Ice Maneuvers - CGC Alder

CGC Alder

News!

This is shaping up to be an incredible shipping opener.  Due to ice conditions, convoys will probably be organized with multiple lakers being escorted by cutters.  Besides ice breaking operations, expect the big boats to start moving in about two weeks.

March 5th 2014

Frozen Moment!

The deep rich colors of dawn and the frozen landscape of Lake Superior extends for as far as the eye can see.  Only the Hand of God can create scenes like this -  and it's free. Don't miss the next one!

CGC Alder slowly making headway

After taking a well deserved evening rest off the shores of Barkers Island in Superior, the CGC Alder once again began the task of breaking the first path through the thick Duluth-Superior Harbor ice-pack.
Before the Alder resumed it operation, it made for some interesting images in the early morning hours with temperatures hanging around 5F.

Point of Interest - Interstate Bridge

Interstate Bridge next to Blatnik Bridge

Today, while I watched the Alter break harbor ice, I strolled out to the end of the old Interstate Bridge scouting for a photographic vantage point.
While the Alder didn't make it this far, I though you might like to visit one of Duluth's hidden secrets.
Built in 1897 the Interstate Bridge once spanned the St. Louis Bay. Open to pedestrians, horse-drawn vehicles and had access for two trains and a streetcar. The toll was set at five cents for pedestrians and bicycles, fifteen for wagons, and a dime for each head of cattle.
Over time the bridge was refitted for automobiles, the streetcar line would be removed and there would only be one railway in use. In 1961 the Duluth-Superior High Bridge was built to replace the Interstate Bridge so longer ore carriers could move through the harbor easier. The Interstate Bridge was dismantled in 1971. In 1981 the Burlington Northern sold the bridge to the Port Authority of Duluth for $1. In 1983, bridge remains were converted into a fishing pier that stand today.
This 360 degree view might give you a good perspective of what you can see. The Alder is out there in the middle.
Alternate Link

Tough going for the Alder

I walked out to the end of the Interstate Fishing Bridge this afternoon to watch the Alder backing and ramming into the thick harbor ice.  Winter does not want to give up the harbor easily. The Alder will earn its keep this year.

Harbor ice breaking operations to begin this week.

While the ice cover and temperatures don't really indicate the arrival of Springtime yet, the calendar still shows Spring less then three weeks away.  

In a news release Saturday, the Coast Guard reported that the cutter Alder will start icebreaking operations on Tuesday in the harbor and out to Lake Superior. Officials warned anglers and others who may be out on the ice to remove ice shacks and other equipment, and to use caution if out in the ice.

Areas where the Alder will be working include - but are not limited to - the Superior Front Channel, the Superior and Duluth harbor basins, the East Gate Basin, the Duluth and Superior entry channels and the Lake Superior ice adjacent to Minnesota Point.

Icebreaking operations later may extend to other areas of the harbor, as well as to Two Harbors, Silver Bay and Taconite Harbor.

2013 Tall Ships - Denis Sullivan

Glensheen Tour

If you are like me, staring at the ice, waiting for the melt to start, you might want the visit a virtual tour that I made of the Glensheen Mansion during warmer weather. 

Click on image to visit Glensheen Mansion

Uncle Harvey's Mausoleum

Uncle Harvey's Mausoleum - This structure located along the Duluth Lakewalk is a peculiar “Point of Interest” indeed. As one walks the boardwalk looking for photographic vantage points along the Lake Superior Shoreline, this landmark sticks out of the water, and is more of curiosity than anything. The concrete structure is the foundation of a sand and gravel unloading dock built in the winter of 1919 by Whitney Brothers of Superior Wisconsin. Sand from the Apostle Islands area and gravel from the north shore was loaded onto barges that were then towed to Duluth by the tug William A Whitney. A conveyor belt built on a trestle carried the materials to shore that was then dumped into a tunnel where another conveyor was used to load trucks that carried the material to its destination. Legend has it that the unloading tunnel became a hangout for gamblers and bootleggers as they attempted to avoid local law enforcement in the out of the way subterranean hideout.

While the substantial concrete structure has withstood more than 100 years of Lake Superior weather, the ability of the barges to tie up to the piers and remain stationary during unloading proved to be a very daunting task were waves often pushed the craft into the nearby rock causing damage and finally proved too hazardous for reliable and safe operation. In 1922 after only three years of operation the facility was abandoned. Obviously, it crushed to dreams and finances of Harvey Whitney, the entrepreneur and designer of the structure. Over the years, the nick name that originated from the Whitney family, "Uncle Harvey's Mausoleum”, stuck with the locals and has become a perfect place for nesting birds and flock of more daring folks who find the building a perfect launch platform for a cool summer dip into the big lake. Although most folks never venture into the cold water to swim out and see what the inside of the facility actually looks like, during the cold winter months it is an easy walk across the frozen water to satisfy the curiosity seekers.

note: this information is posted on a plaque along the Duluth Lakewalk which was placed by Visit Duluth.