And We End With the Mesabi Miner

Like I said when I started this round of posts, it was a fairly busy day.  I've seen busier but I'm kind of glad because I'm still a little under the weather and it wasn't a particularly nice day.

 The last ship of the day would be the 1,004 footer, the Mesabi Miner.

 She is on her way to the St. Clair Power Plant with a load of coal.  I'm not sure if it's a split load and she will continue elsewhere.  At any rate, it was cool to see her.

 She moves past the Blue Water Bridge.

 And a shot of her pilothouse.

She continues on her way down the St. Clair River.  Supposedly tomorrow is supposed to be nicer, so hopefully I will be out taking pictures.

Just a Train

 One of the nice aspects of Port Huron is that occasionally I get pictures of the train as it heads into the paper plant.  She is working her way down the tracks.

 A shot of her engine as she's about to pass.

And from the other side.

And the Ojibway

The next ship holds a special place for me because she was built in my hometown.

 She was launched as the Charles F. Hutchinson from the Defoe Shipyards in Bay City.

 She is a pretty nice looking ship though.

 The headshot.

 And she continues on her way.  She is headed to Goderich but I'm not sure what she is going to pick up.

 A twofer picture....a train and ship.

 She's framed by the Blue Water Bridge.

And she continues on her way to Lake Huron.

Lunch at the Powers Diner

I've passed by this place a number of times but I've never had lunch here.  Today, I decided to change that.

 I'm pretty sure I have pictures of the outside, so I will spare though.  The inside has that classic diner look to it.  Although it looks way too new.

 Of course it has a 50's theme to it.

 Probably the closest  I will come to my Nighthawks shot.

My lunch was pretty good.  I had a couple of sliders and chili cheese fries.  Their menu is pretty simple like that.  I will definitely eat here again.

A couple Pictures of the Huron Lightship

Since I was close, I decided to take a couple pictures.

 One of these days, I will have to make it a point to tour this boat.

 But for now, I'll be content with some pictures.

And one more shot.

Our Main Attraction...the Roger Blough

It was the Roger Blough that dragged me up to Port Huron and it wasn't long before she appeared.

 She is headed from Two Harbor, Minnesota with a load of taconite and is bound for Conneaut, Ohio.

 After she unloads at Conneaut, she will be off to Erie, PA where she will go into layup.  It's unusual to see a ship head to layup this early in the season but I guess the steel market is soft right now.  At anyrate, it's a welcome reprieve given the past couple of seasons that she's had.

 She's still my favorite thought and it's a shame that I wont see her again until next season.

 She passes the paper mill.

 And the headshot.

 She is framed by the Blue Water Bridge.

 I kind of like this shot as she continues her way down the St. Clair River.

 The clouds looked pretty nice.

 And she makes her way further.

 A shot of her pilothouse as she passes in front of me.  I think one of the reasons why I like the Blough is because she has the classic laker configuration.

 With her lack of a boom, she has the classic laker look.

 Even though she is a self-unloader.

 But she has a different style of unloader.

 She continues on.

And I bid her farewell until next season.

Next Up the Capt. Henry Jackman

Next up in our series of ships for today is the Captain Henry Jackman.

 It's hard to believe that she was repainted last year.  She looks like she's been out on the waters for years now.  But she is still a pretty nice looking boat.

 She is heading for Burns Harbor, Indiana but I'm not sure what her cargo is.

 You can see the rust on the side of her hull.  I think she may be used to carry iron though, so that's fairly normal.

 She's framed by the Blue Water Bridge.

 She continues on her way.

 I just love the way her wake ends up looking.

 A shot of her pilothouse.

And she makes her way up to Port Huron.

A Vans RV-4 Flies Overhead

I think there is an airport nearby because every so often there is a plane that flies overhead.

This particular plane is known as a Vans Aircraft RV-4.  It is a homebuilt aircraft and is part of one of the more popular homebuilt kits in the world.  This particular aircraft is a two seater and has a top speed of 200 mph.

Starting With the Algosteel

I decided to head up to Port Huron today because I found out that the Roger Blough would be passing by.  It was a fairly busy day but also a fairly chilly day.  I guess it wouldn't have been so cold if it weren't so windy.

 First up was the Algosteel.  She was in layup for a while but now she's out and about again.  And I can't be happier about that because she is a nice ship to look at.

 I also have to wonder how much longer she will be sailing around.  She may be on the short list of ships to be scrapped and judging by her paint, there may be some substance to that rumor.

 But for now, I will enjoy her while I can.

 She passes by a group of geese getting ready to head for warmer climates.

 A shot of her pilothouse.

And with a wave of her Canadian Flag, she is off.