Masters Walleye Circuit Tournament

 The Masters Walleye Circuit has come to Sault Ste. Marie for August 25 - 28.  The tournament opened today with sign-ups and registration and fishing begins on Friday, August 26 and ends on Saturday at 3 pm.

 Cabelas is sponsoring the tournament that will bring fishermen and women from the United States and Canada.  There are 7 states represented and one province, Ontario.

 The group gathered at Kewadin Casino late this afternoon to get their official packets from the MWC personnel.

 Dan Palmer of Rockford, Illinois is tournament director and welcomed the group to the Soo.

 The event was opened with the singing of the national anthems of both Canada & the US. 

 Linda Hoath, Sault Visitors and Convention Bureau, welcomed the group and accepted a plague honoring the city for their work to secure the tournament.

You can get in on the action at Aune-Osborn Park on Friday & Saturday, August 26-27.  The boats leave early in the morning but return around 3 pm for official weigh-in. 

7 Best Spots for Boat Watching around the Soo

7 Best Spots for Boat Watching around the Soo

Sault Ste. Marie has to be the best spot in Michigan for boat watching because it offers such a variety of places to watch from and most of them are never crowded or busy. Here is a list of my top 5 favorites.






1. My cabin-we're located between Six and Seven Mile Road. Although the St. Marys River is wide at this spot, we still get a good view. If we want a picture of a boat, we must take our wave runners out to get close. This is a little dicey because you are doing two things at once-hanging on the wave runner and also operating the camera. My worst experience at this was when one of the tall ships passed by. Tom drove me out there for pictures and I took many. Even got close enough for the crew to wave. Once we got back to shore, I found I had the lens cap on for the whole time. Not fun. I never told Tom what I had done!



2. Sugar Island Ferry Dock-The ships slow down for the turn in the river plus the river is narrow at this point. There are great parking spots plus Clyde's Drive-in which is located here has the best hamburgers in town.


3. 4 Mile Park-at the end of 4 Mile, there is a small public park where the ships come very close. In fact, if you are swimming there, you must get out of the water when the ships pass because of the current and wave created that will pull you out to deep water.




4. West Pier-the west end of the Locks used to offer a great boat watching spot before the condos were built there. It is still a good spot plus there is West Pier Drive-In with great burgers. Some people think the best in town but I have another favorite. See #2 above.



5. Soo Locks Boat Tour-I took the above picture while on the Soo Locks Boat Tour. You get up close and personal on the tour. I like to take the tour once a summer. We usually wait for friends to come visit from out of town.





6. The Locks-This is where you will get the closest to the boats and you can even chat with the crew while they lock through. We always take guests there plus we often go just to walk through the park. The Visitor's Center is a must see for guests too.





7. The Rock Cut/Neebish Island area-This location just south of the Soo has a good eating spot as well as a close up look at boats.

Now I want to hear from you. What do you think is the best boat watching spot in the Sault? I'd like to learn a few new ones for this summer.

Kuhl's Koffee House

 Tom and I were very pleased this afternoon to find a new spot in the Soo for a great cup of coffee.  Kuhl's Koffee House opened recently on Portage Avenue in the Soo.

 Allen & Angela Kuhl opened this shop recently after relocating to the Soo two years ago.  We met Angela and their son Jeff who made our delicious drinks.  We both had flavored lattes with whip.   Wonderful.

I saw a post on Facebook this week that asked if anyone had tried the new coffee shop on Portage Avenue.  So I had to go find it.  It was a rainy day in town and a hot latte sounded wonderful to me.  I found the Koffee House is an inviting coffee shop and a great spot for boat watching located right across from the Locks.

 The cozy atmosphere of Koffee House will make it a popular stop for both visitors and locals.  The website states that they will be hosting special nights such as open  mic night. 

The free wireless internet is great for visitors who need a place to catch up on email and Facebook.

Jeff and Angela working to prepare our drinks. 

 Angela with my turtle latte.

After we got our coffee, we walked across to the Locks and watched the Stewart J. Cort get ready to enter the Locks for her trip downstream. 

