LENGTHY PROCESS OF ICE BREAKUP SOON BEGINS

Birds, like this lone duck in an opening over a small spring, have had
 a hard time of it with this winter's extended cold, and ice that restricts
their ability to feed.  Their survival rate should improve rapidly in the
coming days and weeks.  Dozens of duck have expired - even along Island
roadways - in the recent weeks, weakened by cold and the inability
to dive for food.

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

After our first 50-degree day of the year yesterday, it seems like winter may finally be ebbing.  Inland locations, even around northern Wisconsin, reported temperatures in the 60s, and in a few cases, 70 degrees.

But, there is lots of snow and ice yet to be melted, and already there are concerns in certain cities and towns of impending flooding due to frozen culverts and streams that jam up with broken ice, backing up an abnormally brisk spring runoff from field and wood.

The Great Lakes commercial navigation season is typically back to a regular pace by now, but that's during the years when there's been scant ice to contend with in shipping lanes.  Although some of the vessels wintered at Bay Shipbuilding already fired up and broke out for their first loads, running the more-or-less navigable route between the Escanaba ore docks and the mills south of Chicago, the U. S. Coast Guard's Ninth District issued a friendly suggestion in a letter of March 7th addressed to the American Great Lakes Ports Association.  We received a copy courtesy of the Port of Green Bay's information release.

Rear Admiral F. M. Midgette, Commander, Ninth Coast Guard District, warned of challenges ahead in his letter addressing shipping concerns and the resumption of Great Lakes shipping.  Available ice breaking assets will include all nine Coast Guard icebreakers ready for deployment, plus one additional icebreaking tug, for a compliment of six of the Bay-Class tugs.   Ninth District anticipates the Canadian Coast Guard will bring an additional icebreaker into the  Great Lakes.

ADM Midgette's letter warned:

   "Breakout will be long and difficult.  Transits in current ice conditions are slow and arduous.  Just this week, a vessel under icebreaker escort took over a week to transit St. Mary's River.  Another vessel required an escort all the way across Lake Erie.  The USCGC HOLLYHOCK encountered ice conditions in the St. Marys River and Straits of Mackinac beyond its capability.  And we expect conditions in Lake Superior that could exceed USCGC MACKINAW's capability.  According to the U. S. National Weather Service, temperatures are expected to remain below normal through March."

His letter ended with this request, due to ice conditions, which I believe is a message unprecedented in recent times:

   "I understand some industry stockpiles are low, and shippers are anxious to resume cargo operations.  In spite of that, we anticipate ice conditions worse that what caused some of you to lay up early in January.  Consequently, I urge you to consider delaying sail dates and curtailing early operations where possible until ice conditions improve."   

If memory serves, following a very cold winter in 1979, numerous lakers came in to the yards for structural repairs due to ice damage.   These are massive vessels, but their steel shell and structure weren't designed for repeated encounters with heavy ice.  There appears now to be more ice breaking vessels available to assist than in previous years, but broken fields of thick ice, wind-driven, can still challenge with unusually deep, dense ice at times.

Our ferry crews operated daily along the edges of heaviest bay ice this winter, with nary a hitch, but that, too, can quickly change as larger fields break into ever smaller pieces and jam up, or stream through, the Door passage.

On the nature trail

Deep snow and colder temperatures have been ideal for snowshoeing this winter, and we've managed to create several interesting loops in the surrounding area.

Some would suggest that snowshoes shouldn't be necessary when the wearer's boot size is 15, but that's a tread-worn joke that doesn't begin to describe the difficulty of tromping in snow several feet deep!   Even with snowshoes, and poles for added stability, this activity can be a challenge.  The reward, however, is a good workout that offers pleasant observations of the outdoor world.

Above the small islands, the bright, red growth of white birches stood against a deep blue sky.  In the topmost branches, scarlet dots of cardinals added further accent.

In the late afternoon hours, my treks have been accompanied by an owl's hooting from deeper in the swampy woods.   Deer tracks show the deer taking the easiest possible trails, sometimes old snowshoe tracks, then jumping from one point to another in belly-deep snow when necessary.  Their activity under cedars shows many more prints where the snow is generally not so deep and food is available on overhead branches, for those deer that can reach.

