I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that one of the most popular photos we've featured during the past 19 years of the Pasty Cam, has been shots of freighters. Boat nerds all over the world love seeing these big boats wherever they are on the Great Lakes. Back in 2007, Brooke Gubacz was at a park in Sault Ste. Marie, watching the freighters sail up and down the St. Mary's River. That's Sault Ste. Marie, Canada across the river.

On this day in 2010, Rod Burdick snapped the second photo at the Marquette's Upper Harbor dock. You can just see the bow of Charles M. Beesley there at the dock, but also get a look at the blue locomotives of the LS&I, pushing the ore cars onto the dock. All in a day's work in the world of Great Lakes shipping.

The third photo was snapped a few weeks back, when Paul Brandes (Capt. Paul) and Nathalie (Dr. Nat) were here in the Copper Country for a visit. This photo of the Stewart J. Cort was snapped from the Copper Harbor lookout on Brockway Mountain. While there watching the freighter go by, Paul and Nat got to talking with some other folks there and found out that two of them were the wife and father of a young man who is a sailor on the Cort. They said that he had told them the ship would be passing Copper Harbor that day, so they were there on hand with a mirror to signal him when the ship got close and he would signal them back to let them know he could see them. All this time, Paul was snapping shots and with the powerful zoom, they could look through his lens and see their sailor waving his arms profusely at them, which really made their day! The fourth photo is zoomed in on the bow where you can just make out some people standing there behind the pilothouse. One of them is their husband/son... what a fun story!

Freighters are a common sight in the Soo area, so our video excursion today takes us there. Did you know that Sault Ste. Marie is the oldest city in Michigan and the third oldest city in the United States? Take a few minutes and learn more interesting things about the SS Valley Camp freighter museum and the Soo.

You would be correct, Mary. I absolutely love
freighter pictures. One of the things we love
when we go to Duluth is just standing there
watching them come and go. They're so amazing!
Thanks for the great pictures!

Nice pix and video! I have been to the Soo, but only to see the Locks, now I wish I had spent more time exploring the city.
BTW...Excellent review, this is a nice time of the year for picture taking.

LOVE the story w/Capt and Dr.....

And I do enjoy Under the Radar!

The freighters are a never ending joy to see. When I see a locomotive I think of how big it is, yet it is dwarfed in comparison to the freighters.

Hi
I was on vacation the last week in August through the day after Labor Day, at our cabin on the shores of Lake Huron. We can see the ships go by out in front on the way to the straits of Mackinac. It's always fun to see them.

Find out what your afraid of, and do it.

Thanks for using our photos yesterday. It was a real treat to be able to talk with people who had a personal reason as to why they were waiting for the Cort to pass by.

I spent 3 yrs. on the Stewart J. Cort!