Impressions of Wisconsin

Having traveled from Iron Mountain, MI across nearly the entire east-west dimension of Wisconsin, my impressions are these: there are a lot of trees; there is a lot of water; there are not a lot of people.

Our route yesterday was from Iron Mountain to Webster, WI, which is not far from the western border with Minnesota.  There are so few interstate highways on this path that we were never on one.  We traveled mainly state and county roads and US highways.

The drive was beautiful, in spite of persistent rain showers. What struck me most was the innumerable small lakes and rivers, all filled with crystal clear water.

We were nearly half way across Wisconsin, before we found a tourist information center and were able to procure a highway map.  We stopped in Tomahawk Lake and had a lovely chat with the lady manning the tourist information center. While we were there, waiting for the most recent shower to abate, so we could get back to the truck without being drenched, a gent came in looking for information on bicycling in the area.

It turned out that he is the football coach at Wheaton college. He looked the part: big and fit, with rugged features. As we talked with him, it was plain that he cared deeply for the Lord and for his players. We learned that he takes the team to Haiti from time to time on mission trips. We mentioned that we have dear friends who attended Wheaton and are full time missionaries in Haiti, but he did not know them.

Continuing on our way, as we approached the western edge of the state, the heavy forestation gave way to some more agriculturally oriented topography. It was an odd sensation to travel across so much territory with only the voice of our GPS to guide us. Even though we had a map for the second half of the journey, the roads we traveled were so minor that we couldn’t find most of them on the map. Nevertheless, here we are parked in the Voyager Campground near Webster.

We got set up and headed to the home of our friends, Ben and Shirley, who live on 8 1/2 acres fronting on the Yellow River. Their property is beautiful and quite remote, although Shirley proclaimed that they are really not that isolated. Why, in the winter, when the trees are bare, they can actually see some of their neighbors’ houses.

After a gourmet meal that Ben and Shirley prepared for us, we relaxed and chatted. We hadn’t seen them in over a year, and that was before they moved to Wisconsin, so there was much on which to catch up.

I’ll follow this post with one about our activities in Webster, and with luck, I will include some pictures.

Horsing around with history.

Yesterday was a treat.  We had one day in Mackinaw City, so we made the most of it.  Bright and early, we took the dogs to a kennel. Then we headed for the waterfront where we were just in time to catch the Star Line Hydro Jet ferry for Mackinac Island. 

A lighthouse on the island adjacent to Mackinac Island.

The island is awash in history, having played roles in the Revolutionary War under the British and the War of 1812 under American control.  Wikipedia says:

Fort Mackinac (pronounced: MACK-in-awe) is a former British and American military outpost garrisoned from the late 18th century to the late 19th century in the city of Mackinac Island, Michigan, on Mackinac Island. The British built the fort during the American Revolutionary War to control the strategic Straits of Mackinac between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and by extension the fur trade on the Great Lakes. The British did not relinquish the fort until fifteen years after American independence.
Fort Mackinac later became the scene of two strategic battles for control of the Great Lakes during the War of 1812. During most of the 19th century, it served as an outpost of the United States Army. Closed in 1895, the fort has been adapted as a museum on the grounds of Mackinac Island State Park.

Here is the fort from the town below, sorry it is so blurry.

The wall of the fort from above.

 In addition to the fort, the town of Mackinac is nicely preserved, including Doud's Market (how I missed getting a picture of it will be a bone of contention in the family for some time to come), the oldest grocery market in the U.S., which was founded in 1884 and is still operated by the same family. Below are pics of some of the buildings we did capture:

We took a tour on one of the horse drawn carriages that tour the island, complete with informative and amusing commentary from the drivers.  In point of fact we rode on two different carriages. A two horse carriage took us to the top of the steepest hill on the island where there is a (guess what, that's right) gift shop,  and then we got on a three horse carriage, which was designed to carry more people. Our second carriage was populated by us and another couple and a family of four generations traveling together. By the time the tour was over, we were all part of the family! It was great fun, and the driver was quite droll, keeping us entertained and informed at the same time.

