Should folks who read this blog decide a birding trip to the Northland is in order, also on the agenda should be some ship watching. From late March to late January (10 months), Duluth is one of America’s busiest ports. This afternoon, I watched my favorite ship arrive in the Twin Ports. The Alpena, the oldest ship sailing our waters, was built in 1942 and carries cement around the Great Lakes.
There is a great tool for figuring out when you should visit Canal Park and watch a ship sail under the Aerial Lift Bridge. It is named Harbor Lookout. Use the map and also investigate all the live web cams located from Superior to Silver Bay.
I took these photographs from atop the hill at Enger Park.
really neat. i like that ship, too. thanks for the photos- very nice!
Seeing them again. I think Alpena’s horn is my favorite since the fog horn was sadly “retired”.
Jeannette
It’s also interesting that the Alpena is the only ship this ship-watcher knows about that was actually shortened because of the extreme density of the cement it only carries. It used to carry a variety of bulk products—mainly iron ore.
Great piece of history!