Tuesday, 30 August.

On a lark I decided to go from Michigan to New York via Canada. Outside the box thinking. Really, Ohio is just so moderate.  On the way to Port Huron I saw a sign for someplace called Frankenmuth.  Who could resist?  Turns out it’s a town founded by Germans and has continued that cultural feel. A real tourist destination.  I could have spent the day there.  They had perhaps the best humorous store I’d ever seen.  Lots of fudge (again). A Celtic Store that had an entire Doctor Who section too!  A covered bridge.  Brewery.  River rapids.  Etc.  I regretted leaving.

Crossing Canada from Michigan to New York was probably better than going through Ohio, but it was a close call.  Hot, busy highway.  I started to enter London, but it’s really just a large city.  Had lunch; Peppercorn burger with cheese and bacon.  Delicious.  Also Jalapeño corn chowder.  I asked for tea, meaning iced tea, but they gave me british hot tea.  It was really good, but with the temp approaching 90, it seemed wrong.

There are at least 30 wine tasting rooms within 30 miles of Niagara Falls, on the Canadian side.  “Organized Crime Winery”?  I did stop at Peninsula Ridge Estate Winery just so I could say I did.  Pretty place.  Vineyards all around the shop.  I bought some Pinot Grigio to drink tonight.  Really very good, sough I may by slurring my words a litlte.(Sic)

Need to do laundry.  Selected a quality hotel that had laundry service, but their washer is busted.  Voiced my dissatisfaction.  I’ll have to wait until tomorrow night.

Tomorrow I plan to visit Phil.  I could go to Williamsport, but kids playing baseball to please their parents play second fiddle to a groundhog who has no idea what’s going on.  I officially dislike temporal anomalies as being saps to easy screenplays (“Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey stuff”), but Groundhog Day is one of my favorite comedies.

Some things are located in the oddest places.

I can only imagine the conversation that initiated talk to place this plaque.

Okay. When you see this tower on a McDonalds store, you know the town is up to something.

This is a really small town with little to report. Today is the 30th.

This is Frankenmuth’s War Memorial. They have a plaque to explain what the memorial symbolizes, which is good.

I like puns, but this one is over the top.

Just one of many very funny t-shirts.

Peninsula Ridge Winery. Bates Hotel, anyone? Their Pinot Grigio is very good.

Monday, 29 August

I kept stopping along the shores of Lake Michigan.  The view wasn’t sensational, but it was compelling.  Found a Snowmobile Museum.  Interesting.  The 60’s were certainly the decade for their growth. Before then it was mostly a cottage industry.

The Mackinac Bridge is still there.  Family went over it in 1965(?).  My memory is that we camped in a park right along the onramp, which is today comprised of museums and shops.  A lot of fudge shops.  A lot.  Over the top.  It’s a large tourist area.  The Bridge museum is above a pizza restaurant.  Interestingly, when it opened in 1957 the toll charge was $3.25 for cars, $1.50 for motorcycles.  Today it’s $4 for either.  Doesn’t seem fair.  The left lane is steel decked, scary for two wheels.  Apparently, on Labor Day they let people walk across it.  I don’t know if they still offer it, but in the past scared drivers could call in advance and have someone drive their car over.  No charge.

I was going to continue driving along the coastline but I had spent too much time on the north side.  Just took the 75 south to Saginaw.  Hot and busy.  I wanted to stay in Flint to show support, but their hotels were too much $$$.  Considering the water situation, that was surprising.  Maybe all the government inspectors are driving up prices.

Ate a Michigan Pasty (meat pie).  Ugh.  Bland.  Probably should try another before passing judgement.

(Oh.  A few days ago in Minnesota I passed Welcome, MN.  They did indeed have a sign: “Welcome to WELCOME”.  Gotta love it.)

I checked the records. There are several towns in the USA and Canada that claim to be Paul Bunyan’s home town.

Looks like the Midas Muffler man, modified.

Notice the sign, went in. We had snowmobiles in my youth. I described one and the curator immediately knew all about the model’s history.

Hundreds of different models. Dozens on makers. I had no idea. The was even a converted Model T Ford!

A Harley Davidson snowmobile. I bet it was loud.

I have doubts that this thing worked.

Mackinac Bridge. It is still one of the longest suspension bridges in the world.

Sunday, 28 August.

