Sault Ste Marie

• Leaving Orillia, the heavens opened and heavy rain poured out most of the day. The deluge washed away our expectations of sighting waterfalls and taking a cranberry farm tour.
  
  We thought two nights in Sudbury would certainly allow time to take in some of the local sights but priorities came first. Morning laundry, an afternoon Legion dance and an evening theater production left no time for other attractions. The thriller comedy, “39 Steps,” had only four actors (three men and a woman) and minimal props: a large hand-held frame served as a window through which to escape, boxes stood in for train seats, chairs for a car and two model planes on long sticks projected on a screen made for a humorous aerial attack. Though it was opening night, it was brilliantly done and very enjoyable.
  
  One Sudbury sight we did take in unplanned was a Bulk Barn. This is the largest Canadian chain store specializing in bulk goods. Here is an Internet photo:
  

  

  We have never seen the likes of it! Aisles and aisles of bulk foods of every sort: candies, hot and cold cereals, dry ingredients for cakes, cookies and muffins, herbs, spices, flours, pastas, coffees, teas, ... you name it --- all sold in whatever quantity you desired. We wondered how they kept it all fresh and free of bugs. It was impossible to leave the store empty-handed.
  
  Eventually, we did arrive in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Canada. As the rain had stopped, we made our way to the inviting boardwalk along the St. Mary’s River, which separates the US and Canada:
  

  

  
  Looking across to the US side, we puzzled for a long while what this lengthy building could be:
  

  

  Only after returning home did we learn that this is the Edison Sault Power House. A quarter of a mile long, it was completed in 1902 and designed to attract industry with the electric power it created. It is built entirely on water, sitting astride the Sault Electric Company Power Canal at the point where it empties into the St. Mary’s River. Inside are 69 turbines which tap the energy of the 21’ drop between Lake Superior and this river downstream. Although this project did not succeed in attracting many industries, it still generates usable power for local use.
  
  It was reassuring to see the international bridge that --- in a pinch --- could have taken us back home by way of Michigan:
  

  

  
  Elsewhere on the waterfront, the M.S. Norgoma was undergoing restoration. It served the needs of small communities from Owen Sound to Sault Ste Marie after launching in 1950:
  

  

  
  Adding a touch of humor to the waterfront scene was this trio of fishing bears:
  

  

  These guys seem to have lost their fishing pole and net but didn’t seem to be doing too badly without them.