June 17, Bath MI

The post title is not a misprint.  We actually drove from Bath, NY in of the finger lakes area to Bath, MI near Lansing, MI.  The Michigan Bath is the home of my nephew Michael Sullivan and his wife Kristen.  The distance between the Baths is about 420 miles.  I wonder if their residents know of each other.

Today was a long day for us.  Review of the maps indicated it would be about 80 miles shorter to drive north of Lake Erie through Canada.  Fortunately, Nance had packed our passports, so this option was possible. We decided to try it, especially since the Mercedes was running so well.  I didn't want the hassle of transporting a broken car across the border.

I enjoyed the drive skirting Buffalo.  I lived here for four enjoyable years at the University of Buffalo.  My parents eventually relocated to Buffalo in the 70's and I spent many years visiting them.  Go Buffalo!  Unfortunately, the town needs some help, so much of its industrial base has vacated.  But the downtown looked vibrant, but we had too much on the agenda to linger there.



Welland Canal, Lock 3 in Canada.  This is below the steep
escarpment part of the transition from Erie to Ontario.

We crossed into Canada quickly and hassle-free via the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie.  We stopped at a lock on the Welland Canal that joins Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.  This is an incredible engineering achievement, spanning about a hundred years of design and re-design of this canal. The lakes differ in level by a full 100 meters.  Before the canal was built, vessels had to get to Ontario via the Niagara river -- Most were destroyed as they tumbled over Niagara Falls (just joking).  In fact, the Welland Canal does provide 7 enormous locks that carry the boats up and down the 100 meter high escarpment that separates the two lakes.  This same escarpment provides the ridge for the spectacular falls on the Niagara River.  The last major overhaul of these locks in 1932 let them handle huge lake steamers up to 600 ft long.

We didn't get to see any ships passing today.  Only three were scheduled, and it would be several


This graphic shows the elevation changes of all the Great Lakes.
The Lake Erie to Ontario is the big one, 100 meters.

hours before the next one.  But the Canadians have a great museum with lots of info about the locks and the entire Great Lakes transportation system.

There has been a change in the weather today.  There was much haze and punishing humidity just about the time we crossed the Peace Bridge.  Views were limited and our feeble Mercedes A/C system struggled to keep the fog down inside the car.  Not fun, it was just plain hot and muggy.  We escaped by stopping for lunch at a very air conditioned Wendy's and Tim Hortons combo.  Have you ever been to Tim Hortons?  They are pretty much a Canadian exclusive.  They put Starbucks and Duncan Donuts to shame. 

Our trip across Ontario on the north side of Lake Erie was marked by continuing high humidity and some windy thunderstorms. The travel on the QEW was fast and furious.  There was lots of truck traffic and not much to see.  We were relieved to move back into the States at Port Huron.  The custom official was courteous and traffic minimal.  The huge bridge into Port Huron afforded a quick view of an ore carrier passing from Lake Huron to Lake Erie.  This ship was probably headed to the Welland Canal and points east.

Once in Michigan, we kept rolling on I-69 past Flint to Lansing.  The Mercedes developed a problem with front end vibration on this route.  I thought it was probably a failing tire.  I couldn't see anything too obvious wrong with the tires so we reduced our speed to around 60 and kept going.  I figured it would be easier to deal with the problem in Lansing the next day.  This plan worked and we made it to our nephew's beautiful home in Bath, MI.

Their home sits on the edge of a small lake.  Lots of birds, ducks and local wildlife were seen basking in their lush back yard.  We were just in time for a great dinner at a fine steak and fish restaurant in Lansing. Nance particularly enjoyed their specialty whitefish, fresh caught from Lake Michigan.