One afternoon, winding through the woods on my snowshoes, I happened to spot at eye level the bulging bark of a large cedar, what I think may be the start of a super-burl.   The tree itself is about 16 inches in diameter and nearly 35 feet tall, and by my estimation it appears healthy.  How rapidly its bark will continue to expand like a tumorous growth, and whether the tree becomes weakened by this abnormality, will be interesting to follow over time.  I've not generally noticed cedar burls, although they seem to be quite common with other tree species.

And maybe, I'm thinking, I only noticed this one because my eye level was a good 18 inches above the usual height with the help of the snowpack.

-  Dick Purinton

QUICK SET CHANGES

Green Bay Road, Monday morning, Feb. 18 - 8:15.

 Washington Island, Wisconsin -

If this top photo looks inviting - a pristine scene, fresh snow on the ground and frost on tree limbs - it certainly was.

Since returning home last Wednesday we've seen a range of weather, but none more changeable than the last 24 hours.   Generally, we've had consistently cold weather with highs of ten degrees or so for the day.  Snow has fallen every other day, it seems…then yesterday we had five inches (by my estimate), sometimes with blizzard conditions due to blowing snow in the 30+ mph gusts.

It was a great day to be indoors.  By later that evening, a nearly full moon had come out.  But in the early morning a fog bank crept in from the lake, hovering about 20 feet off the ground.  Six degrees, according to our thermometer, and very still.  A temperature inversion had apparently brought the fog. It was dramatic and quick, like those set changes on a stage between acts, where all of a sudden the lights come back on and the audience is transported yet again.  This foggy act was brief, and it departed along with the ferry by 8 am.

By that time, bright sun took over and burned off the fog, raising the temperature and highlighting frost everywhere in the trees.  Even the well-plowed roads looked clean and fresh this morning, with only a patch of sand here and there at intersections to smudge the scene.  By noontime, our thermometer's needle approached 30 degrees and an overcast sky obliterated the sun.  Along with this change, winds had picked up, enough to begin drifting the light snow once again.  A fine snow had begun to fall, too, making the day now look like the remains of yesterday's storm, an earlier act.
 

Unless you know the color of someone's jacket, you
won't be able to recognize individuals at the annual
Ice Party on Detroit Harbor.  I estimated between
150- 200 people made their way onto the ice in ten degree
weather, enjoying themselves on the ice.
The following day, Sunday,was bright and clear.

Ferry crossing has been consistent these past days, but not always easy in terms of visibility, or with ice sometimes packed at the outer edge, toward the open lake, when strong southerly winds and seas ground flat ice in to a denser mass of small pieces.

Last night, Joel and Hoyt made an emergency medical run.   Then, with some energy yet to burn and snow drifts sure to interfere with morning loading, they plowed for several hours to get ahead of the morning's work.  As a result, when I drove out to the ferry dock, around 7:45, sidewalks, parking areas and approaches were cleared, with final clean-up work in progress.  It was time to take a ride…which I did!

Con McDonald (foreground) and Joel
Gunnlaugsson (backhoe) clean up surfaces as the AJR
loads in the background for the first run of the day.
Not easily seen is the early morning fog in
the distance still obscuring the harbor.

From a vantage point on the Potato Dock, Mary Jo and I surveyed the ice conditions - as far as could be seen.  Thursday, the route had been cleared by northerly winds, but it was now on the fourth or fifth day of newer ice.  Still, the Arni J. moved along briskly in the old track, as if there were nothing to impede progress, in fact.  When the break-up of bay ice comes, and it will, sooner or later, there will be heavy ice to deal with.

I had no sooner commented, "I wonder how the birds fared in yesterday's blizzard?" when Mary Jo spotted an eagle (photo below) sitting in a birch tree, a favorite place for them to roost, not far from the water (or ice, as the case was today).

