janeandbobandmore: BUSHPLANE HERITAGE CENTRE, SAULT STE. MARIE, ONTARIO

BUSHPLANE HERITAGE CENTRE, SAULT STE. MARIE

It was a spectacular full day’s drive arching on the Trans-Canada Highway along the north shore of Lake Superior from Thunder Bay, ON to Sault Ste. Marie, ON. One sees very little population or commercial activity – road work, bridge rebuilding and a big gold mine were the main enterprises along the route. We did see snowbanks, a moose lingering on the road until we almost snapped its photo, a small black bear cub, and a trading post displaying its own fur coats.

Sault Ste. Marie is right across the river from the Michigan city of the same name. The two cities are connected by an international bridge that provides a busy international crossing as no other bridge is anywhere nearby. At night its steel arches are illuminated in red, white and blue.

Sault Ste. Marie Ontario is most famous for the St. Mary’s River locks used to bypass the rapids of the St. Mary’s River in order to facilitate shipping between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. Through these locks large freighters carry iron ore from the Mesabi Range to the steel mills in the east—critical to the industrial strength of America. And we recall it was also through the St. Mary’s River that the voyageurs passed on their journeys to the trading post at Grand Portage (see earlier blog).

Well, what does one do in Sault Ste. Marie? Why of course, we go to the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre. No longer using canoes to penetrate the wilderness to the north, instead our late 20^thcentury and 21^stcentury hearty adventurer hops on a bush plane. This enables the pilot and passenger(s) to fly over the unending forests, winding rivers, canyons and many lakes of the north country – en route to landing at a fishing camp or a remote mine or small village. By taking to the air to transport goods and people in and out of the north reaches of Ontario, they make these remote areas accessible in a limited way as a resource for Canada and the world.

Bush planes are now specially designed for fighting forest fires. Some models can skim a lake’s surface, and in a few seconds, pick up 12,000 gallons of water without stopping, fly over the fire and drop their payload to control the flames. Not an easy task, but a necessary one in wilderness forest management and to protect any nearby settlements. But it takes a specialized aircraft to perform this feat – no 737 or 767 can land in the deep woods. The plane must be small and extra-sturdy, often having pontoons for water landing or skis for snowfield landing, and be able to endure great stresses, and sometimes temperatures as low as 50 below zero on the ground. But most important, it had to be easily serviced or repaired by the pilot and whoever might be flying with him. It is this last requirement that sets up the many stories of survival by bush pilots in trouble in the wilderness. But for those tales, one must come to this museum, which is, if you check a map, only a little bit out of your way! Otherwise, you can stay home and Google bush planes.