Source: Sterling State Park & The Henry Ford

Source: Sterling State Park & The Henry Ford

Driving down 75 we arrived at Sterling State Park located on the shore of Lake Erie below Detroit. The state park is home to a variety of migrating bird species including hawks and eagles. Many birds were arriving during our stay. The drive in takes you along a tree lined road one half mile to the main entrance.

From there its another mile to the campground  passing through inlets and estuaries. Nary a soul to be found. We were greeted by Ranger Joe manning the tiny guard shack deep in the park and seemingly in the middle of nowhere. He checked us in and sent us off through the dark to find our site. Since we arrived at night we didn’t get a lay of the land until the next morning. The wind had increased and was a consistent thirty knots. Nowhere to hide from the wind as the entire campground is flat and exposed to the shoreline of Lake Erie. There is a coal plant located directly to the south with steam billowing sideways into the atmosphere reminding me of Smoke Stacks in Huntington Beach during a Santa Ana wind.

On further inspection there is a nuclear power plant just to the north with Three Mile Island style reactors imposing over the landscape.

We finally found the perfect spot to meet all of our energy needs. “Coal on the left of me, Nuclear reactors on the right, here I am, stuck in the middle again…” A bit daunting to say the least. However, I found great comfort when I was told the reactors were temporarily shut down for refueling…Blah.

Located within striking distance of Motor City, we had little interest in taking the kids on a tour of abandoned down town but we did want to visit, The Henry Ford. Ford is a presence here to say the least. Our thirty minute drive to Dearborn, home of Ford, was dotted along the way with manufacturing facilities. Domestic cars are king here as the most abundant imports on the road are Hyundai and Kia. Ford has a massive campus here which surrounds the museum facilities. Their Design, engineering and R & D divisions are but a few of the buildings surrounding the public portion of the campus which offers the Henry Ford Museum, The Greenfield Village, Factory tour and IMAX theater. We took the advice of Ranger Joe and the weather so we split our visit into two days.

Rain was on the way so we spent the first day outside walking through
history in Greenfield Village. Upon entering we were greeted with the most impressive collection of working Model T’s I have ever seen. I couldn’t help but wish my parents were with us as they would have greatly enjoyed and appreciated the experience. My dad would have especially enjoyed the automotive collection.

Henry Ford preserved a huge chunk of the American experience here. He had the money and foresight to preserve a piece of our nation’s past by moving period buildings and homes of industrialists and history makers from their original location and reassembling them in Greenfield Village. For example, the structures from the entire Firestone family farm was moved from it’s original location and reassembled here. It is a working farm consisting of pastures, apple orchards, barn buildings, animal pens and family home. It was reconstructed here in the early 1900’s with every original stone and board. Upon walking into the Firestone family home the aroma of bacon filled the small kitchen. There were three women in period dress preparing a dinner of ham, potatoes and apple pie for all of the farm workers.

They were using period utensils and cookware which made the task of preparing a meal for nine people all the more labor intensive. But what a great reward as all of the food was harvested on the farm including the ham. The women answered all of our questions about the meal, home and Firestone family in addition to offering a narrative of their daily life.
There are way too many structures to describe but a few stand outs are Fords workshop where he developed the Quadricycle, his first self propelled motor car and the  prototypes for what would become the Model T.

Thomas Edison’s workshop where he and his team created the first electric light bulb that functioned well enough for sustained use.

The court house where Abraham Lincoln made a name for himself as an attorney in the early years of his career.

and the Wright brothers bicycle shop which housed many of the tools used to build their plane.

 

Each structure carefully reassembled providing the experience of walking through the original. Each building had an oral historian on site to paint a picture of it’s history and the life within.
Henry Ford went to great lengths to reassemble the structures to replicate the original as closely as possible. In fact the courthouse where Lincoln worked was one of Fords favorites as Ford greatly admired Lincoln. We were told he had the dirt beneath and surrounding the original building transported to Greenfield Village so the structure could be reassembled on its original dirt foundation. In addition he had the plaster from the interior walls ground into powder so they could reapply it when they refinished the interior walls. It was a humbling to experience the space where he honed his skills.
The following rainy day was Parker’s Birthday so we spent our time in the museum. Ford greatly appreciated history, machinery, manufacturing and invention. The museum offers a wide display of his interests. From automobiles and farm equipment to industrial machinery and trains to furniture and domestic artifacts.

This is a piece my parents purchased way back when and was a fixture in our home.

Stand outs for me are the Model T Ford blown apart displaying the simplicity of that first production car.

The Presidential limousines.

The actual chair Lincoln was sitting in when he was assassinated.

and a massive coal powered locomotive with three or four passenger cars attached. Imagine a space large enough to fit a locomotive almost two stories tall and the length of a city block.

A few of my favorites;

We recommend The Henry Ford as a must see for anyone visiting the Motor City. We exhausted the kids walking around but not enough to slow down their excitement as the ride home was filled with conversations of our day and the anticipation of celebrating Parker’s birthday. We stopped by a market on the way home and picked up a little cake and ice cream to celebrate our eight year old’s big day.

The next morning the rain had passed but the wind was still howling, only slightly less. I was up early and took the dog for a walk along the shore of Lake Erie.

I was saddened to see the garbage all along the shoreline. The constant winds and the tidal surge that came at the height of the storm left all kinds of discarded debris.

At home our family has a practice of picking up three pieces of trash every time we leave a beach. My three pieces hardly made an impression here. After Charlie chased a gaggle of geese in the water until he was soaked we made our way back to our site to pack up and head out.

Next stop Mentor, Ohio.