Bird activity must slow during such storms, although turkeys were out, looking for seeds beneath our feeder.   Attrition must thin the ranks when long cold spells, high winds and limited food sources add stress to their bodies.

We're headed south, then north, then east, then south tomorrow, to Boyne City, a drive of 450 miles "over the top" of Lake Michigan to visit Thor.   This is a drive that can take all day and then some, including various stops along the way.  We're hoping to slip into the Straits of Mackinac area before sundown, thereby beating the next weather pattern that's forecast to bring rain, sleet or snow - depending on where the line falls across the upper midwest separating colder air from warm, moist, southerly air.

We generally tell ourselves - to cheer each other up - that we're on the downside of winter in late February.  This year could be different.  More daylight each day, which is pleasant, but there hasn't been much settling of the snow accumulated since back in early December.

I worked my way through the deep snow this morning to read my fuel tank gauge and in several places I sank to my hips (drifting snow being partially responsible for the depth, of course).   We hiked on snow shoes Sunday, and in the areas of vegetation where snow accumulated and hadn't blown away, headway was slow and the slogging hard!  Hoyt reported passing drifts along Detroit Island's shores that were eight feet in height, made up of grains of snow driven across the open ice.  One thing can be said, it's a great year for snowmobiles!

One last photo shows the look in the woods earlier today, this one taken along Town Line Road.
 -  Dick Purinton

Light flakes blew from the trees with the softest of breezes as this
photo was taken.

A CALL TO FAIRNESS IN REPRESENTATION!

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

The image above is of a page from the BMW owner's magazine (Roundel - Nov. 2013), of  a column written by Nikki Weed titled, "The 1 Series travels to Devil's Island."

As poorly researched, written and disguised a journalism piece as that is, it is even more surprising that the reputable carmaker BMW's magazine editors would print her submission.

But, we'll let you read it for yourself, as many Islanders already have.  (You may want to go to the Roundel website and print your own copy for easier reading.)

In the interest of fairness, and at least the resemblance of balance, Weed and her editors ought to retract their words with an apology, and perhaps print a selection of some of the comments representing a more realistic (and positive) side of Washington Island, not just the thinly distorted slice presented by Weed.

A well-written, solid response to Ms. Weed was written by youngest son, Thor Purinton, visiting over Thanksgiving.  He "penned" his first draft using an iPhone, while waiting in line for the ferry at Northport.   His comments (Nov. 30, 2013) follow:

Dear Ms. Weed:

I write to you today regarding a column you wrote entitled, "The 1 Series travels to Devil's Island," published in Roundel magazine, November 2013.  What you said in that column about the people of Washington Island, and ferry captains in particular, was insulting and offensive.   I demand - and expect - an apology from you and your editor.  It's unfortunate that you seem to have had a bad experience there, and I do not presume to tell you how to feel.  You are certainly entitled to your opinion, whether or not I find it offensive, but your editor should certainly know better.  "Devils Island" is a pretty thin veil - enough to protect your publication from accusations of libel, perhaps, but transparent to any reader familiar with Door County geography.  There is, after all, only one island in Door County with regular car ferry service, and the list of ferry captains in Door County is a short one.  All of the people on that list I call friend, and two of them are members of my immediate family.  It may surprise you to learn that at least one of them is an accomplished author.   I'll let you use your sharp journalistic skill to figure out who that may be…

It's difficult, as I write this, to avoid attacking you personally, as I did just now.  I apologize for that, and for those quips that may slip through hereafter.  Such is the visceral nature of my reaction to your column.  But let me be clear:  I want to be your friend, Ms. Weed, and in the spirit of friendship I'd like to try to clear up some of the obvious misunderstandings in your piece.  First and foremost, the only ill will you will find on the island is that which you bring with you.  In your column, you adopt a tone of being in some sense better than the locals you encountered.  Now, looking down your nose at every one you meet is hardly the way to make friends, is it?  I think all of us, yourself included, tend to get defensive in perhaps an abrasive way when confronted by a stranger who considers himself - or herself - their better.  That's just human nature.