Drove to Green Bay.  Some nice towns along the way, Omro being the best.  Extremely pretty town with a slow moving river in the middle.  Lots of parks.  A horseshoe area (7 sets).  Fishing is clearly the main hobby.  Playgrounds everywhere.

Green Bay, besides hosting a football team of a some fame, is home to the National Railroad Museum. Who knew?  I think the North Carolina Museum of Transportation has more engines, etc., but this one is vastly better laid out and displayed.  Well worth the $9 admission.  Has the last remaining 1950s train that was designed by General Motors to resemble a bus.  Failed commercially, but it’s pretty.  The Big Boy engine is magnificent.  Also had a car named “Silver Streak”.  As it happened, Gene Wilder passed away on this day.  I also loved the movie with him and Richard Pryor.  RIP.

The Green Bay Packers Museum is closed on Sundays.  I could have done the stadium tour, but I’m not that big a fan of stadiums.  So I went to one of the numerous sports bars within sight of the stadium.  Had cheese curds (curdled milk). Like soft calamari.  What was on TV? The Chargers.  Weird.

Drove another 100 miles and camped at one of the dozens of camping sites on Lake Michigan.  Trains roared past, but I sort of liked it.  Learned that this year’s Gold Wing Rally ( a “Wing Ding”) is in Billings, Montana, hence all the GW’s going in the other direction.  10,000 participants.

I’m noticing that fewer towns are placing machines of war out on display, going for memorials instead. Good.

Just for fun, this picture is upside down.

The sign just says “Ship Rock”. On the side of the road, in the middle of miles and miles of nothing but flatland. No explanation.

Pretty town of Omro.

I haven’t seen this sign before.

Omro’s memorial.

I don’t know if this is a quote from somewhere, but it’s very touching.

Big Boy. One of the largest train engines in history. Technically a 4-8-8-4 (24 wheels). 134 feet long. The picture doesn’t do it justice.  The first 12 wheels are articulated beneath the fixed boiler so it can handle curves.

The cab of the Big Boy. Bewildering.

Another Gratitude Train from French. 48 were sent from France. I saw another one in North Carolina.

An early snowplow car.

Sadly, this barrel car carried vinegar or apple cider. Not wine.

The train used by Dwight Eisenhower in England. They changed its name in his honor. A lot of arm twisting went into getting the United Kingdom to give it up. Prince Philip got involved.

I took this picture on August 28th, the same day that Gene Wilder passed. RIP.

I came to Green Bay to say I’ve seen Lambeau Field. Mission accomplished. The museum is closed on Sunday.

Saturday, 27 August.  Boring drive.  No pictures.  Three pictures from yesterday at the Minuteman Control Center.

Rain in the morning.  Slept a little after breakfast.  Departed 9.  Felt out of sorts, so after 75 miles I went to a McDonalds for 90 minutes.  Rain stopped, road dried out.  Better.

Discovered Austin, MN.  Didn’t know existed. Went in search of Austin t-shirts, found Austin Bruins Hockey. North American Hockey League.  (The high school’s team name is Packers.)  Bought some shirts.  It was the high point of the day.

Stopped after only 260 miles in La Crosse, WI.  Not only did I cross the Mississippi, but I also crossed the track I took from Florida to Alaska last April. (By about 50 yards.)  Tomorrow I visit Green Bay.  I’m about 200 miles ahead of my planned itinerary.

There were numerous wind farms in view today.  Wild ramblings while I drove:

• Many of the wind turbines were in fields of corn destined for ethanol.  There’s some kind of irony in that.  One can only imagine the meeting between wind “farmers” and actual farmers to discuss leasing fees.
• I bet it’s already happened, but I haven’t seen any graffiti on a tower yet.
• Corporate sponsors?  These things can be giant billboards.
• Or, war memorials. Names of fallen soldiers written on the towers.
• They’re all white.  When will someone get adventurous and use colors?  Barber poll?  Life Savers?
• We need sculpted towers.  A replica of the Statue of Liberty?  Rocky, holding up two turbines?  A baseball bat shaped tower?
• These towers are huge.  Need a SciFi storyline that makes use of them as living spaces. Either before or after technology fails.  About 20  floors?  “Wind Farm Apartments.”  The spinning blades can be engaged to mechanically lift elevators.  No wind, you climb.

