Monday, October 12, 2009

Toe Dipping in Frigid Lake Superior

Friday after work we headed up north for the weekend to enjoy some fall color. I made reservations over a month ago, gambling that this would be the peak color weekend.



For once, I think I won the gamble!
One of our stops was the Iroquois lighthouse which stands watch at the entrance to the St. Mary's River and the Soo Locks. History notes that Ojibwa Indians massacred a group of invading Iroquois warriors at this location in 1662, and the light was named in honor of the slain Iroquois.

The lighthouse is now a part of the Hiawatha National Forest and has undergone extensive renovation. I found it interesting that the residence now houses volunteers who man the visitors center. The lady (and her husband) we talked with has spent two years living upstairs in the tiny quarters of one side of this lighthouse.


Visitors who climb the 72 narrow steps to the top of the 65-ft. tower are rewarded with an impressive panorama view of the Whitefish Bay coastline.


We, of course, made the climb.



And it was indeed a lovely view.


Of course once you climb up, you must climb down. If you are claustrophobic, you may not enjoy going down this hatch and navigating around all those spiral steps.
I think it was harder going down than it was climbing up.



It was a nice crisp 41° when we stopped here at about 10:30 a.m.
I felt full of energy and left the boardwalk to walk to the shore of Lake Superior.

For some strange reason I had the urge to dip my bare foot into the huge lake. So I slipped out of my backless shoe and did so.



Ah, nothing quite like a little toe dip when it's 41° outside!

4 comments:

  1. I love Lake Superior. It's like being seaside without the low tide smell :)

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  2. Thanks for the great tour! I love this time of year and all the beautiful colors.

    Dipping your tootsie into the cold water of Lake Superior? I thought I was the only nut to do things like that! "-)

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  3. I think I cross stitched that lighthouse for a friend! I'll have to look again, but it looks similar.
    Glad you won the gamble. And you are funny sticking your toes in that cold water. : )

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  4. You're lucky your toes didn't freeze and fall off! lol The tower you climbed reminds me a lot of the Brock Monument in Niagara Falls, Ontario...it's 185 ft tall and has a 235-step spiral staircase up the column leads visitors to a small indoor platform underneath Brock's statue. Porthole windows provide views of the surrounding Niagara region and Lake Ontario. I went up it once and never again!!! lol I thought my legs were going to collapse when I finally got back down, they felt like jelly! lol

    The little log house my gran was born in, in 1898, is on the shores of the St. Mary's River, on St. Joseph Island, near Sault Ste Marie. You can see the bridge from there. Thought I'd mention that since you mentioned the Iroquois lighthouse you visited was at the entrance of the St. Mary's River:-) xoxo

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