The Sault on Facebook

Are you using Facebook? I know that not everyone is a Facebook fan. I love Facebook because it has allowed me to keep up with family and friends that I normally would not be able to follow. I also have reconnected with several friends from my past. Last summer, I meet with two friends from high school days and I loved it.

If you are on FB or are considering it, you could follow Sault Ste. Marie. There is a fan page called I Love Sault Ste. Marie. The old-time pictures are wonderful. People have been very generous in sharing their photo collection.

Events are also showcased so you can also keep track of what is happening up there. So even when I'm hundreds of miles away in the winter, I feel like part of me is up in the eastern EUP.

Too Cold for Ice Cream

We recently visited the Soo on a rare winter time trip. It is sad to see our favorite spots closed up for the winter. You can see that no one will be enjoying a blizzard at the Dairy Queen. I saw a sign at Dairy Queen once that said, "Blizzard courtesy of Mother Nature until spring." That is what is happening in the Soo now too.

Merry Christmas to all my readers. I hope you enjoy a blessed holiday season.

Chippewa County Fair

If you are anywhere near Chippewa County for the Labor Day weekend, you will want to stop by the Chippewa County Fair which is held near Kinross. I'm going to use my post from last summer so you can see the fair pictures. There won't be any blue skies there today but maybe tomorrow.

We went to the fair this morning to watch our friends, the Bell Family, show their draft horses. We ended up spending the whole day.
The Chippewa County Fair at Kinross, Michigan is open through Labor Day. It was a wonderful time. The fair has lots of attractions but is small enough that you can see the entire place in one day. We saw lots of old friends and even made some new ones. While standing in line for the Kinross Lions Club hamburger trailer, we met a nice couple from Cheboygan, Michigan. We saw them again while in the commercial exhibition building looking for ice cream -which we found by the way. The ice cream was sold by the Rudyard Christian School so gave me an excuse to eat ice cream-I was helping a fund raiser for a worthy local school.
The tractors are always a must to view for my husband and I enjoy the 4-H exhibits. When our children were young, I was their 4-H leader and after seeing the wonderful work by the 4-Hers today, I wished I could be a leader for our grandchildren.

July Days in the Soo

July has been busy here. With wonderful weather that includes warm days and cool nights, all the outdoor activities have been great.

Concert in the Park is held on Wednesday evenings in the Locks Park. We really enjoy the free concerts with a variety of music. Plus, while you are listening, you can observe boats locking through the Soo Locks. Last Wednesday night the Saline Fiddlers serenaded us while the John J. Boland locked upbound.




On our way home, we stopped by the Carbide Dock to get a close up look at a tall ship which had tied up there for the night on her way to the Tall Ships Festival in Duluth. The crew seemed very young and very anxious to head to town for the evening.

The long days of sunshine and the cool evenings have made for beautiful, colorful flower gardens around town. Flowers are more brilliant here than you will find downstate. My theory is that the increased sunshine contributes to that. The sun comes up about 20 minutes earlier and sets about 20 minutes later that at our home near Grand Rapids. This really affects the flowers. Also, the temperatures never get blistering hot either. Flowers and people both do better in these conditions!

River of History Museum

The River of History Museum moved to a new location last summer. Yesterday I was finally able to go and see the new digs.

It is very much improved and a treat to visit. We took our 11 year old granddaughter. She especially enjoyed the videos and the life-size models of early settlers.

Sault Ste. Marie has a long history starting with the first people who came here for the abundant white fish. The abundance of wild life also attracted the French and English to obtain furs for the markets in Europe.

In the early 1800's this area became part of the American frontier. In this period, industrialization reached the Soo.

All of these elements are represented in the River of History.





The River of History Museum moved to a new location last summer. Yesterday I was finally able to go and see the new digs.

It is very much improved and a treat to visit. We took our 11 year old granddaughter. She especially enjoyed the videos and the life-size models of early settlers.

Opening Day at Locks

Last Sunday the Soo Locks opened for the 2010 season. The opening came early this year because the shipping companies needed to get transporting goods and spring came early which allowed shipping to resume with minimal difficulty from ice.

A good group of devoted boat watchers arrived in the Soo Saturday evening and Sunday morning to witness this annual rite of spring. The Locks generally open at midnight but this year the official opening came at 7 am much to the delight and comfort of boatwatchers.

