September 27, 2024 - Friday - Thunder Bay

September 27, 2024 - Friday 

Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada 

We sailed into Thunder Bay in heavy fog. We are at a dock here, which is very nice. The fog began to lift as the sun came up. It was close to 8:00 before the sun did come up. 

We are scheduled for a 10:00 am excursion to Fort William Historical Park and Kakabeka Falls. It has been nicknamed “Niagara of the North”. The falls have a drop of 130 feet. 

We were in the 3^rd group to leave, and our guide is “Russ”. A former high school history teacher. He is fairly funny and keeps his audience engaged. The Historical Park is a recreation of the fur trading fort that was located where the city of Thunder Bay now exists. It was built the way it was in 1815 when it was the headquarters for the North West Company (the world's largest fur trading enterprise). We had two local docents dressed in period costume escort us around the grounds with stops and stories. It was very well done. We learned a lot in a very interesting and entertaining way. We visited the Surgeon's quarters, a warehouse for the furs, and a birchbark canoe building shed. 

One of our guides at the park.

The palisades were installed with a point to shed rain and snow.
Protecting the wood. It would rot much faster without the point.

Firewood was stored under several of the buildings

In the physician's quarters. All sorts of remedies were explained to us.

The fur store house. When operational, this would have been packed with furs.

Birch bark canoes that have been built here. Very impressive.

This one would have held about 30 warriors.

A Great Lakes Cradleboard. Used to carry babies 
from 6 months to about 2 years.

A scale model of how the shelters were built

 

After a comfort stop, we headed for the Falls. A very short walk down a paved path to some viewing platforms gave us a nice view of the Falls. Water is low at this time of year, so they weren’t as stunning as we were led to believe, but still a nice waterfall.

Looking downstream

 

As to whether they compare to Niagara Falls, we will see in another week or so. 

Back to the ship and a late lunch, but the World Café had stayed open so we had a great selection. 

We continued getting the room organized and made great progress. We attended the Daily Briefing and were introduced to the Captain and his senior officers. 

Early to bed.