There are only five automobiles on the island: two police cars, two pieces of fire equipment, and an ambulance. Everyone else travels by bicycle or horse-power.

Here is a part of the garden in front of the Grand Hotel. Notice the horse-drawn carriage in the background, which carries guests from the docks up the hill to the hotel. 

Here is the Grand Hotel itself. According to our guide, the original 

hotel comprising 180 rooms was completed in the 19th century in 93 days! Since then, additional rooms have been added. I don't know how long that took.

I took this to show the number of bicycles on the island. 

Then the guide told us that this is the hotel employee parking lot.

On the tour we drove through the Mackinac Island State Park. In the park there are three cemeteries: one for catholics, one for protestants (much smaller) and one for soldiers who died while serving at the fort. The latter was moved at some point and much of the information about the men buried in the military cemetery was lost. Consequently many of the graves are marked simply "Soldier."

Here is the Protestant cemetery.

Another blurry shot, this one of St. Anne's cemetery for Catholics.

And this is the military cemetery all decked out for Memorial Day.

As we proceeded through the park we saw not only a beautiful forest, but more history.

Fort Mackinac is below. According to our guide, the British sneaked up onto the hill above the fort with a force of 500 troops. The Americans below were only 50 strong. The British fired a cannon ball over the fort, and the Americans immediately surrendered.

As we drove through the park, we saw literally hundreds of Trilliums. I have seen one or two at a time at home, but this was stunning. The plant is a perennial, but it only blooms once every seven years. There is a $500 fine for picking one of the flowers.

We stopped at Arch Rock park, and Jill had her photo taken with our team.

Here are the team that pulled our three horse carriage. 

And Arch Rock, named for obvious reasons. 

And the happy couple at the Arch Rock viewing area.

Here's another team that was stopped at the park.

Bart gets a drink after pulling us up the hill.

The tour ended at the fort overlooking the town. From there we walked back down to the town.  After the boat ride, where we were seated on an open deck, and the two-hour, open carriage ride, we were chilled nearly to the bone. We stopped at Horn's Bar and Grill for a bowl of wonderful white bean chili. That did the trick. 

The old blogger ready for lunch.

This bar was established in the 1930s. 

After lunch, we did some shopping and picked up some of the fudge for which the island is famous. Jill found a beautiful water repellent jacket, too.  At last it was time to go to the boat dock.  We took our seats in the waiting area, where an elementary school was waiting to go back to the mainland, too: about 50 kids and chaperones all dressed in turquoise sweatshirts. We wanted to take a couple of their shirts, because they would match our trailer.  

Shopping in Mackinac.

The ferry dock, with a couple of the kids in turquoise.

Notice the beautiful homes on the hill behind the pier.

On the way back to the mainland, we had an indoor (read: warm) seat. Out the window we saw another ferry  and a tanker going by.

One of the huge ships that ply the waters of the Great Lakes. 

Once we returned to the mainland, it occurred to us that "the kids" were still in the kennel, so we did some sightseeing around Mackinaw City.  There is an old lighthouse, called the "Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse." We stopped there and walked the grounds.

The "water side" of the lighthouse.

Also located on the grounds is a steam generating station used to power a fog horn.  The fog horn was installed first, and then a couple of years later, the lighthouse went into service. Both have been decommissioned and are now parts of a museum.  

We left the lighthouse and drove around the town some more.  Jill spotted the Mackinaw City Cookie and Pastie House.  We decided we needed to try pasties (pronounce past-ees), an iconic Michigan treat made of meat and vegetables, especially root vegetables, like rutabagas and potatoes, wrapped in  pie crust and baked. We bought two of them and had one for dinner and the other for breakfast this morning. I recommend them.

Today, we drove from Mackinaw City over the Mackinac Narrows Bridge onto the upper peninsula (or UP) of Michigan.  The area is affectionately known as the Yoop. We stopped and picked up some smoked trout as a treat, which turned out to be dinner.  Tomorrow, it is on to Webster, WI, where some of our dear friends from Portland moved after they retired. More about that later.

No matter how you spell it Mackinac is beautiful.

