June 2013 MICHIGAN Sault Ste. Marie 3 - More on Engineer's Day

After a quick trolley ride about a mile east down the main drag, we were dropped off at the historic Cloverland Electric Cooperative Hydroelectric Plant. At the time the plant was completed in 1902, it was the second largest hydro facility next to Niagara Falls. The building is 1/4-mile long and 80-feet wide and has 74 horizontal shaft turbines which generate electricity from the fast flowing St. Mary's Canal, an off-shoot of the St. Mary's River dredged to accommodate the power plant. The power generated supplies 1/5 of that needed for the eastern Upper Peninsula.

A quick lesson on how the plant works -- Each of the 74 turbines has four runners (blades) that drive the 60-cycle generators. The water flows 5-7 mph down the power canal and drops though gates in the turbines to make them spin (like a child's pinwheel in the wind). The turbine turns the rotor and this turning creates electricity. For more information on Cloverland's history and process, see: http://www.cloverland.com/Files/our_history.pdf

Mike and I have been so intrigued by this building over the years and it was a real treat to go inside. We got to walk about half way down the 1/4 mile  length of the building. Along the way were various demonstrations, treats, and displays. One turbine had all of its parts identified and a little description of how things work. Cousin Don was also a wealth of information. He answered every one of my questions about capacity, history, process, etc.

One demo showed the electric usage between a traditional incandescent bulb compared to the new CFLs. The meter demonstrated that the new style uses about half the energy (and lasts MUCH longer). They also talked about the quality being much improved over the original Chinese-made stock that was so available. So when I get home I am going to switch out all our incandescents. There is also a very much improved dimmer bulb. Strange looking with little "fins" all the way around it.

The last thing here was that Lake Superior State University houses their Aquatic Research Lab here. They specialize in fresh water research, ecology, hatchery operations, and fish culture. On display was a huge sturgeon and some salmon minnows they are studying. They release about 25,000 Atlantic salmon into the St. Mary's River each year.

By that time we were all a bit hungry, so we headed across the street to The Antlers. We started off with a deep fried dill pickle appetizer. I've tried this appetizer many places and these were the best I've ever had. They were waffle sliced and dipped in a cornmeal batter. Crisp and not oily. Everyone at the table enjoyed these.

My entree was a white fish po' boy. It was good, but more than I could possibly eat. Others had a burger or some variation of Lake Superior fish. A tradition here is when a new person comes into the place, there is a LOUD ringing of bells and whistles. They actually give a verbal warning at each table, so people don't panic thinking it is an emergency. At least they didn't come to our table and point us out as being the culprits of the racket.

The name of the place definitely stems from the decor. There are MANY antlers from many types of animals displayed in every nook and cranny. Also, taxidermied animals of every sort from moose to a huge wolverine (University of Michigan's mascot - Go Blue) to a lion family to a polar bear to an anaconda (per cousin Doug). It was amazing, like being in a natural history museum.

At this point we had full bellies and needed a nap, so we headed back to our hotel and their car. On the way we stopped at the craft fair and checked out several historical homes of prominent persons of the area like Father Baraga (the Snowshoe Priest and first bishop of the U.P. back in 1830). We also stopped at Island Books and Crafts and Mike bought "Yooper Bars." This is a fun guide book to 109 great bars in the U.P. It even has an area to stamp when you go into a bar, like a passport. It offers the bar's best food suggestions, their signature drink, and other "useful" information.

Last stop a sit down in the hotel lobby to discuss Saturday's plans. Here's our cousins, including Madison in her the rooster hat.

The rest of the evening was spent relaxing, eating fudge, and a cocktail at Moloney's Alley (page 40 of the Yooper bar book). No dinner needed. Still full from our late lunch. A little stroll along the main street stores. A fine end to a jam-packed and wonderful day.