Any Agates in There?: Workers lifted out about 60,000 pounds of debris last week from the lower fore bay in the Poe Lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Some was lifted out by shovelful from the gates, but much was hauled with this 6,000+ pound capacity skip. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which manages the lock, the huge chunks of rock, all those smaller stones and a few unlucky fish "wash in with the boats. It is hard to believe such large rocks would come in, but this is why the locks are designed with debris pits at the gates, to help catch the rocks and other items that wash in." MLive's Tanda Gmiter reported on the cleanup. There was no word whether any nice sized agates were among the debris, the first question for dedicated rockpickers, of course.
Lucky Winter Layup?: As we read about cruise ships quarantined by outbreaks of the coronavirus, it turns out the winter layup of maritime traffic on the Great Lakes might have come at a good time. Synergy Marine Group sent out a press release this week noting how the illness is a problem for ocean maritime cargo traffic. "Shipping has been crippled by the spread of the virus over the last month which has seen large parts of the Chinese economy closed down for extended periods," the release notes. "This is having supply chain and business reverberations globally and has devastated shipping freight rates and cargo demand. However, the impact on those on the frontline of international business – the seafarers that man the ships that facilitate global trade – has largely been overlooked. … The deadly virus has seen severe restrictions put in place on seafarers calling at ports across the Asia Pacific region. Crews manning the world’s commercial fleet of tankers, commodity-carrying bulk carriers and container ships are not allowed to leave vessels when calling at ports in China, the epicentre of the virus. Restrictions preventing crews leaving the ship or denying seafarers access to a visa-on-arrival are also in place at a range of countries including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Russia, Australia and South Korea." On the Great Lakes, maritime traffic will not reach full speed again until after the Soo Locks reopen March 25, which will allow ocean-going salties onto the Lakes and put crews back onto the lakers. BusinessNorth reported that Maersk, the world's largest container shipping company, has canceled 50 ship trips to and from Asia since the outbreak.
Cruises to Duluth: We've talked here about the cruise ships scheduled to cross Lake Superior this year with additional ships in 2021, but this image shows a cruise from an earlier era. Lake Superior Ports & Shipping posted this last Sunday as its cover photo, noting "Our Sunday banner change takes us back to 1966 and the South American getting ready to leave Duluth. Today this area is part of Bayfront Festival Park. Thanks to Richard Wicklund for sharing this fine summer image." The public Facebook group changes its cover shot weekly.
Keeping Tabs: Tracking the Big Lake's water levels, this chart posted by the International Board of Control shows how the Lake compared last year and early this year (that dark blue line) to past years. Currently Lake Superior is down about 4 inches from last month, but more than 13 inches above its long-term average (1918-2019) for this time of year, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Ice coverage, meanwhile, is setting a different kind of trend, headed toward the least amount of Lake Superior ice coverage in eight years, according to meteorologist Paul Huttner of MPRNews. On Feb. 11, the Lake had 11% ice coverage compared to 72% the same day last year, Paul writes.
REAL Is No Substitute: Many readers have asked us recently about whether their "REAL ID" can be used to cross between the United States and Canada. We reached out to the U.S. Customs at the Grand Portage Entry and got the answer in a word: No. The agent there explained that while the Real ID will get you on domestic flights in the United States, but it won't get you across borders. Those crossing between the United States and Canada still must bring either a passport, an Enhanced Driver's License or ID (available for Minnesota and Michigan residents) or a NEXUS card. The new driver's licenses are required to board airplanes or enter federal facilities starting in October this year, as required by the REAL ID Act of 2005 intended, according to Homeland Security, "to establish minimum security standards." To get a REAL ID, a person must bring a laundry list of documents, as noted in this Minnesota DOT graphic. While the REAL ID, which has a star in a circle on it like this Wisconsin license, will not get you across a border, your passport and Enhanced Driver's License or ID will get you onto a domestic flight.
What's In a Name: A blog by Susan Byker for Stokely Creek Lodge near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, explains how some of the trails got their names. The Peterson is named for avid cross-country skier and Stokely founder Chuck Peterson. Chuck turned to field geologist Hakon Lien (another trail name!) for help with trail design on the 8,000 acres he'd purchased. A family trail favorite, according to Susan, is the Jackrabbit, named not for the bunny but for Herman "Jackrabbit" Johannsen, a Norwegian immigrant credited, she adds, for bringing the sport of Nordic skiing to the Americas. We bet the seasoned ski pair shown in this photo love the Jackrabbit, even if only one of them is doing the skiing.
Rocks Frozen in Space: Minnesota photographer Thomas Spence posted a great video showing a shelf of rocks along Minnesota's North Shore. The water-smoothed stones seem suspended in mid-air, caught by ice after waves eroded out the sand and other rocks beneath them. As Thomas explains: "A few have asked how that frozen rock photo I posted yesterday was possible. Here's a little video of the phenomenon. Waves carved out underneath to create the frozen shelf of Lake Superior rocks." Thomas also posted a photo closeup of the shelf, with a question we well appreciate: "See any agates in there? ;) Amazing frozen ice shelves of rock on Lake Superior." We wonder what Thomas, obviously a rockpicker, would make of all that debris we mentioned earlier in the Poe Lock. After all, there's gotta be an agate in there somewhere. ;)
Let's Get Pet-y: Yesterday was National Pet Day (you knew there had to be one of those) and to celebrate Visit Cook County invited people to post their picture of trips to the region with their pets. Not surprising, there's an overwhelming number of pup posts, like this shot of Kjersti Vick's Loki on a pupski. (Kjersti is marketing manager for Visit Cook County, so she knows her region.) But we were also tickled to see a purrty kitty by the Big Lake, thanks to Kristen Sherman's photo from a camping/hiking trip with Catto. "She loved her first trip up north," Kristen posted. "My kids REALLY wanted to plan this cat camping trip, and they really wanted it to be on the North Shore. It was so fun!"
Photo & graphic credits: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District; Richard Wicklund; International Board of Control; MnDOT; WisDOT; Stokely Creek Lodge; Thomas J. Spence; Kjersti Vick; Kristen Sherman