Lately, I’ve been reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. Despite its simplicity, it can be pretty heavy stuff. I’m wrapping my head around some things better than others. One major thing is that all we have is ‘now’. The past and the future are illusions and are places where we can’t, and must not even try, to live our lives.
Where I’m really seeing this is when we try to predict and prepare for the future, even if that future is as close as the following day. We can make plans and make appointments that roughly go through as set out but there are so many things that happen that we never could have predicted. ‘When I set out this morning, never in my wild dreams did I think this would happen.’
Our society has gotten to the point where we live anywhere but in the now. ‘Once I do this (unpleasant task), then I can do this (pleasant experience).’ Or, ‘I wish things were as great as they were back then (when, in reality, things were probably not that great but you know you survived and that makes it a great memory).’
This past Saturday, I had a family event to attend in the evening in Sarnia, Ontario, roughly a three hour drive away. As I often do, I planned to make the trip early and explore for the day before attending the event. Even the day before, in my mind, I saw leisurely spending time along the shores of Lake Huron and the St. Clair River, taking all sorts of pictures of the waterfront and bridge. I saw myself walking beneath the Blue Water Bridge that connects Canada to the United States, the breeze off the water perhaps cooling me down from the hot and humid weather that was forecast.
Well, some of it came true but relatively little went as I saw in my illusion of the future. I did walk along the shores of Lake Huron and the St. Clair River. I did walk beneath the Blue Water bridge and, indeed, the breeze off the water definitely had a cooling effect. However, the temperature may have started out hot and humid but by the time I arrived in Sarnia it had dropped to 11 degrees Celsius and the wind chill off the lake was enough the render my fingers numb after taking the video footage found below in this article.
Despite the rain and cold more fitting for a November day and the fact that I dressed in a t-shirt, shorts and sandals, it was still a day of discovery. But, again, much of it was unexpected and was not even close to being on my radar the day before.
In the above image, there is a Great Lakes freighter ship passing beneath the Blue Water Bridge, going south on the St. Clair River. There is video footage below of the ship coming off Lake Huron and entering the river.
It wasn’t the most spectacular looking ship and it certainly paled in sized comparison to some of the other ships docked downstream. But, when I got a chance to look up this ship, it turned out to be pretty unique.
The ship was named the Manistee, a self-loading bulk carrier. However, the Manistee was launched as the Adirondack after being built by Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rouge, Michigan (part of Detroit). Here’s the kicker: she was built in 1943. Most forms of transportation that are 72 years old and counting are found in museums or in some sort of preserved state for observation only (as seen below with the CN 6069 steam engine). This old girl was running strong.
Shortly after being launched as the Adirondack, the ship was christened as the Richard J. Reiss and belonged to the Reiss Steamship Company. She was renamed Manistee in 2005. The ship is 620 feet long and has a gross tonnage of 9,970. The Manistee chugs along at a maximum 11.1 knots, although when I saw her she might have been exceeding that, riding the wind and current. Her home port is listed as Cleveland, Ohio.
As for the Blue Water Bridge, this structure was built in 1938 to connect Sarnia and Point Edward in Ontario, Canada with Port Huron, Michigan in the United States. The bridge now connects highway 402 in Ontario with Interstate 69 and I94 in Michigan.
In 1997, the twin bridge was opened to accommodate increased traffic. At its longest, the bridge is 6,187 feet or 1,883 metres. The main span is 871 feet or 265 metres. The new bridge is 233 feet at its highest point while the original bridge is a bit shorter at 210 feet.
While killing time in the pouring rain and trying to find a gas station and bank machine, this train tunnel caught my eye. My guess is that locals don’t even bat an eye when they pass by. However, this tunnel plays a significant role in North American history. This is the first underwater tunnel in North America and the first underwater international railway.
The St. Clair Tunnel, renamed the Paul M. Tellier Tunnel in recent years, was opened in 1891. Previous to that time, freight trains were ferried across the St. Clair River. That ferry service did continue on in a reduced capacity until the new tunnel was opened in 1994.
What you see above is the new tunnel to the right (with the tracks) and the original tunnel to the left. Similar in length to the Blue Water Bridge, the old tunnel is 6,025 feet or 1,836 metres long. The new tunnel is slightly longer at 6,129 feet or 1,868 metres.
Originally maintained by the St. Clair Tunnel Company, a subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway, passenger service began in 1892, a year after opening. On the U.S. side, the tunnel is a National Historic Landmark, designated in 1993.
Below, there are two images of historic plaques. These are located in a somewhat hidden spot along St. Andrew Street between Vidal and Christina. They are set back from the road and the tunnel, or tracks, can no longer be seen from this location because of plant growth and security fences.
If you go along the north side, down the dead-end Rose Street, there is a pedestrian bridge that runs alongside Vidal. From this bridge, you can get a good view of the tunnel entrance. This is where the above image of the tunnel was taken from. The vehicle parked along the old tracks is Sarnia Police.
Click on the above and below (or any of the other images) to see in full size. The above is a plaque put up by the Ontario Government while the one below is from the Federal Government.
Below is a not so hidden and unpredictable gem in Sarnia. Located in Centennial Park, along Front Street, steam engine CN 6069 permanently sits. This is one of three 482 Mountain Locomotives built for CN by Montreal Locomotive Works. Only three of the 20 remain in existence. One is in Stettler, Alberta and the other is in Capreol, Ontario.
These locomotives were nicknamed ‘Bullet Nose Bettys’ and this particular one was built in 1944. With the evolution of the diesel engine, CN 6069 was retired a relatively short time later, in 1959. Some were converted to oil but this one still has the coal car attached. The info plaque states that they could reach speeds of 100 MPH.
Below is the manufacturer’s plate.
Below is the classic CNR logo.
Sarnia is a city of 73,000 (metro 90,000) located in southwestern Ontario where Lake Huron empties into the St. Clair River. The city was incorporated as a town in 1856 and as a city in 1914. The word Sarnia is Latin for Guernsey, the island in the U.K. that the city was named in honour of.
Port Huron is a city of 30,000 that was incorporated in 1856. The city has long been a giant shopping mall for Canadian cross-border shoppers.
The HD video below shows the Manistee coming off the choppy waters of Lake Huron and passing beneath the Blue Water Bridge. In the background are shoreline scenes from Port Huron.
