now, after ten years, these images tell a story of travel and family and fun.

I'm going to document the trip in five blog posts. Join me this week as I reflect on that long ago trip in October of 2002.

Tomorrow's blog post:  Monday -- Wisconsin Farm to J.W. Wells State Park

Copyright 2012
Wanda Hayes Eichler