I've made the journey to this remote outpost three times now. October of 1997, July 1999 and Sept 2004. Every time the weather was gorgeous, nothing like the stormy weather that sinks so many ships just off shore.
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Edmund Fitzgerald Bell Here's the only photo from inside the museum that turned out during my first trip(because I started a new roll). I suppose the only thing I can say about it was that it was wierd being near an artifact like that. The way it was all shined up you would never know it was at the bottom of the big lake for about 20 years. Personally, I felt that the Valley Camp's display of the wrecked Fitz lifeboats in Sault Ste. Marie better conveyed the magnitude of the sinking. (Wish I'd thought to take a picture of that.) |
| Another bell in the museum, this time from the ship called "Cincinnati." I don't remember what the story is from this artifact. |
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Salvage in the past. An updated photo from prior trips. This display inside the shipwreck museum shows the equipment used in early underwater salvage efforts in the Great Lakes. In particular, the plaque on the wall says this kind of suit was used on the wreck of the Independence. |
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Salvage in the present. This display is another of the museum's tributes to the Edmund Fitzgerald. The yellow dive suit is called a "newt suit" and one of them was used in the recovery of the ship's bell. I know it's kind of dark, but maybe you can make out the scale model of the Fitz at the feet of the dive suit. |
| Kath get's a kick out of the suggestion she take a cue from this display for purchasing her next set of scuba gear. |
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As I said earlier, I've been to the museum three times now and this is the first time I've gotten a decent picture of this display depicting diver's investigating a wreck. In reality it's darkly lit in order to give it an eerie effect. That made it very hard to photograph though. |
| When this fresnel (pronounced frah-nell) lens was in operation it was one of the largest on the lakes. If I remember correctly it is a second order lens, the largest kind used on the great lakes. |
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Walk along the beach Walking along the beach I thought this scene looked interesting. As you can see, it was a bright and clear day on the point, about as diametricaly opposite as you can get from the November storms that have downed so many ships in this area. |
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Another Beach ShotThis shot was taken July 1999. I don't know exactly why the old dock pilings are there. This location is not exactly a great port. |
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The Lighthouse  I took this picture after following a nature trail to an observation deck a ways back into the woods. It's kind of a shame the place is surrounded by pine trees, this picture would have been even better with the proper fall colors. |
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A view of the lighthouse at sunset taken from the beach Sept 2004. The brick structure is the old fog horn building which is currently not being used for anything but storage. |