Catching Up With the Oakglen

 This is a ship that I have a feeling is not going to be around much longer.

The Oakglen was coming down.

She was coming in from Thunder Bay with a load of grain.

She was heading to Quebec City which makes her journey one of the longer journeys on the Great Lakes.

As you can see, she is looking pretty rough.

She passes a relatively clean background.

I think I have these pictures out of order, but she is being approached by the J.W. Westcott.  The Indiana Harbor passes her.

She approaches the Indiana Harbor, the M.S. Westcott approaches the Indiana Harbor.  I like this shot.

She approaches the Ambassador Bridge.

The tower behind her bow.

The tower amidships.

As she passes.

And she continues down the river.

The Oakglen Passes By

 We decided to wait for the next ship but it started to snow before that.  But I soldiered on and got some pictures of it.

The Oakglen was also heading up to Thunder Bay.

Based on her configuration, I would say that she was definitely going up there to pick up grain.

I'm also guessing that this probably isn't her last load of the year.

I would guess after she loads in Thunder Bay, she will take the grain to Montreal or Quebec City where it will be unloaded so that it can be loaded to send overseas.

I was happy to see her as I think this is getting close to the end for her.

She definitely looks it.

But you never know.

One more picture before heading back home.

Next Up, the Oakglen

 I headed down to Marysville to catch the next ship and based on what happened it was a good thing.

The Oakglen was the next ship.

I'm not sure where she was coming from but I know that she wasn't loaded.

As I was looking at the rust on her, I was wondering if I would need a tetanus shot to get pictures of her.

She was heading up to Superior.

I'm not sure if she was heading to the ore docks or coal docks.

I'm gonna guess the ore docks.

Anyway, it was pretty cool seeing her because I think she is the last of the "glen" ships.

It was a pretty overcast day though.

And not the kind of clouds that I usually like to get.

But I guess it wasn't too bad.

The beam shot.

She ended up stopping for fuel, so it was a good thing I came down here to catch her.

Catching an Unexpected Visitor

 I decided to head down to Detroit today.  I was hoping to catch a new Coast Guard cutter as she was heading up to Duluth.  She was going to replace the Alder which is currently in Baltimore undergoing a refit.  After completion, she will head over to San Francisco.

The cutter that I was hoping to catch ended up stopping for fuel at Mistersky and she ended up staying there because I think the weather on  the lakes was going to be nasty.  Maybe I will be able to catch her tomorrow.

I saw that the Oakglen was coming up.  I think she is heading to Two Harbors but I'm not sure as she is currently anchored just outside of Port Huron right now.

She was coming over from Montreal I think.

Anyway, it was nice to see her because I think her days are numbered.  

Except it looks like she gets quite a bit of use.

I'm not sure why she would be heading up to Two Harbors but it might be to pick up iron.

There might still be a dock somewhere that has the clamshells that can unload iron ore from one of these.

I think I might need a tetanus shot after seeing this one.  She definitely could use a paint job.

She passes the grain elevator in Windsor.

The distillery.

She is a pretty nice looking ship though.

The almost beam shot.

I'm not sure what this building.

As the beam shot approached, it started to snow.  At least there wasn't ice on the river.

And she passes into the snow.

One more, I like this one.  I love the misty look.

Anyway, I think I might have a chance to catch the cutter tomorrow.  We'll see, I guess.

Catching Up With the Oakglen

The next ship is another that I wasn't expecting.

 I was going to leave after the Kaye E. Barker.  It looked like it was going to start raining and I was getting hungry but then I looked at AIS.

 I saw that the Oakglen was coming down.  Then I looked at this blog to see the last time I saw her and found it that it was three year ago.

 I hated to pass up on the opportunity to catch her, especially since there are rumors that she will be on her way to the torches soon.

 And judging by her appearance, that could possibly be true.  Or it might not be.  I think she is one of the ships that will head up near the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.  That exposes her to salt which doesn't help her appearance. 

 After the waves of the last couple of ships, this one seems a little calmer.  It was also a little eerie.

 A shot of her pilothouse.

I left after catching her and it started to rain hard.  It made for a fun drive home.