HISTORIC OLD LIGHTHOUSE ATOP THE BLUFFS OVERLOOKING THE GODERICH HARBORForgot to include the link for DOUG & JOANNE'S website last night but made the change this morning. They are beginning the first part of their round about journey across country to Florida.
TINY TUGBOATS WRESTLE A MIGHTY LAKE FREIGHTER INTO POSITION FOR LOADINGOn the off chance somebody might have picked up my blue baseball cap the other day in Goderich & hung it on a post, I headed for the area of the harbor to-day where I figured I'd lost it. Of course there was no sign of my hat but noticed a large lake freighter being maneuvered into place by a couple of tugboats.
FILLING THE CARGO HOLDS WITH SALT FROM THE GODERICH SIFTO SALT MINEGODERICH has a large salt mine with shafts running out for a couple miles under Lake Huron. Large lake freighters come here to fill their holds. The salt is mainly used on icy roads during the winter & these big freighters deliver their cargos of salt to many port cities around the Great Lakes.
A LOOK INTO THE BRIDGE OF AN OLD LAKE FREIGHTERKelly & I were fortunate enough to get in on one of the very last public GODERICH SALT MINE tours about 10 years ago. I remember big caverns of pure salt but the walls were not white as expected, they were blackened from many years of diesel exhausts belching from large trucks, dozers, & drilling machines. A huge underground crusher breaks the large salt deposits into small managable segments & conveyers them to the surface. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of that December tour years ago.
Watched two hard working little tug boats wrestle Cuyhoga, a large lake freighter up to the jetty alongside the salt mine. Within minutes a large onboard rolling crane began lifting off huge hatch covers & a mammoth conveyer system from the salt mine protruded out & began loading tons & tons of salt into the ships cargo holds. 
PROPELLER BLADES & SHIP'S WHEEL ON THE GROUNDS OF THE MARINE MUSEUM IN THE HARBORIn the inner harbor was another large freighter tied up alongside tall grain elevators. Could see crew members on the Algoway's deck with welders working on various pieces of equipment. I remembered years ago when I drove for the Stratford Airporter coming here to Goderich with a ten passenger van just a few days before Christmas & picking up half a dozen or so sailors with heavy dufflebags full of gear. Their ship was wintering over in the Goderich harbor & they were all heading for the Toronto airport to fly home for Christmas. I remember picking the fellas up somewhere around the grain elevators.
FISHING LESSONS IN THE HARBOR MOUTHSomebody recently asked where I get all those old groaners at the end of the blog each day or do I make them up myself. I can tell you no, I don't make them up but I do know where to find them. The inquiry did give me an idea though so beginning to-day the groaners at the end of the blogs will be called......Groaners Corner:))
THE GODERICH LIGHTHOUSEI sometimes think big cushy recliners are designed for the sole pupose of rendering it's occupant totally unconscious in as short a time as possible. Upon returning from Goderich this afternoon I brewed up my 2 o'clock coffee, gently wiffled myself into the recliner, switched on CNN news, & promptly floated off to la la land. By the time I got back my full cup of cold coffee was still in my hand sitting on my lap. The recliner had won another one............................!!
CANADIAN COAST GUARD VESSEL DWARFED BY THE MIGHTY LAKE FREIGHTER, CUYAHOGAI added a new photo album of the pictures I took at the Goderich harbor to-day. You can see them HERE.
GROANER'S CORNER: I couldn't quite remember how to throw a boomerang, but eventually it came back to me.
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
