On the second day of our trip we left Sault St. Marie and headed West towards Munising.
The roads along the Great Lakes are dotted with roadside parks and scenic turnouts, all of them with a beautiful view of whatever lake they run along. I feel so fortunate to live in a state that is surrounded by these magnificent lakes!
We stopped at one of these scenic turnouts along Lake Superior. We took selfies at every place we went and my brother and I took some goofy ones.
Our next stop was Whitefish Point.
Whitefish Point is at the beginning of Whitefish Bay. You may or may not recognize the name from the song by Gordon Lightfoot "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald". That freighter was only 15 miles from Whitefish Bay when it sank in Lake Superior during a storm in November, 1975. I took this from Wikipedia:
SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American Great Lakes freighter that sank in Lake Superior during a storm on November 10, 1975, with the loss of the entire crew of 29 men. When launched on June 7, 1958, she was the largest ship on North America's Great Lakes, and she remains the largest to have sunk there. She was located in deep water on November 14, 1975, by a U.S. Navy aircraft detecting magnetic anomalies, and found soon afterwards to be in two large pieces.
This is the memorial to the crew members who lost their lives. The waves during that storm were up to 35 feet high! Can you imagine? None of the bodies were ever recovered.
In 1995 they recovered this bell from the wreck and it's on display in the Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point. There are other artifacts from the ship but I didn't take any pictures of them.
There is an estimated 10,000 shipwrecks in the Great Lakes and about 350 in Lake Superior. At least 50% of them are undiscovered!
It was a interesting place to visit and kind of sad, too!
Next time I'll tell you about Munising and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Until then stay safe and well my friends!
Yes, I remember the song and the sad story. The Shipwreck Museum would be an interesting spot to visit. Pretty pics!
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful! My favorite photo is the silly shot. The museum would be so interesting to see, but like you said, sad too.
ReplyDeleteOoooh Jeanette, what beautiful happy memory-making times. I'm so happy for you! ~Andrea xoxo
ReplyDeleteMy husband loves the song. Like I said, he would love to visit Michigan. All that maritime nautical stuff is in his blood. lol
ReplyDeleteWOW fantastic trip so far! I love travels that are both enjoyable and relaxed, while being educational but as non-touristy as possible. I do remember WELL the song by Gordon Lightfoot, whom I loved as a singer in the '70s. Great post, Jeanette! xoxo
ReplyDeleteI do remember that song.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you are having a great time. Love the photos.
I remember this song well!! In fact, a few day ago, I watched a Gordon Lightfoot biography. I have several of his albums. What an awesome place to visit!!
ReplyDeleteMy husband is always over come by the song of the Edmund Fitgerald whenever he hears it.
ReplyDeleteYour photos look familiar. I've been there too and like you, I love the beauty in Michigan. We visited the museum too.
ReplyDeleteI do remember that song and I had read some of the details of it a few years ago; very sad.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos nonetheless and how fun to spend time with your brother!
It still boggles my mind that the lake is THAT Big. I mean, it appears to be an ocean....
I'm singing that song in my head as I'm reading your post. What a "great" ballad for such a tragedy. I can't imagine waves that high! So pretty with the beaches there. I forget people with lakes also have beaches (lol). I'm used to just thinking beaches as part of oceans :)
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful trip, especially doing it with extended family!
betty