Blue Water

My favorite laker, under the Blue Water Bridge....

Camera: Chinon Genesis III Photo by Joel Dinda More information

M/V Walter J. McCarthy, Jr, heading toward Lake Huron under the Blue Water Bridges early yesterday afternoon. When I published a photo of Indiana Harbor a few months ago I remarked that the American Steamship freighters all look "pretty much alike"--still true, as you can see by comparing the photographs. It's still a thrill to see these big ships on the water, particularly when they're lightly loaded and seem more like a portable wall than a vessel. This boat is Indiana Harbor's twin, though their normal cargoes differ somewhat. By the way, it isn't always grey in Port Huron, but the town does seem to have its own private weather much of the time.

Dobrush is a Ukranian-registered ship which is often found on the Great Lakes. Port Huron, Michigan. Camera: Olympus Camedia C50 Photo by Joel Dinda More information

Long named Calcite II....

All primped up & posed; to all appearances these birds wanted their picture taken. This is Port Huron's waterfront park--Pine Grove Park, more precisely, though several parks run together along the St. Clair and you can easily walk for several miles without getting far from the river. Note the fishermen in the foreground and the waterfront homes--no longer shacks, I notice--in the background. Dobrush is sneaking around the bend, and the Coast Guard's new bouy tender, Hollyhock, seems to be parked on the sidewalk. Neat place. Camera: Nikon N90s

This is Willowglen, photographed at Port Huron in 1991. Although she was a relatively small boat, she plied the Lakes and the Saint Lawrence for half a century. That's Algosoo hiding behind the trees.... Camera: Chinon Genesis III. Rescan posted 3/12/06.

It ain't always grey in Port Huron.... Shot this picture with a throwaway Kodak panoramic camera. The Blue Water Bridge between Port Huron, Michigan, and Sarnia, Ontario, on a gorgeous summer day in 1995. The photo was shot from the walkway near Port Huron's Municipal Office Center (called M.O.C.)--a building with a dull name but an exceptional view. The ship under the bridge is Algosoo, and there are a handful of sails out on the river. They'd just started to build the second Bluewater Bridge when I took this pic, and the warehouse across the way's since become a casino. All in all, though, the scene's about the same today. An amazing place.

Since our first reason for visiting Port Huron is the passing parade of Lakes Boats, here's one of those ships.... Munson's just entered Lake Huron from the St. Clair River by the Fort Gratiot Light.

Lighthouse Park, Port Huron, Michigan. There's something both charming and preposterous about the notion of mixing large freighters and a beach.... Explored! #257 on Flickr [October 23, 2013] Thanks!

Port Huron, Michigan. From the front, Algorail 's not a pretty ship ; I much prefer her from this angle. This photo looks best in its original size . Added to Flickr's Cream of the Crop as my most "interesting" picture. Explored! #85 on Flickr [February 12, 2007 but no longer in the day's top 500] So it goes. For years this was my most popular Flickr photo.

Excelsior Light & Power, Port Huron. My thanks to Mark Davidson, whose grandfather Wilbur Davidson built this structure and brought electricity to Port Huron, for identifying the building. Sadly, it's been demolished.... ================= Darryl Wattenberg dropped me a note the other day; one of his questions (or comments, I suppose) was about Port Huron's Desmond Landing. I replied that I hadn't been anywhere on Port Huron's south-of-the-river waterfront in many years. I was there briefly today, almost by accident, after our long wait to cross the bridge back into the U.S. Captured this picture during our brief stop. This building's right by the track , on the Black River, and that office overlooks the C&O (originally Pere Marquette) Ferry Yard. An interesting railside structure. Ferry Yard, and the ferry slip which justified its existence, has been sold to a developer and will be pulled up. At this time the entire complex sits abandoned. Not so long ago it was a vibrant place, with cars and ferries in constant motion.

This is the ferry slip in Port Huron, Michigan, taken from the park they've built at Desmond Landing . CSX used to have a busy yard, just south of the Black River, whose purpose was to handle rail traffic which crossed the US/Canadian border on barges. That traffic has migrated to the new St. Clair tunnel (now named for Paul Tellier ), which opened in 1995. That's Sarnia, Ontario, in the background.

The ship is Teakglen, photographed at Sarnia's Government Dock last weekend. This ship's reported to be bound for the shipbreakers within the next few weeks.

In the weblog entry that originally accompanied what is by most measures my most popular Flickr-picture , I called this ship "ugly." I stand by that description. Nicely maintained, though. Port Huron, Michigan, of course; part of the same series of photographs as the earlier posting.

I said a few days ago that Richard and I "more or less accidentally" found our way to Port Huron's Desmond Landing. That occurred because we spotted a ship out on the river, looking from the construction project which has taken over downtown PH. This was the ship....

The best photo I took on our "accidental" visit to Port Huron's Desmond Landing. This tank was left behind when the Ferry Yard was abandoned. I presume it contained fuel for the switcher, but that could (of course) be all wrong....

The (former) Steel Fleet's John G. Munson leaves the St. Clair River on July 3, 2005. I've posted a couple other photos of the Munson from our Port Huron trip; thought I'd add another. This one's less dramatic than the others. In general, the surviving boats from US Steel's glory days are quite attractive. Functional, to be sure, but designed by and for folks who cared what a ship looked like. Definitely not the current fashion.