Saw a huge number of Gold Wings today, going west.  Almost all were hauling trailers.  Must be a rally somewhere.  La Crosse is hosting a fishing competition for teenagers.  Boats are in the parking lot.  I mean no offense to any fishing fans, but a $60,000 boat to catch something you can buy at the grocery store?  I talked to a couple last night.  The husband goes fishing on Sundays, the wife watches football.  To each their own, which is what freedom is all about.

Doesn’t need to be mentioned, but the couple managing the hotel last night in Sibley, Iowa, were from India.  They and everyone else I’ve met on this trip have been extremely friendly. This is a great country.

The entry. They got their own gas pump. No cameras were used to watch the area. The fence and such didn’t need to be too secure. This was a shoot without warning type facility.

The door weighs 16,000 lbs. The two officers would go in and close it. For the cook (living topside) to deliver meals required a 30 minute security routine.

This was the entire space. For 24 hours, just the two of them. One bed for napping. The toilet had a curtain around it.

Forced to use my hotspot, so no pictures.  There aren’t many today anyway.  I’ll post them tomorrow.

The Minuteman Missile Museum was very different than the Titan Missile Museum. The entire physical process for managing the missiles were not similar at all, though the process for launching them was identical.  The Museum and tour for Minuteman was more technical, while the Titan was more personal.  Both are well worth a visit.  Perhaps the strangest thing here is that it’s managed by the National Park Service.  Having a Park Ranger give the tour was just odd.  “Here we have a mule deer.”  Just replace “mule deer” with “1.2 megaton nuclear device”.

The rest of the day was just driving.  I90, legally doing 80 MPH.  South Dakota is no less boring than North Dakota in my eyes.  I had a storm line in front of me moving east, which I had to push through.  Some heavy rain, but not enough to worry about.  I knew about it before setting out, so I was properly dressed.  Spray from vehicles much worse than actual rain.

In Sibley, Iowa tonight ($36 room; Yea!).  Heart of corn country (read: ethanol).  Fertilizer aromas too.  Friendly people at the bar.  Recreational activities: If they aren’t fishing, they’re hunting.  I was a fish out of water.

Thursday, 25 August

Rained last night.  Hotels are good.  But my budget is suffering.  (In a hotel tonight too!)

Today was mostly about Devils Tower.  (Why there is no apostrophe is a mystery.) First I stopped at Moorcroft, WY Museum.  Not much there.

The Tower is all one could expect.  Seeing it up close is worth the trip, though it seemed to match my expectations for size.  900 feet tall.  People climb it often.  The Park Service doesn’t have any qualification requirements, nor do they have a rescue service.  You’re on your own.  The 1.2 mile walk around was entertaining and not difficult.

There are a lot of motorcyclists in the area.  Very few Gold Wings.

Visited Deadwood, SD, but they were having an old car rally, so parking was scarce.  Just drove in and then out.  Been there before, so no loss.  It is a great place to visit.

Sturgis! Larger town than I thought.  Pretty normal looking for the most part.  Obviously a lot of motorcycle shops.  Some of the temporary structures are still standing.  But overall there wasn’t much buzz.  Don’t want to be there when there is.  (Gas stations/minimarts began welcoming bikers and selling merchandise 160 miles away!)  This year was their 76th rally.  Hadn’t planned on buying a t-shirt, but considering I’m an Annapolis grad of 1976, it’s now tempting.  I’m still nearby, so who knows.

Another trail

Calf Skin! Museum in Moorcroft, WY.

See the climber?

Closer

There he is. Just standing there. This is apparently the hard side. There were about 8 on the other.

There is still an old wooden ladder from long ago. Mostly I’m impressed by the photo. I had no idea were it was. Just took a guess.

Happy 100th Birthday to the National Park Service. I’ve been to at least 12 Parks or Monuments this year. First cake though.

“I’ve been to Sturgis.” Got that out of the way.

Wednesday, 24 August.

Yesterday was all about nature.  Today it was about history.  Glorious weather, nice two lane roads that weren’t challenging, pretty scenery.  Some road construction.  I laughed at one sign; “Motorcycles use Extreme Caution”.  It was a walk in the park.  Clearly they’ve never seen what road construction is like in Canada.

Rifle, CO seems to have health problems.  A “Student Health Center”, several chiropractors, and a senior health center, all on the main street.  But it’s a nice, clean town.

Meeker, CO, is also a pretty little town.  Very big on hunting.  Based on personal experience, deer roam the streets, where I assume they’re safer than in the forest.  The museum as very well organized, having descriptions on most things.

