she'd have made Whitefish Bay of she'd put 15 more miles behind her. Yes, the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and many more. If you're not familiar with the Gordon Lightfoot ballad about the wreck, there's no time like the present!
The focal point of this museum is the "Fitzy" as she was known. A video details the sinking--at least what is known for sure--and the taking of the bell off the deck in 1995 and replacing it with a replica with all of the crew's names to mark their watery grave. The bell is one of the main exhibits as well as the 900 pound NewtSuit that the driver wore to retrieve the bell.
Another video showed photos of all but one of the crew. It made it much more heart wrenching to see the faces of the valiant crew who were helpless against the fury of Lake Superior. The Arthur Anderson was following her and its captain was devastated when he could see no trace of the Fitzgerald when the storm cleared. While I lived in Duluth, I saw the Arthur Anderson come into port several times.
The details of other wrecks around Whitefish Point also known as shipwreck point are found here. I causing the boldly named Invincible. And there is the story of the ship where the captain told the crew to get in the lifeboats. He satayed with the ship and miracuously survives. The crew froze to death in the life boats and their bodies washed ashore frozen in ice. . Back in the day, heavier traffic, less sophisticated communications, and bad weather cause many wrecks here.
The light house lenses were also on display. I am always dazzled by their beauty. This particular light house was unusual in that it had two keepers. They lived in a duplex with independent quarters but a shared covered walkway to the light house. There was even some espionage here during WWI, as a German family was employed there. it was discovered that the man was a spy and intended to damage the facility to make it unusable.
I made a stop at the Iroquois light house on the way as well as Rivermouth park. At the park, looking in one direction I was clearly on the shores of Superior. In the other, I could be in lower Delaware or the Chesapeake Bay. Further down the road, I could have been in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. Indeed, I came upon a cranberry farm and got some cranberry jam and fresh cranberries that they said would keep as long as I keep them dry.
My other major stop of the day was Taquahmenon falls -- upper and lower. Buddha walked with me on the upper but I had to leave her in the car for the lower. She'd had enough.
According to my Michigan Rocks book the Au train shelf over the Miners castle sandstone and Chapel Rock sandstone is a cap rock that kept the sandstone from eroding is the reason the Upper falls are so much higher. The lower falls don't have the cap rock thus they eroded and are not as high. So there is your geology lesson for the day!
Buddha and I are back at home base trying to get the tent and footprint to dry out before bed. Although Buddha doesn't care. She would not get out of the car to get into the tent last night . No sleeping on the ground for her!!
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