More Wind

As we made our way toward the Mackinac bridge connecting lower Michigan to the U.P. the winds progressively kicked up along the way. A few hours later and by the time we reached the bridge a storm was nearing the area with menacing clouds and winds gusting to forty knots. It was nearing dinner and the signs along the way advertising Big Boy Burgers did their job. My Bob’s Big Boy Nostalgia takes me back to Seventeenth Street in Costa Mesa where I spent a number of meals with good friends. Our kids have never been in a Big Boy. On the west coast it’s Bob’s Big Boy but they all have the iconic fiberglass Big Boy statue out front.

 

This one being in Moose country had a Big Boy Moose out front as well. When we entered I should have turned around and walked out sparing us all from a restaurant well past it’s days of glory. But the draw of the Classic Big Boy Burger the road signs had advertised was too great. Our host finally acknowledged us waiting at the door after an eternity and lumbered over at a snails pace to take us to our table. No thank you I do not want to sit next to the door since the wind is blowing forty knots outside. We strolled past the salad bar with a huge “no thank you” shouting in my head since we were here for the “Classic” burger. I’m a bit germ conscious anyway. Once seated we waited for a second eternity for the server to show up. I could understand if it was packed but we were five of fifteen people in the place. The kids eyes were growing larger with every glossy food picture on the menu. With the server finally at our table we wasted no time ordering the Classic Big Boy. Thankfully the food came out faster than getting to our table and ordering. The kids were super excited with the arrival of their first Big Boy encounter. So much that Gavin spent the entire time arranging his meal for the best photo.

We were all super hungry and cleaned most of our plates in no time. For me this recent meal erased all the wonderful Big Boy nostalgia I may have had tucked away. For the kids, they can’t wait for their next Big Boy. Perhaps we should have held out for Wienerlicious across the bridge.

It was getting late with the wind increasing as the storm neared. We made our way ever so slowly over the Mackinac Bridge to look for a place to spend the night.

With options limited we stayed at a massive RV park named Mill Creek. There were over six hundred sites and and a property large enough to get lost in. The large resort style RV parks are my last choice as they take away from the whole reason we took to the road in the first place. With their video game rooms, pools and mini marts all on site it’s not the experience we are looking for. State, County and National parks are our first choice. We had not quite gotten set up and the heaven’s parted, the rain began to fall, the skies grew dark and we were still setting up our rig. First light we were out of there to find a laundr-O-mat, catch up on school work and pepper in a bit of exploring.

South Higgins Lake is located smack dab in the middle of both coasts and in the top quarter of the state. It is large for a state park as it offers around six hundred sites. We arrived in the dark to a vacant campground. Evidently the lake is packed in the summer. After Labor Day most every summer destination on the east coast becomes deserted which is okay with us. Navigating the dark campground with only the light from our coach we landed a pull through site next to the lake. The winds had never let up and they blew a solid thirty to forty knots all night long. The air temp was in the forties which required us to stay bundled up.  Higgins Lake offers a unique coast line as you can walk out fifty yards in waist deep water around nearly the entire perimeter of the lake. The water is super clear and blue, think Tahoe.  I was looking forward to dropping the paddle boards in the water in the morning.

Early AM, I stepped out of the coach into a stiff and cold wind. My hopes of paddling the lake were quashed as I was not up for an arctic challenge. I have never liked paddling in a wetsuit and life vest. With a quick study of our campsite I realized it was actually two sites back to back. With a road on each end. I had taken up two sites with prime lake frontage. No worries as I could see a total of six other campers around. I would like to come back when the weather is more beneficial to fully enjoy all this lake has to offer. With school work taking up most of the morning we prepped the coach for a late start on the drive to Detroit.

Forest City, Iowa. Population 4400 and around 2400 are employed by Winnebago Industries.

Continue reading →

Corn, corn and more corn as far as the eye can see

I had no idea of the number of farms and amount of corn being grown in the upper Midwest. So far we have come across major corn fields uninterrupted from west-central South Dakota on through Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. I am in awe at the amount of corn based products we must consume to support so many farms. To think about the many uses for corn reminded me of the scene from the movie Forest Gump when Bubba names all the different ways to prepare shrimp. Of course his accent makes the scene.

The farms are as varied as can be and we passed through many farms who have barns that are noted on a Barn Quilt tour in this region. Ironically the Barn Quilt is not a quilt you hang over the rocking chair or lay on the bed, it is a large square piece of wood painted with geometric patterns to represent a square of a quilt. They are large and attached to the end of a barn to showcase the pattern, color and add some interest to the barn. Here is a link for more info on Barn Quilts in America. Sadly, I did not take any photos of them I can find. http://barnquiltinfo.com/

We had a long drive day and it was windy which offers a solid upper body workout keeping our circus train in our lane.

At least his face is safe.

We got a far as Mitchell South Dakota before we stopped. We needed to catch up on school, banking and laundry. The kids have been working on journals of our trip and some nights they take over our entire living space.

We stayed just off the highway for two days in an old KOA that was privatized.  It was hot and the place was pretty empty except for the flies. Oh man the flies were relentless. Open the door and three or more would get in despite our best efforts to keep them out. Budget friendly and just what you might expect in the middle of a rural farming community. While it was no five-star facility we always try to look at the positive side of any locale.

No frills, but had all the essentials plus the ever wonderful WIFI. The pool was closed for the season but the playground had a lot to keep the kids busy on their free time. All dirt roads but plenty of large shade trees as it was the warmest we had been since mesquite Nevada. Run by a friendly couple, they employed their elderly mother with the tasks of keeping the place clean and tidy. She could work circles around her grown children. They left us to our own devices and gave us free reign of the place. Glad to move on to Forest City, Iowa and the Winnebago factory tour.