Posts from our 2010 Summer Trip to Wisconsin and Michigan with a stop in Bloomington, Indiana.
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Home again, home again, jiggedy jig! After 5 weeks and 3,734 miles on the road we are back home in Texas. As usual, when we are on the last leg of our trip we can “smell” home and put the miles on rather quickly. There was almost no sightseeing from Bloomington to Missouri City. However, we did make a lunch stop in a Louisiana state park along Toledo Bend lake and were able to take a couple of nice photos right at our picnic sight. The header you see at the top of the page was our luncheon view of a small inlet on Toledo Bend. While we were stopped there was a beautiful great white egret doing a little fishing. We also managed to see some pretty dragonflies.
 Pretty Blue Dragonfly Our trip was great, but now it is back to work, as I have a week-long workshop beginning on Monday.
We were on Mackinac Island the day we celebrated wedding anniversary number 44. Forty-four years comes out to 528 months or 2,288 weeks or 16,071 days or 385,704 hours — but hey, who’s counting! I sort of forgot to post this as every day with Linda is a celebration. 
Indiana is our last stop before heading back to Texas. Of course Indiana is always on the itinerary so we can visit with April and Jeremy. It was a pleasure to have some time with them. What a fine time we had. Our activities couldn’t have more varied — ranging from dirt track races to a visit to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. And there was a milestone as we were there for their first-ever car purchase. April and Jeremy experienced that milestone we all remember — buying their first car together. It was time to retire the “songbird,” my old minivan which has had an unremovable squeal for a number of years. Off it went to be replaced by this neat Subaru Forester. 
April & Jeremy with their new Forester
Bloomington is fortunate to be just 20 minutes from beautiful Lake Monroe. It is an Army Corps of Engineers lake, which means it’s shoreline is kept natural We rented a pontoon boat and enjoyed an afternoon of glorious weather messin’ around on the water. 
On Lake Monroe
April At The Helm
We visited the Jolly Green Giant earlier in the trip, and his buddy the Little Green Sprout came to Bloomington to check out Jeremy’s eggplants and the rest of his garden. It looks as though he approves. 
Little Green Sprout
April’s new hobby is knitting. This hat for Linda is maroon and matches the one she made for Dad. It will be perfect for those late season Aggie games. My favorite thing about the hat is this great picture of my two favorite ladies. 
Linda, April, and Linda’s new hat
OMG! We Found The Motherlode Here it is — the source of all those wonderfully dreadful fiberglass animals that have been populating the sides of our roadways for the past several decades. I have always wondered where they have come from. Imagine my surprise to find them within 10 minutes of our RV park in Indiana. But this guy are cagey: he operates out of an unmarked building on a secondary road. You have to wonder if this guy’s mother knows what is happening here. 
A Menagerie Waiting For Shipping
These Chickens Are Ready To Cross The Road
You Might Be A Redneck If… …A family outing means taking everyone to the dirt track races on Friday night. Nothing says family more than some good, clean USAC racin’, and we should know because we were there!
We have left Wisconsin and are enjoying Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (or U.P. as the natives refer to it). The photo in the header shows Linda looking out onto Green Bay the evening before we got back on the road. We drove up Michigan Route 35 right along the shoreline of Green Bay — an absolutely gorgeous drive. Below is a photo of a small storm on the far side of Little Bay de Noc. We were in the sunshine as we watched this little squall travel swiftly along.  Storm across Little Bay de Noc Much of the Upper Peninsula is national forest land and is just a really beautiful area of the country. We have enjoyed it thoroughly. We did not see much wildlife, but we had one very exciting moment. We were watching this doe from the car when she signaled her fawn which came bounding out of the trees for a little snack. I have never seen a fawn suckling, so I was thrilled when I saw how this picture turned out. Nature at its finest.  Suckling Fawn Butterflies We stopped at a small butterfly museum while on Mackinac Island, and I couldn’t resist taking some photos and adding them to some others I have taken. The photos aren’t great, but since butterflies are always so beautiful, the photos just can’t be bad. Mackinac Island Everyone seems to go to Mackinac Island simply because everyone is expected to go there if they are on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. So, we went. It is an interesting, but “touristy”, place with only horses and bicycles for transportation. Mackinac Island marks the northern most point of our trip. We have now turned south and are heading back home.  