Today was another travel day. We left Holland State Park and the beautiful Lake Michigan around 8 AM, headed for the northern tip of the lower peninsula of Michigan.  Incidentally, we learned yesterday (from a somewhat dubious source, i.e., a guy from Kentucky) that people who live in the Upper Peninsula (or UP) are known as UPers (pronounced YOU-pers), while the people who live in the Lower Peninsula are know as Trolls. I assume that is because they live below the bridge (?), i.e., the Mackinac bridge, which connects the upper and lower peninsulas and roughly crosses the dividing line between Lake Michigan to the west and Lake Huron to the east.

Anyway, we had a beautiful drive through the Michigan countryside, which is relatively flat and covered with trees; lots and lots of trees, mainly hardwoods, but the further north we got, the more pines and other evergreens we saw.  As we drove north on I-75, approaching Mackinaw City, we suddenly were able to see the towers of the Mackinac bridge. It is really a breathtaking sight.

We are camped at Mackinaw Mill Creek campground near Mackinaw City.  Our space looks out on Lake Huron and we can see the bridge from our space.

Here is Mackinac Bridge from our space.

This, I believe is Mackinac Island, famed for it's quaint and historic charm. 

Tomorrow, we hope to visit Mackinac Island and take the horse carriage tour.  Wish us luck.

P.S. I was curious about the difference between Mackinaw and Mackinac. Here's what I found on Yahoo answers:

The French Pronounced it "aw" but spelled it "ac". The British heard it pronounced "aw" so they spelled it that way. Today Mackinaw City retains the "aw" spelling while the bridge, straits and island steadfastly cling to the "ac" spelling. No matter how it is spelled, however, it is always pronounced Mackinaw!

Holland by the Zuider Zee...er, Lake Michigan

We left Mitchell with heavy hearts.  We so enjoyed our time with Jim and Guyanne and their kids that it was hard to leave.  All of us agreed that we need to return before another eight years go by. 

After we heard Jim preach a great sermon on the first century church’s approach to breaking bread together and how they viewed all breaking of bread as a remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf, Jim and Guyanne treated us to lunch at Chicago’s pizza parlor.  If you are ever in Mitchell, I recommend this place.

We bid this wonderful family a tearful farewell. It felt strange to be just getting on the road at 2:30 PM.  We drove about 125 miles to Lafayette, IN, home of Purdue University.  This leg of the trip was primarily practical, in the sense that we wanted to get a little closer to Michigan, a place I have wanted to see for years. We spent the night in Lafayette in a quiet but very tired RV park.

In the morning, we set out early and drove to Holland, MI.  We are currently parked in the Holland State Park beach campground.  Michigan is beautiful, as is Indiana, by the way.  I have never seen any of the Great Lakes before, except from an airliner passing over at 35,000 feet. It was exciting and strange to walk down to the beach and find a lake in a place that looks like it should have an ocean.

See the dot by my left ear?

That was this sailboat drifting with no wind in her sails. 

The vast expanse of water looks like an ocean, except there are no breakers, just some little ripples lapping at the shore. We saw a pair of Mallards swim up to the shore and waddle up the beach; something I would not expect in an ocean. Increasing the confusion is that there is a lighthouse in the park. A lighthouse on a lake is not what I usually expect.

Here's the lighthouse.

And closer up.

Now I ask you, does this not look like an ocean beach.

Here's a hotel or some such that sits along the canal between Lake Michigan
and a much smaller lake called Lake Macatawa.

And closer up. 

The bottom line, however, is that the lake and the beach and the park are all beautiful and a great area for camping (OK, for RVing). We have met a number of people in the park. Some of them are Michiganders and others are from other states. It is great to interact with people from all over the country.

Today, we drove into Holland and were impressed with the beautiful homes we saw. We ran across a college campus: Hope College.  It is a very large campus and quite lovely. From there we drove to a little town called Zeeland, which was settled by Dutch immigrants in 1847.  The town takes great pride in keeping the buildings and grounds in pristine condition.

We got the oil changed in the truck and filled up with gas before we returned to the park. The afternoon has involved a stroll on the beach, during which we saw a young man who was flying a kite with 10 square meters of area.  There was not enough wind for him to really show it off, but he did get it into the air.  We also walked the dogs around the park a couple of times.

