National Museum Of The Great Lakes

We did an enjoyable outing to the National Museum Of The Great Lakes today.

Fun facts:

  • Of the 5 great lakes, 4 straddle the  Canada/ USA boundary:  from west to east:  Superior, Huron, Erie, Ontario.  Only one, lake Michigan, is entirely on US soil.
  • Collectively, the great lakes hold 84% of all freshwater in North America, and 20% of the world’s freshwater reserve.

Part of the Museum includes a retired “laker” ship, which was open to visitors, and 600 ft. long.  The museum states that of all the cargo transported on the great lakes, 45% has been iron and steel, and 28% aggregates

After the museum visit, we drove through around downtown Toledo.  We have seen city centers that were much more run-down than this, but we were stunned  to see entire city blocks of high rise buildings and street-level shops that are entirely barricaded and empty.