Gifts from a Sister: Thunder Bay’s waterfront got three new sculptures this week for its Tai Chi Park thanks to its sister city, Jiaozuo in China, considered a birth place of tai chi. The largest of the three sculptures depicts Chen Wangting, a founder of the martial art (now popular for its health benefits). The other sculptures show tai chi in action. Tai chi is popular in Thunder Bay, where it’s even practiced on the waterfront. Xu Yixian (on right in the side photo by tbnewswatch), the mayor of Jiaozuo, spoke at the unveiling on Monday, as did Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs (left in side photo), who said, as reported by the CBC, “Tai chi has played a large role in bringing our city and Jiaozuo city together.” Thunder Bay tai chi instructor Peng You of the Peng You International Tai Chi Training Association gave a demonstration of the practice and spoke at the ceremonies, according to tbnewswatch.com. “This is a unique way to express how to build strong relationships between two cities, and beyond that, between two countries, especially I really like to see, between people,” Peng You is quoted. “From now on, the giant will not be lonely anymore because this is more good energy to this wonderful place.” The tai chi trainer then used hockey sticks to demonstrated a Canadian style of the practice, photographed by Doug Diaczuk of tbaynewswatch.
Got Our Eye on View: A new webcam is up and running, tracking traffic at the Superior Entry in Wisconsin, the natural passage into the Duluth-Superior Harbor from Lake Superior. (The Duluth Ship Canal was artificially created around 1870). The Wisconsin Point Cam brings to 14 the various cameras photographer Dennis O’Hara tends around Duluth and up to Two Harbors. On the Lake Superior Magazine website, we link to Dennis’ cams, plus others from all four shores of Lake Superior. Dennis says that while maintaining the webcams can be a challenge, it’s also rewarding to receive the appreciation of people watching our waters – often from far distant lands. “People from around the world enjoy watching our cams,” he tells us. “Last week, Sylvia from Germany expressed her joy in watching the gulls on top of the Great Lakes Aquarium. She was thrilled when I tilted the camera down a bit so she could get a better view of the gulls. What a great thing it is to be able to share the magnificent and interesting views that we so often take for granted living in this area.” What a great thing, indeed!
Too Many Visitors?: National Lakeshore in Michigan is asking the public to help discuss the issue of dramatic increases in visitation. During peak season last year, nearly 800,000 visitors came to the park. While the estimated $33.1 million in spending they did is welcome, the parking congestion and crowded beaches have not been appreciated. “Visitation has doubled over the last five years,” park Superintendent Dave Horne told the Mining Journal of Marquette. “We’ve been soliciting public input through open houses and trying to develop ideas because we don’t want the beaches and other areas overcrowded.” Many visitors get to enjoy the scenery on the Pictured Rocks Cruises (in side photo) or kayak and hike within the beautiful park. The public has been invited to meetings and to comment online about the Miner’s Beach Visitor Use Management Plan.
New to Sault: A new coffeehouse opened in uptown Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, recently. Scott Coffee Co. serves specialty coffee and a menu that incorporates locally sourced foods. SooToday did a video introducing owner Sarah Huckson, who calls Scott Coffee Co. “a gathering place for people.” The new place benefits from Sarah’s travels, too, since one of the special iced coffees that she offers was a sweet treat found on her trip to Vietnam. She also gets some of her coffee beans from the St. Joseph Coffee Island Coffee Roasters on the nearby island in the channel between Lake Superior and Lake Huron.
Shipshape Meals: One thing for sure, when you sail on a Great Lakes freighter, you’ll likely eat well. Tanda Gmiter of MLive reports on the chefs who make their crews happy campers at meal time. “Steaks sizzling on an open-air grill against the rolling backdrop of Lake Superior. Delicate strawberry shortcakes stacked three biscuits high. A recipe from home carefully recreated below deck, just to make your week a little brighter,” Tanda writes. Yum. “They can eat 24 hours a day if they want to," Aaron Griffin, chief steward aboard Interlake Steamship Company’s 826-foot Lee A. Tregurtha, told Tanda. “You’ve got to keep them happy. That's the main part of my job is to keep the crew happy.” The chefs also talked about getting food on the table in stormy weather and Aaron admits to some chilly grilling on Lake Superior. “You put on your long underwear and you go out and deal with it. But if it's below zero, it's not happening.”
Abutment Abatement: Some repairs and updates are planned this construction season for the International Bridge between Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. According to the International Bridge Administration, recent annual inspections noted sinkholes, sand movement and sand leakage around and through both the Canadian and U.S. bridge abutments (this photo is on the U.S. side). Currently, the condition is not considered severe. Bridge Engineer Karl Hansen says, “After 56 years of aging, loss of sand through the abutment embankment and retaining walls is not out of the ordinary. However, this condition will worsen as time progresses, so preventive repairs to the abutments have been scheduled.” The repair involves an innovative product suggested by the Michigan Department of Transportation’s bridge field services staff. Uretek, an injected quick-setting epoxy, will be injected into bore holes to stabilize sub-surface sand, gravel and rocks by epoxying them together. The resulting repair prevents further degradation and enhances soil strengths. Uretek USA Inc. will inject the U.S. abutment for a cost of $30,250 (U.S.), Poly-Mor Canada Inc. will do the work on the Canadian abutment for $39,050 (Cdn.). Another cool feature has been added to the bridge: A Falcam, a camera watching the peregrine falcon nest on the bridge.
Skip This: Destination Duluth's UMD intern, Zach Sanders, presents the science behind skipping stones: “Throw the stone hard, with a lot of linear and angular momentum, at a 20-degree angle. … Calm water and a thin, roundish rock are ideal, but with enough velocity, you can skip almost anything.” You can read the rest of the science in Zach's short story and also set your sights on the world record number of bounces: 88.
Photo & graphic credits: Doug Diaczuk; Dennis O’Hara; National Park Service; Konnie LeMay; Scott Coffee Co.; International Bridge Administration; Andrew Achter.