Craig, CO, also pretty, has a more organized though not so busy museum.  The pride and joy is their “Guns and Gunfighters” exhibit.  Exhaustive.  They also had an excellent exhibit of “then and now” town pictures.  Someone went to a lot of trouble to take “now” pictures in exactly the same spot as “then”.  Fun. I asked about a War Memorial and learned that they have a WWII statue ready to install, but the town council can’t decide where to put it.  Politics in a small town.  While driving through I passed four Gold Wings, three towing trailers and one a trike.  One of the GWs was a duplicate of mine.

Passed a power plant that used coal.  Nice Roadside display.  $1.8 Billion construction cost.  Huge.  “99% of pollutants are removed before exhaust is released into the air.”

Rawlings, WY is not much to look at.  The defunct Wyoming State Prison is an impressive building, but the exhibit was nothing exciting.

Learned a lot about emigrant trails.  The Overland was an southern (partial) alternative to the Oregon, which in itself was used for three destinations; Oregon, California and Salt Lake City.  Independence Rock on the Oregon Trail was an unexpected surprise.  A hostess said the name came from a wagon train guide who told people that if they got there by July 4th, they’d arrive at their destination before winter.  Climbing it was fun and surprisingly easy (non-slick surface).  People have been scratching out their names since 1824.

Casper, WY, alongside the North Platte River, is very clearly fishing territory (reportedly #1 in the country).  The road in was peppered with arrows pointing to boat access or fishing spots. But the town is ugly.  They’re certainly not putting any money into their roads.

A memorial with a touch of humor. Rifle, CO.

Rifle, CO again.

Meeker, CO. I so wanted to see something like this in Scotland.

Meeker, CO.

Mule deer. Note the baby in the background. In the front yard of a home in Meeker.

Museum in Meeker. Battle Creek, MI!

Hand made instruments.

Their grove still stands.

Museum in Craig. This is just one of three display cabinets dedicated to spurs. Lots of cowboy stuff.

Something in this narrative caused me to rapidly step away from the tall grass. Guess what.

The Fortification Rocks.

After 150 years, the tracks remain.

The old Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins. It didn’t look as interesting as the Yuma Territorial Prison, so I skipped the tour.

A view from the top. 138 feet high.

A signature on the rock from 1850.

This is a statue on a small island in Casper. A bank on the river’s shore had it built. Nice marketing.

Tuesday, 23 August.

It’s difficult picking out only a handful of pictures. It would be even harder if the sun had been out.

Cloudy almost all day.  I was chased by a bad storm front, which caused me to hurry a bit.  It also has me in a hotel tonight.  But getting back to the day’s beginning, very nice sunrise from my campsite.  Afterwards I signed up for a tour of Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.  RVs and motorcycles are not allowed.  Really, you’d be unwise to take your own car unless it’s built for extremely rough terrain.  Calling it a road is an insult to roads everywhere.  It’s a track.  The tour included 10 Italians who had no concept of “10 minutes”.  Really rude people.  The guide, who depends on tips, was a lot more patient than I wanted him to be.  But overall it was a great tour, even without sunshine.

Because of the tour I didn’t get going until 11.  Though it was a short day, for some reason I found it exhausting.  The town of Bluff had a really good museum village, which is a reproduction of the original settlement, called Bluff Fort.  Excellent.  Well worth a few hours.  You provided period cloths to walk around the grounds in while taking pictures wherever you liked.  I’d not seen that before.

Stopped at the totally tourist trap “Hole in the Rock”.  Lots of weird things.

Briefly entered the Arches National Park (being chased by rain).  It looked very nice, even with my short stay.  Only drove five miles in. It’s really convenient being a senior and getting in for free.  Don’t feel the need to “earn the entrance fee”.

Ended up in Fruita, CO.

I like this one.

It was a short demonstration, but I now know how to make yarn from sheep fleece. One blanket takes 5 months!

This butte is called “Left Mitten”. Near it is a mirror image, properly called “Right Mitten”.

“Three sisters”. Below it is “Submarine”.

They ask for a $5 donation to take a picture of the man on a horse. I donated. The horse was very fancy.  Pranced.

Sort of nice.

Oh! It’s tipping!

Remember the movie “The Eiger Sanction”? Clint Eastwood, George Kennedy? This is the tower they clim. . . er, landed on from a helicopter.

