Wednesday, July 15 – To continue our sightseeing from yesterday in Saulte Ste.Marie, MI, our next stop was at the Valley Camp Great Lakes Freighter Museum. The Museum is the worlds largest Maritime museum.
The cost for the self-guided tour is $13 per person. Besides touring the deck, the massive inside holds a 20,000 square foot museum with over 100 exhibits! We spent over two hours walking around the ship and loved it! We certainly recommend adding this stop to your itinerary if you visit Saulte Ste. Marie.
The ship, Valley Camp, is 550’ in length, 58’ wide, and has a 31’ draft. It carried 11,500 tons or 500,000 bushels of grain. During its active life, the ship carried about 16 million tons of cargo and sailed over 3 million miles all in the Great Lakes. It had a crew of 29 men.
The Coal Bunker holds 300 tons of coal. This ship burned about 50 tons of coal per day.
Early 20th century technology is one display in the Valley Camp's engine room and pilot house. We were able to explore nearly every inch of the ship including the engine room, crew quarters, officer's quarters, captain quarters, pilot house, all the decks, and most interesting a walk on the floor of the cargo hold.
This is the floor. Ore was dumped way down here causing the warping of the floor.
We had to watch our step.
Crew room.
Crew dining room
Officers’ dining room. A bit different.
There is an Edmund Fitzgerald Exhibit, located in one of the cargo holds. It featuring two lifeboats, the largest pieces of wreckage that were recovered. The wreck of the Fitzgerald is an interesting story we will cover on our next stop at Whitefish Point, MI, at the Shipwreck Museum.
This lifeboat washed ashore one day after the sinking.
Looking from one end of the freighter to the other.
Any volunteers to do some climbing?
It was a gorgeous day to spend time exploring this freighter. This was a real treat for the both of us. Put it on your bucket list as a must see.
The Capitan enjoying the beautiful day.
Paul, if you are trying to recreate the famous scene in the Titanic, you are
facing the wrong way.
We left Saulte Ste. Marie Thursday morning. We may get a day or two behind in blogging. We will be staying in Newberry for a couple of days. Check back on our next adventure.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!
Don't jump Paul!!
ReplyDeleteI would have loved to tour the ship especially since we sit here on the St. Lawrence watching all the ships come and go on their journey to the Great Lakes. Sure looked like a fun tour. Thanks for sharing:) Can't wait for your visit to the Shipwreck Museum. I wanted to visit but it was just a little too far north as we journeyed west last time.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful tour and museum.
ReplyDeleteThe Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald was a great song written by Gordon Lightfoot, remember listening to many time over the years. One on My favorite singers
Now that you've done the tour, you should be in the mood for a cruise.
ReplyDeleteNow that you've done the tour, you should be in the mood for a cruise.
ReplyDeleteNow you have me singing, "Superior they said never gives up her dead When the storms of November come early..." The Edmund Fitzgerald is famous in Minnesota. Our favorite entree at the Timberlodge Steakhouse is named after it.
ReplyDeleteHow did we miss that one? Oh well, guess we'll have to go back. Thanks for sharing..
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great trip so far. Seeing many interesting things and Paul recreating famous movies.
ReplyDeleteGreat tour.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting blog today. I enjoyed reading about the ore carrier and seeing some of the ship. It made us want to visit the locks and the museum.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in the Foreign Service we had many opportunities to tour American Navy ships when they came to port in various countries where I served. It was always a highlight to see the carriers, cruisers, destroyers and the various ships in the fleet.
What an interesting way to utilize this old ship. Thanks for the explanation about the "head" ... I knew that's what lavatories aboard ships were called, but I guess I never questioned why.
ReplyDelete