Since we're already on the subject, I'd like to talk a little more about your tone and your intended audience.  Your tone seems to be that of an urban, upper-middle-class automobile enthusiast who looks down on those in less "civilized" areas, in tougher economic circumstance, or who don't happen to bear a striking resemblance to Ann Coulter.  I'm worried that you, by writing from the perspective of a typically urbane BMW owner out for an adventure among the rustics, are doing a disservice to other BMW owners, many of whom are in actuality well-adjusted adults.  That your editor read and approved the piece before publishing speaks to the contrary, and is a condemnation of his or her diligence.

The other misunderstandings are relatively straightforward. Calling the Island uncivilized is perhaps obvious to someone from an urban area, and let's face it, what most others would call a small town seems big to an islander.  But what exactly were you expecting to find there?  Curbs?   Traffic signals? A Starbucks nestled at the foot of a twenty-story office building?  I would argue that the bedrock of civilization is a sense of community, a cooperative spirit.  These qualities are necessary for a community that relies mainly on tourism for its economic well being in a climate that permits at best a five-month tourist season, and I'm sure you can understand that a column such as yours, even in a reasonably obscure car club newsletter, raises our hackles a bit.

Also worth noting, Old Style is not the libation of choice on the island.  It's probably a close race between Anheuser Busch and Miller products, just like the rest of America, but you may be surprised to learn that Capital Brewery, of Madison, Wisconsin, brews a number of beers exclusively from grain grown on the island.  There is also a line of spirits, under the moniker of "Death's Door,"  distilled near Middleton, Wisconsin, from Island-grown ingredients.  Both beer and spirits are quite tasty, and I invite you to try them at your leisure.   If none can be had where you are, I'd be happy to mail you a sampler.

And now to your jab at ferry captains, your coup de grace as it were.  You begin by saying that you missed the last ferry.  If you like, I'd be happy to explain what a schedule is and how it works, and answer any questions you may have about what time the 5:00 boat actually leaves.  I suspect you may have been a little angry at yourself for missing it.  All of us who call ourselves islanders know how that feels.  It certainly was lucky that there was an extra trip that night, or some innkeeper or there would likely have had to square off against a crafty, fast, multisyllabic speaker armed with such vertiginous and obtuse bits of thrasymachian sophistry as to make Plato himself blush in frustration.

In summation, I am not happy that a self-described "random blonde" came to the place I call home, insulted it and the people with whom I share it, and then went out of her way to insult a captain who was certainly my friend, and may also have been my brother or father.  For that, I require an apology. As you may expect, an island full of American steel is pretty short on subscriptions to Roundel.  I suggest a heartfelt, concise apology be sent to the local paper, the (Washington Island) Observer, at:
   
    Washington Island Observer
    1253 Main Road
    Washington Island, WI  54246
    office@washingtonislandobserver.com

Going forward from there, I'd like to invite you to visit the Island again.   I would relish the opportunity to prove to you how wrong you were, to show you the places and introduce you to the people that make this island so special.  

Very Sincerely Yours, Thor Purinton   
thorpurinton@yahoo.com

PS:  I've taken the liberty of reading the portions of your blog that aren't password protected, in an effort to get a better sense of your background and writing style.  You'll find I am follower number twenty-two.  It occurred to me that your column was maybe a misguided attempt at humor, which to be perfectly honest, is a whole lot more troubling than a simple bad experience or misunderstanding.  Make no mistake, Ms. Weed, to make game of a community in that manner is mean-spirited, and belies a profound insecurity on the part of the author.  So, I wasn't all that surprised to learn that you have had trouble with eating disorders, it being the case that those disorders are often rooted in one's self-image.  Battling that sort of thing takes no small amount of courage, and you have my sympathy and support. But, I promise you, your road to happiness will be much smoother if you can find more positive ways to express yourself.