Arch Rock on Mackinac Island Ford Presidential Museum Linda and I make it a sort of a hobby to visit Presidential Libraries. Prior to this trip we had visited 6 of the 12 official libraries along with the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Illinois and the homes of James Polk and Andrew Jackson. Now we have added Gerald Ford to the list by visiting his museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Linda at the Ford Presidential Museum The President played center for the University of Michigan in the early 1930′s, and was the team’s most valuable player in 1934. This wonderful, whimsicial sculpture in front of the museum commemorates his career.  Starting at center for the Wolverines, Number 48… There Is A Fish In This Picture A dam on the Grand River near downtown Grand Rapids prevents fish such as salmon and others from moving up and down the river. So a neat fish ladder was built to allow these fish to bypass the dam. The fish really do jump up the ladder, and we really saw them. I took about a gazillion photos trying to catch a fish going up one of the steps. What you see below is the best of the bunch. Believe me, there is a fish (a steelhead, I think) in the picture.  Fish Going Up The Grand Rapids Fishladder Flowers (again) I added some more photos to the flowers album that you might want to see. Here’s the album again. Enjoy. Who Knows Why We were walking down the street in Holland, Michigan when we came across this statue of good old Ben Franklin. We have no idea what Philadelphian Ben Franklin is doing in Holland, Michigan, and there was no explanation nearby. However, it seemed as though Ben would make for a good picture, so here he is with Linda.  Linda and Ben More Americana The good stuff never stops. I mean who doesn’t love a red, white, and blue moose — especially in July?  Patriotic Moose Them Aggies Is Everywhere Dept. I was sitting on a bench waiting for Linda to finish wandering through the shops of Mackinac Island when a six-year-old stuck his thumb in my face and shouted, “Gig ‘em!” An Aggie family had seen my A&M cap and stopped to say hello. A week earlier in a Wisconsin Dells restaurant we sat at the table next to a spring Aggie grad. Then just the other day, I saw this lovely sloop going through the cut from Lake Michigan to Macatawa Bay. I shouted to him and received a thumbs-up in return. Them Aggies is everywhere. I’m sure we’ll run into one or two more before the trip is over.  Aggie Sailboat In Michigan We have wandered across America’s Dairyland — from LaCrosse on the western border all the way to the coastline of Lake Michigan — and we have had a wonderful time. There is a lot to see in Wisconsin. Here is yet one more eclectic report from our travels. Wisconsin Dells The Dells is the place everyone feels they have to see when they visit Wisconsin, and we are no different. How can I describe the Dells? It is really two different experiences — beautiful and bizarre. The “beautiful” Dells is an absolutely special stretch of the Wisconsin River that is famous for its unique sandstone formations. These dells or gorges are a result of glaciers receding at the end of the Ice Age. The famous duckboat rides are in the Lower Dells, but the real beauty is seen in the Upper Dells. I hope the photos in the slide show will show you how really spectacular this scenery is. The “bizarre” Dells is the commercial side of the area. This is a main drag of all sorts of motels and attractions. There is everything from a wedding chapel beside a mini-golf to a Trojan Horse to a frog with a swimming pool slide tongue! The only way to believe it is to see it. Check out the slide show and see for yourself. Wisconsin’s Thumb Door County is Wisconsin’s beautiful peninsula with the Green Bay on one side and Lake Michigan on the other. Along the bay side there are a number of lovely (but busy) vacation villages, each with its own busy harbor. The header is a lovely sunset on the harbor of the village of Ephraim on Green Bay. We stayed on the other side of the peninsula in Bailey’s Harbor and Kewaunee, both on Lake Michigan.  Linda Looking onto Lake Michigan at the Kewaunee Breakwater The upper peninsula has a great Scandinavian influence, and there are many buildings which have Norse detailing. The goats in the photo below are on the roof of a restaurant where we enjoyed a nice meal. Sod roofs have been in Scandinavia for centuries, and the goats are used as lawnmowers.  We took a ferry across to Washington Island of the northern tip of the peninsula. While visiting a small museum, we came upon this magnificent catalpa tree in full bloom. Look at the blossom on the right; it almost has the look of an orchid. Now imagine an entire tree filled with these beautiful flowers.  Washington Island Museum with Welcoming Docent
More Americana I just cannot resist the stuff that makes our country great. So here are a two more classics that I just have to pass on to you. Of course, both photos were taken in the Dells. The Ford Mustang is a motorcycle trailer. It actually opens up and holds stuff. There were three couples from Indiana on a motorcycle tour.  The photo of the moose on the VW was taken at about 50 mph. Its greatness speaks for itself.  There will be lots more to report later. But I think a moose on a Volkswagen is a good place to stop for now.
