Cross Country Adventure 2022 (day 21)

 Sturgeon Falls KOA Campground, Sturgeon Falls, Ontario, Canada

6 August 2022

Border Crossing at Sault Ste. Marie

Marc-  We had a 7 hour drive today from Michigan to Ontario.  The most excitement came early when we crossed over the waterway connecting Lake Superior to Lake Huron on the International Bridge at Sault St. Marie.  Beneath the bridge lies the rapids of the St. Mary’s River (21 foot drop in elevation), the Sault Ste. Marie Canal which consists of the 19th Century Canadian Locks used primarily for pleasure craft today.  The Sault Locks are on the US side of the passage and consist of giant locks, operated by the US Army Corps of Engineers, capable of passage by ships bound for Duluth or the Atlantic Ocean.  Over 10,000 ships pass through these locks annually.  The main industry can be seen North of the bridge:  the sprawling Algoma Steel Mills.

Most of the journey involved passing through woodland and a few small towns. Sue and I switch off driving every two hours or so. Our campground was easy to find and nice.  The waterfalls at Sturgeon Falls have been diverted to a hydroelectric dam.  The river is navigable above and below the dam.

International Bridge over the St. Mary's River

View of the Canadian Locks below the bridge.

Our KOA campground has its own small boat marina for those campers towing boats.

We stopped for DQ ice cream and noted the bilingual message.  The translation is a bit off.  The english should read "The Taste of Happiness".