Cheers - Thor

PSS:
A few observations on the craft of English composition:   You will find that readers take what you have to say more seriously if you can refrain from describing things, and especially yourself, as random.  You will also find that relying less heavily on parenthetical interjections will force you to structure sentences in a way that is clearer and more direct.  It's a habit that's hard to break, I know.   I once went through a phase when I thought that frequent use of semicolons made me sound more intelligent. It certainly did not.  Good, sound, inexpensive advice on the nuts and bolts of writing can be had at many community colleges all across this great nation of ours, and I am confident that you would be pleasantly surprised at how rewarding mentorship in the areas of creative and expository writing and poetry can be.    

-   T

[A "well-done" to youngest son, Thor, who originally learned about the Roundel piece from Facebook connections with Island friends and was inspired to try to balance the record. - Pops]

   -   End  -

EARLY DETROIT HARBOR PASSENGER VESSEL SERVICE

Detroit Harbor, Washington Island -

A light rain is falling, and there is a temporary lull in tourism this afternoon, a good time to consider a new blog.  I've had some of these images on my computer screen for months, waiting for that opportunity to string them together with observations.

What got me started on this was the topic of dredging and dock work, and how one thing builds on another over the years and decades.  The present island ferry dock was formerly the property of Ole Christianson who had a boatyard and marine railway there.  If you're interested in more details on that yard, a letter from Ole to Thordarson is included in the about-to-be-published Thordarson and Rock Island.  Thordarson, it turns out, was interested enough in Ole's boatyard to exchange letters with him and get a price.  Ole, it is assumed, was what we call today a "motivated seller" because when Thordarson didn't bite, William Jepson who operated the ferries from the shipyard location at the far end of the harbor did.  Jepson moved his ferry landing and began to make dock improvements.  (This move would also have entailed the improvement of a road for motorized vehicles to and from the Lobdell Point area.  John W. Cornell recalled walking to work along a footpath when he first expanded his dock, where the current Island Outpost dock is now situated.)

North Shore moored inside the slip.
Barrels are lined up along the Standard Oil
dock to the north.  Chambers house is
in background (right).

In the first photo I think we can safely say the North Shore is backing from the location that is also the current ferry landing, backing "into the channel" so-to-speak.  Since the exact year isn't known, there might not yet have been a dredged channel, only a naturally deep waterway. (It was first dredged in 1937.)  Jepson wasn't the only operator to carry autos.  But he appears to be the first to do so, and the first to operate a regularly scheduled service using two ferries, the Welcome and the North Shore, built expressly for passenger and auto service from the Island to the Door Peninsula.

Earlier passenger service?

Eric Bonow provided the 1909 timetable below that outlines early passenger service options to upper Green Bay ports, including Detroit Harbor.   The larger Bon Ami or Sailor Boy made the main run between Sturgeon Bay and Marinette-Menominee, and then north to Escanaba.  A smaller vessel, Thistle, was used to call on smaller harbors along the Door Peninsula.  If someone from Washington Island wished to go to Escanaba, for instance, they could board the Thistle from Gislason's dock (near present day Shipyard Marina), and then transfer near the harbor's entrance to the northbound Bon Ami, which then continued on its way to Escanaba.  When southbound, the Bon Ami or Sailor Boy would stop in Washington Harbor, but apparently only when there was demand.

The fact that trains could be met at Sturgeon Bay or Marinette/Menominee (also at Escanaba, although it is not stated on the Time Card) made it a convenient means of scheduling travel.   It was with such possibilities that C. H. Thordarson often arrived in Escanaba, Michigan, from Chicago by train in later years.  A smaller boat trip completed his last leg to his Rock Island estate.

 Although it is hard to read the fine print, Eric highlighted the Thistle's name in yellow.  Passengers who wished to disembark in Detroit Harbor would also transfer from the larger Hart Line boat to the smaller Thistle near the harbor's entrance.  Then Thistle and her crew were optimized with an offer of "cheap excursion rates outside of Detroit Harbor every pleasant afternoon" to help fill time before she began her run south.

A promotion ran in the Time Card:  if passengers continued to Escanaba, they would arrive in the evening, "Giving all our passengers a chance to approach the city by night and view the immense ore docks lighted by electricity, which is a beautiful sight."