Bluff Fort Museum. Family interest only. We grew up with a kitchen table like this one.

The storm I was running away from. Lightning.

Wilson Arch. On route 193, not in a Park. See the kid on the left for sizing.

There is a dining room in the rock. The whole establishment screams tourist trap.

On top of the rock.

A lot of metal sculpture.

Arches NP. Could someone give that rock a nudge? It so wants to fall.

Called “Park Avenue”. It reminds me of the Ruins in Rome.

Very touching War Memorial in Fruita, CO.

Monday, 22 August

Great night sleep! Departed on time.  This time I stopped in Williams, AZ.  Usually zoomed past.  Quaint little town.  Very proud of being the last town bypassed by Interstate 40.  Lots of Route 66 stuff.  Worth a longer visit.  Grand Canyon Brewery.

Grand Canyon camping was full!  I’m lucky I didn’t drive all the way.  School must not yet be in session in a lot of America.  The view was unchanged.  Remarkable.

Lunch at Cameron.  It was just a tourist stop, but’s it’s become a community. Navajo Taco.  Way too much food for one person.  No dinner for me!

Small rain clouds kept me alert.  Fascinating to see them all over.  I got caught very briefly in only one.

In Tuba City I finally took a new route, towards Monument Valley.  Excellent road and fantastic view well before arriving at the destination, which is also beautiful.  Tent camping in a box canyon at Goulding’s.  Harry Goulding and his wife “Mike” started a trading post here in the twenties.  Showed pictures of the area to John Ford and the rest is movie history.  His potato storeroom became John Wayne’s “Nathan Brittles” home in “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.”  Still stands.  It’s all very nostalgic.

Campsite has wifi, an indoor pool, free showers, etc.  $28, but I guess worth it.  If only they’d put up/take down my tent.

Nice Statue of the founder of Williams, AZ

There are several very nice themed restaurants in Williams.

Grand Canyon

Navajo Taco. The bread is sweet.

View from the tent.

From the movie “She Wore A Yellow Ribbon”

Over the top perhaps? From Georgia.

Sunday, 21 August

Departed 6 AM.  An overcast made it excellent weather for going east in the early morning.  First stop was my now traditional apple pie at Mom’s in Julian.  Driving there on the some route as Grand Adventure Part 1 really illustrated how much better a driver I am.  Very cool.  I had decided to attempt, at age 62, to start drinking coffee, but my commitment only lasted for half a sip.  Yoriko suggests that maybe it wasn’t the right place to start.  Perhaps I’ll try again.

After Julian I continued on the same road I’d gone on last March.  But I eventually came to the fateful intersection where, rather than turn right towards Florida, I went left to reach Maine.  It was funny that there were two sections of the taken road that I’d never driven on before, but had ridden on my bicycle.

It was really a bit of a boring day.  I visited Desert Shores on the Salton Sea.  What a depressing community.  It literally stinks.  A common thread throughout most of the ride was that there were masses of ghost towns and derelict structures.  So many people have tried and failed to succeed in the desert.

I was going to visit Lake Havasu City, which rests on the shores of Havasu Lake.  But Yoriko told me that we’d been there, meaning I’d forgotten all about it.  If it was so forgettable, a second visit didn’t seem worthwhile.  So I skipped it.

It sprinkled for most of the day, which kept the temperature mostly south of 90.  But in Kingman, AZ, there were scattered thunderstorms forecast further east.  Hotels ahead, closer to the Grand Canyon, were priced out of my budget.  The campsite at the Canyon was 200 miles away, outside my comfort zone.  So I made it a shortish ride (360 miles).  I knew that the day would largely be just an attempt to get out of familiar territory.  Sometime tomorrow, after an obligatory look at the Grand Canyon, I’ll move on to a completely new road.

Since returning from Part 1, I put only 19 miles on the bike!

Carefully manicured orange trees

Parking available for those really big RVs.

Just one of hundreds of failed businesses near the Salton Sea.

This picture of the Salton Sea looks somewhat normal. But wait . . .

Yes, the water is red. Very red. The few house along these manufactured canals look like something from a Stephen King novel.

I don’t know what these plants are, but the fruit is tied up in bags. Grapefruit?

I originally took this picture because it just says “Marty”, not an organization. But now I also notice the trash on the ground and the typo.

I went to a little Route 66 museum, which has a collection of electric vehicles. This is an electric motorcycle.