The first boat was the Lee A. Tregurtha. This boat has a wonderful story of its past including time in World War II where she saw battle time. When she returned from the Pacific theatre, she was refitted for life on the Great Lakes by lengthening and getting ready to carry peace time supplies.

The Edwin H. Gott was one of several other boats to take advantage of the early opening day as she came up the river later in the morning.

So boat watching is in season now and the Soo is a great place to get up really close and see the boats.

From Asia to Michigan

My parents attended a presentation at the Bayliss Library on Thursday night about the Karen immigration to Michigan. My mother said it was very interesting. The Karen people have suffered greatly and have moved from several regions. A group of them have settled in Sault Ste. Marie. You can read a short story from the Soo Evening News at From Asia to Michigan.

A more detailed article can be found at Karen refugees describe their lives in Burma.

I can't wait to read more of these people and I welcome them to the Soo.

Winter Day in the Soo

The latest report from the Soo states that there is lots of snow. That's from my mother and father. My father is working hard to keep the driveway cleared and the Christmas decorations uncovered from the heavy snow.

I found an interesting picture of the Soo in the winter on-line today and you might find it interesting. The Soo in Winter. Enjoy

Sault Tribal Chairman Heading to Washington

Sault Tribal Chairman, Joe McCoy, has been invited to the White House by President Obama. He will be attending a Tribal Nations Conference today. There are 564 Federally recognized tribes in our country and the Sault tribe is the largest tribe east of the Mississippi River.

That is amazing to think our Sault Tribe is that large and now the Chairman is bringing the concerns of the Tribe, which seem to be mainly financial, to the attention of the President.

The Tribe is one of the largest private employers in the area as well with over 1700 employees. I'd like to read more about the effect of the Tribe and its operations on the economy of the Eastern Upper Peninsula.

Salmon Fishing that Rivals Alaska

I read an article on-line this morning detailing the glory of salmon fishing in the St. Marys River. Pink-chinook salmon says that salmon fishing near the Sault rivals fishing in Alaska.

Here is a description of river fishing from a guide. Even describing a new hybrid species called the pinooks.

Happy fishing to all of you. I'd love to hear your best 'fish story'.

"When pinks first showed up 30 here years ago, they ran every other year, like they do out west," said John Giuliani, a St. Marys River guide. "Now they run every year. One year there are huge numbers of them. The next there aren't as many, but they're bigger. This is a year for the smaller run, but they're just pouring in right now, and we're seeing a lot that go 4 to 6 pounds."

In the past week, anglers also have caught several fish that look like pink salmon but weighed 8 to 12 pounds. Fish that size almost certainly are pinooks, the hybrid that looks like a pink on steroids.

"They're amazing," Giuliani said. "They get their size from the chinook side, but they look just like a pink. We're really doing well on them on flies right now, mostly caddis larvae, and there's hardly anybody on the river. We're out here today and there are, what, two other anglers?"

Gershwin Program

Last night I spend a wonderful evening enjoying the music of George Gershwin at the Soo Theater in the Sault. The program was performed at the theater which is being renovated by community activists who are restoring the building to its former glory. It was built in 1930 as a vaudeville and silent movie venue. You can read about the project and also the many events held there at Soo Theater Project.

The entire show was well-done with high quality performances by some local singers who were joined by some very strong voices with Soo connections. The program was written by Mike Dempsey who grew up here. His skill on the piano was the highlight of the evening for me.

Freighter's Restaurant

Yesterday we took our family which includes my parents and our son, his wife and four grandchildren, to Freighter's Restaurant which is on Portage Avenue right across from the Locks. It is in the Ojibway Motel which is also the Ramada.

The view from the restaurant is beautiful and we could see boats entering and leaving the Locks.

This summer Freighter's has breakfast specials. There was a choice of french toast, pancakes or 2 eggs with either eggs, bacon or sausage to accompany it. It also included some fresh fruit. It was plenty of food and a great bargain for only $2.99. I recommend it for a relaxing, delicious breakfast.






The dining room was not crowded and our waitress encouraged us to sit and relax as long as we wanted.