Other early Detroit Harbor vessel activity

Another Eric, Eric Greenfeldt, sent me a volume of great information in the form of early newspaper article reprints.  These clippings tell of the very first beginnings of  ferry transportation on Washington Island.  Here is a sampling:

The Door County News (DCN) of 22 May 1919 reported Capt. Carl Hanson of Washington Island, owner and master of the gasoline freighter Marion, stated his intention to make twice daily round trips from Detroit Harbor to Garret Bay (west of Gills Rock).

In the next few weeks, Hanson apparently sold (or leased) the Marion to William Jepson.  The June 26, 1919 issue reported the first trip carrying an automobile, the ferry Marion under Jepson's authority.  Success of the undertaking, it was noted, depended upon the "patronage of the public." But a "large increase in the number of autos during the past and first of the present season" was optimistically noted.  Also described was "a dock being built at Gills Rock for the ferry to discharge the autos conveniently and expeditiously, and the work will be completed by the end of the week."

Highways and automobiles led to a decline, then the end, of around-the-bay services such as the Hart Line offered.

The Marion's schedule and rates as advertised in the July 10 DCN:  Trips were twice daily.  Round trip rates were $5.00 for small cars, $7.00 for touring cars.  Passengers were 75 cents each, one way.  An accompanying column noted that "The line promises to become a popular mode of travel when brought to the attention of the outside world."

[We're still working on that...]

Competition was in the wings.  The following account appeared in the April 21, 1920 issue of the DCN:

Pete Anderson, the Mail Carrier, Will Carry Cars Across the Door In His New Boat

Washington Island is to have a ferry service again during the coming summer for the accommodation of the inhabitants of that part of the county as well as the tourists trade.

Pete Anderson, the hustling mail carrier, is the man behind the proposition and he will combine it with his regular business of handling Uncle Sam's mail and carrying passenger s back and forth.

During the past winter Pete purchased the big gasoline yacht Navarre which formerly belonged to Judge Turner, now deceased, and during the past couple of weeks, he with Thos. Johnson and George Jorgenson have been busily engaged at Two Rivers in converting the craft into a business boat.   She was thoroughly overhauled below the waterline and is now as good as new.

On Monday, Mr. Anderson, accompanied by Messr. Johnson and Jorgenson, arrived in the city with the boat on their way to Washington Island, stopping only long enough at the yards of the Fuller Goodman company on the west side to take on a load of material with which to finish the craft.  It is the intention to put in exceptionally heavy beams and decks for carrying automobiles.  The upperworks and decks will be put in at Detroit Harbor during the ensuing month, it being the intention to have her ready for commission along about the first of June.  The Navarre is 56 feet long and 15 feet wide and will be capable of carrying three cars handily.  She is an exceptionably fine boat.  The owners will also have accommodations for passengers as well.

Mr. Anderson has not as yet figured out just what schedule he will run on , but this will be announced at a later date.

There are a large number of autos owned on the Island, which together with those of people who wish to visit the place should provide a good business for the ferry.  
(Note:  In this early newspaper article the word "autos" appears with an "e," similar to "potatoes," a new word then for editors and readers alike.)

Well, enough for one rainy day.

Eric Greenfeldt sent me quite a few column inches reporting discussions leading to that first official auto being carried by Jepson on the ferry Marion in 1919.  When it rains again, and tourism doesn't require my services, we'll continue with this subject.

-  Dick Purinton

MID-AFTERNOON CAPRICE?

DETROIT HARBOR, WASHINGTON ISLAND - 

Spring is officially here.  

This afternoon, in the 60-degree warmth of the marsh, the snapping turtle population cavorted in their habitat.  Perhaps because of the sunshine, each of the turtles approached seemed lethargic. 

I was about to get my first close-up shots of turtles in the throes of passion (something I had hoped to capture with camera) and I felt somewhat like a voyeur.   But when I approached, this pair was indifferent and did not move.  It's impossible, of course, to get into in the minds of turtles - at least a male turtle.  These reptiles haven't significantly changed in several million years, and they know exactly what they are about, but it appeared to me this pair lounged in post-coital afterglow, enjoying closeness in the soft ooze of the Bayou.  (Note contented expression of male, top.)  