Middle America Americana We’ve been traveling U.S. 81 up through the middle of the country on our way to Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The photo above in the header shows a farm in Nebraska, but it is typical of farms we have seen throughout our travels through the heartland of Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota. This post is topical rather than chronological. There area number of things to show or tell you and this seemed the most practical way to approach it. Orphan Trains In Concordia, Kansas there is a small museum called the National Orphan Train Complex. Between 1854 and 1929 some 200,000 orphans and homeless children from the mean streets of the large eastern cities (mainly New York) were sent across the country by charities to new homes. The trains that carried them became known as Orphan Trains. Concordia was typical of the small towns where the children were sent.  An Orphan Girl Awaiting Her New Family It is estimated that at least 1 of every 25 Americans is related to a child who was relocated on the orphan trains. Perhaps you have someone — a parent, grandparent, or even great-grandparent who was an orphan train child. It won’t hurt to ask.  Linda in Front of the Orphan Train Museum Americana Whenever we travel we are in search of Americana, and on this trip we have definitely been successful! In Blue Earth, MN we came upon the Jolly Green Giant — all 55 feet of him. He is at the mid-point of I-90 which is the longest Interstate Highway, running from Boston to Seattle.  Jolly Green Giant Blue Earth, Minnesota If the giants aren’t quite your thing, how about Spam? Believe it or not, there’s an entire museum dedicated to Spam, and of course we had to stop for a visit. The photo below proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that neither of us has any pride whatsoever.  Linda, Spammy, Don Not enough Americana for you? How about these two items? Here is a statue of Hiawatha along the Mississippi in La Crosse, Wisconsin. It is there for no apparent reason other than some guy in town made it and took it down to the park. And here’s Linda standing beside Paul Bunyan outside his restaurant in Wisconsin Dells.  Hiawatha  Linda and Paul Bunyan Wind Power I read recently that wind is now over 3 percent of our nation’s electricity. West Texas leads the nation in windpower, but we have sure seen many windmills on this trip. The photo below was taken in Minnesota where some of the windmill farms extended as far the eye could see. They sure beat oil spills! By the way, BP has a lot of service stations in this area, and sometimes I have to a bit out of the way so I don’t have to buy their gas.  Minnesota Wind Power Flowers Here are some photos of flowers I took at a lovely little garden called Riverside Friendship Park in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. If these were birds, I would have put names on each photo. Unfortunately, the only thing I can tell you about these flowers is that they are pretty. You can enjoy the slideshow right here or click the logo in the lower right corner to see full size photos. Who knows exactly what will be in the next post, but I strongly suspect it will be about the Wisconsin Dells.
We’ve been traveling U.S. 81 up through the middle of the country on our way to Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The photo above in the header shows a farm in Nebraska, but it is typical of farms we have seen throughout our travels through the heartland of Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota. This post is topical rather than chronological. There area number of things to show or tell you and this seemed the most practical way to approach it. Orphan Trains In Concordia, Kansas there is a small museum called the National Orphan Train Complex. Between 1854 and 1929 some 200,000 orphans and homeless children from the mean streets of the large eastern cities (mainly New York) were sent across the country by charities to new homes. The trains that carried them became known as Orphan Trains. Concordia was typical of the small towns where the children were sent.  An Orphan Girl Awaiting Her New Family It is estimated that at least 1 of every 25 Americans is related to a child who was relocated on the orphan trains. Perhaps you have someone — a parent, grandparent, or even great-grandparent who was an orphan train child. It won’t hurt to ask.  Linda In Front Of The Orphan Train Museum Americana Whenever we travel we are in search of Americana, and on this trip we have definitely been successful! In Blue Earth, MN we came upon the Jolly Green Giant — all 55 feet of him. He is at the mid-point of I-90 which is the longest Interstate Highway, running from Boston to Seattle.  Jolly Green Giant Blue Earth, Minnesota If the giants aren’t quite your thing, how about Spam? Believe it or not, there’s an entire museum dedicated to Spam, and of course we had to stop for a visit. The photo below proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that neither of us has any pride whatsoever.  Linda, Spammy, Don Not enough Americana for you? How about these two items? Here is a statue of Hiawatha along the Mississippi in La Crosse, Wisconsin. It is there for no apparent reason other than some guy in town made it and took it down to the park. And here’s Linda standing beside Paul Bunyan outside his restaurant in Wisconsin Dells.  Hiawatha  Linda And Paul Bunyon Wind Power I read recently that wind is now over 3 percent of our nation’s electricity. West Texas leads the nation in windpower, but we have sure seen many windmills on this trip. The photo below was taken in Minnesota where some of the windmill farms extended as far the eye could see. They sure beat oil spills! By the way, BP has a lot of service stations in this area, and sometimes I have to a go bit out of the way so I don’t have to buy their gas.  Minnesota Wind Power Flowers Here are some photos of flowers I took at a lovely little garden called Riverside Friendship Park in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. If these were birds, I would have put names on each photo. Unfortunately, the only thing I can tell you about these flowers is that they are pretty. You can enjoy the slideshow right here or click the logo in the lower right corner to see full size photos. Who knows exactly what will be in the next post, but I strongly suspect it will be about the Wisconsin Dells.
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