Here's the kite.

Here's the flyer.

Early in the day, I finalized our reservations for the rest of the week and the Memorial Day weekend, so we don’t have to worry that we will be stuck at Walmart camping in the parking lot. Tomorrow we will drive to Mackinaw City, where we will be able to see both Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and then on Friday we will round the top of Lake Michigan and start our westward journey home. 

A dream come true

This post is a day late, due to lack of adequate internet connection. I will preface this post with the following information: For eight years, we have intended to drive cross country with an RV, and one of our goals was to reunite with Jim and Guyanne and their family. On May 21, 2016 that dream reunion took place.

5/21/16
We have arrived in Mitchell, IN, one of our goals for this trip, but let me catch you up.  We left St Peters, MO on Thursday, drove through St. Louis, across southern Illinois and arrived in Evansville, IN. I got my masters degree from Masters International University of Divinity in 2008. The school is a distance learning divinity school, but their headquarters are in Evansville. I also took an onsite seminar here with Dr. Dennis Frey, who happens to be the founder and president of the university.

Dennis and his wife, Sharon, are wonderful people and dedicated to serving the Lord. They have traveled the world in pursuit of that service. Nevertheless, they were gracious enough to allow us to treat  them to dinner at Olive Garden. After dinner, they invited us to come back to their home, where we sat in their beautiful backyard until almost dark chatting and enjoying one another’s company. 

We left the Freys and went back to the Burdette Park campground, where we had left the trailer. The park is beautiful, covered with maple and oak trees and set on a hillside with the RV park being terraced.  It is a lovely place and we were a little sorry to leave, especially since it rained pretty consistently for the duration of our drive to Mitchell, about a hundred miles, give or take.

We arrived yesterday afternoon at the Spring Mill State Park, another gorgeous area of Indiana.  The park is enormous and features, in addition to a large campground, a historic Inn, built in 1937 by the CCC, a preserved/restored pioneer village, a lake, a large swimming pool complex and acres and acres of hardwood forest.

Having arrived on a Friday, we were grateful to find the campground was not completely full, although it began to fill up as the afternoon wore on. Once we were set up, we decided to explore the park.  We drove to the Inn and explored it. It is a beautiful place oozing rustic lodge style charm.  The interior finishes are all done with native hardwoods, and the exterior is made of limestone, which is also locally derived.

After we left the inn, we drove past the lake and arrived at the pioneer village. There was a village in the area that was centered around a mill.  The mill was built by two brothers in 1816 and apparently prospered.  In addition to the mill, there are a handful of houses all made of logs. There is a weaver’s shop, a distillery, a tavern (which was more like a hotel, back in the day), a small school house, a community garden and some other buildings we didn’t have time to explore.

Spring Mill Lake

A creek greets you as you enter the village.

The weaver's house.

This is a hotel, IIRC

The Mill

One of the brothers lived in this home with his wife and eight children.

The other brother lived in this home with his wife and HIS  eight children. 

I guess they didn't want to run out of millers. 

One of the bedrooms.

The distillery and wood shop and the mill flume in the background.

The Tavern

The distillery and wood shop.

 
The village was one stop along a stage line that went from Vincennes to another city, and part of the stage road is preserved in the park as a walking path. We always enjoy seeing a glimpse into the way people lived in the past, and this village is a wonderful place to do that.

I was fascinated to see that the buildings were built with different styles of joinery work.

Following our visit to the pioneer village, we returned to our trailer and spent the evening relaxing with an old movie from the early 1940s. And so, to bed.

Later this morning, we will get together with a family that we met at my graduation from the divinity school. Jim and I were classmates in the seminar I mentioned earlier, and at the graduation ceremony, Jill unknowingly sat next to Jim’s wife, Guyanne. They hit it off as well as Jim and I had in class.  We have maintained a friendship with these wonderful people by mail and email and Facebook. Now we will be able to spend a few hours with them in their native habitat, which is a 26 acre farm called Eden’s Hope Farm.  But more about that later.