Previously when such activities were observed, it was always from a distance. Then, turtles jockeyed for position and occasionally clashed with one another, movements that were often super-quick, surprising for reptiles with a reputation for sloth.  

We had concern for turtle survival over this past winter, and time will tell if the local population count appears similar to last year.   A soft mud bottom underneath water, with winter's ice topping it all, seemed to make this spot ideal for their wintering.  But last December's rapid drop in water levels exposed their favored mud habitat to freezing cold.  This occurred shortly after the turtles had already submerged in mud for hibernation, and some of them might have frozen, we conjectured.  The appearance now of these turtles bodes well for the future population of snapping turtles here.

After nearly five months of survival-induced
abstainance, broken by Sunday's mood lighting,
turtles were observed "getting it on," as it were.

There are other signs of spring here, too.  The lone egret of last week is now a pair, and they are joined by several great blue herons.  Three eagles flew freely over the harbor, while at the same time turkey vultures circled on the updrafts.  A kingfisher worked the waterfront while a muskrat paddled the surface near shore on an afternoon excursion.   

Wednesday evening in the light of the full moon we observed a deer pausing in the shaft of moonbeam, while just beyond it, offshore, swans swam bout.  It was a magical scene.

Other shifts noted

Winter ferry Arni J. Richter took over the daily ferry schedule January 21st, and each day from then through last Wednesday, April 24th, ferry trips were from the Potato Dock.

Last Thursday morning, April 25th, with water levels having rebounded - but still lower than this same time last year by about 6 inches - the ferry Washington loaded traffic at the normal island dock location.  This was good news for all concerned:   the public (many of whom found backing on the ferry a challenge), and our crew (who now have better access to maintenance facilities, supplies, and a ticket booth).   For the moment the AJR will stay moored at the Potato Dock.  A further rise of 10 inches or so should enable use of that ferry in the channel, too, and we fully expect this could happen by Memorial Day weekend.  Time will tell, but the heavy rainfall of last week and the run-off from snow will continue to have a positive effect on the level of Lake Michigan.

- Dick Purinton

LIFE GOES ON!

Offloading routine of dredge spoils  began shortly before sunup.  On its second
round of the morning, this truck receives a 5-cu.yd. deposit.  

Detroit Harbor, Washington Island -

Winds went down, as did the temperature.   Two ferries loaded at the same time for an 8 a.m. Island departure.  Slightly more traffic was scheduled to leave the island than to come in.  Freight carts and a chock-full mail truck were expected with the incoming traffic.

At the Potato Dock, trucks started hauling early.  Roads were heavily sanded by the Town in most slick stretches.  The dock approaches that softened in the rain and slush, set up nicely at 21 degrees.  The material barge had an ice crust, but the volume of muck, although stiffer this morning, was easily scraped and deposited in truck boxes.  A total of 105 truckloads have been hauled so far, which represents approximately 1110 cu. yds., or about 1/8 of the total required to provide sufficient depth for ferry maneuvering.   Yardage per truck increased slightly this morning with thicker material easier to haul, less prone to slopping over the edges of the truck box.

Wednesday morning, we're anticipating an excavator to be ferried to the island. This machine will reduce the hard spots the crane bucket can't get.

Routines continue

Ferry travel got back on track, too, this morning.  Evidently, Islanders were looking forward to the future, to Christmas, visiting with relatives and so forth, as if they never heard of the Mayan Calendar.  And tomorrow, we expect Green Bay will defeat Tennessee at Lambeau Field, keeping their train on track for the NFL playoffs.

Several readers inquired about the location of the Potato Dock in relation to the ferry dock, and so I added an aerial photo from the Washington Island Canoe & Kayak website, where you'll find many more excellent aerials of the Island shoreline.

Have a great weekend!     -  Dick Purinton

Washington unloaded backlogged traffic,
Saturday, 9:35 a.m. 

Appendage (upper left) is Potato Dock.  The northwest tip of
Detroit Island is in foreground.