Rapid City, SD to Home

Thursday April 22, 2021, we left Rapid City, SD behind for Wyoming.  We won't be long in Wyoming  because we just cross the northeast corner to Sheridan.

We are traveling I-90 because we are trying to make as much time as we can, wanting to be home by Monday.  There was a lot of tire rubber on the road that we were having to dodge.  Finally we came upon a u=haul truck pulling a trailer with a car on the trailer.  One of the wheels on the trailer was bare of rubber and throwing sparks.  We were able to get the attention of the driver to let him know what was happening.  We pulled over to the side of the road along with the truck driver.  The driver was not aware of what was happening and grateful we caught his attention..  

The rest of the trip to Sheridan, WY was uneventful.  Found a nice restaurant for dinner and turned in for the night.

Friday April 23, 2021 -This morning we woke up to snow and wind.  The water we left in the truck was frozen.

Different hotels do different things for breakfast these days.  Some do a full breakfast, others do a grab and go and other do everything in between.  This morning was one of in between but very limited.  There were a couple of stores we wanted to visit however they did not open until 10.  So we found our favorite coffee shop.  We had a breakfast sandwich and coffee. 

Feeling better and after the stores opened we spent the rest of the morning browsing.  John found an electronic tool and then we were on our way to Billings, MT.

There are six stores in Billings, 3 of which are really good.  At the last store we parked in front of St. Luke's Episcopal Church.  Then I remembered Melinda St. Clair that was a supply priest at St. Tim's for a period of time.  Melinda is currently the Rector of St. Luke's.  We did not have time to visit with her, but it brought back great memories of Melinda.

The temperature got up to 40 today but the wind and the cold from the snow in the mountains makes it feel cold.

We went to the Montana Rib Chop for dinner.  It is Friday night, 6:00 pm and everything is busy.  We put our name in and were told it was about a 45 minute wait.  30 minutes into our wait we were called and told our table was ready.  Surprised to find that our table was really 2 seats at the bar.  I sat next to a couple of ranchers.  As we have traveled through Montana and North and South Dakota we have wondered about the differences in how the hay is harvested.  In Washington most of the hay is bundled into rectangular bales.  In Montana and the Dakota's the hay is rolled into very large rolls.  The question is why the difference. I thought, now I have the opportunity to ask, so I did.  They said the roll makes it easier to feed the cattle/horses because it can be pulled apart easier.  Also when the hay had to be trucked long distances, the bales fit on the truck bed better and create less problems for the truckers.  So I guess it depends on where it will be used or where it is going to be trucked to.

Even though social distancing was non existent in the restaurant.  Hopefully most people have been vaccinated and/or were not sick.

Saturday morning we woke up to no hot water.  Not sure what happened but were told we were the only ones complaining.  Took a sponge bath, dress and were on our way.   

How many more days do we take to drive about 800 miles?  We got on the road by 10:00 and decided to head for Missoula, MT.  Made a stop in Bozeman and Butte before our final destination.  Also stopped at the Montana Wheat outlet on I-90.  This is such an awesome place to pick up bread, rolls, flour, etc. as well have lunch.  Sometimes if we find one of the restaurants in Kalispell, Bozeman or other Montana towns, we try to stop.  

Another good place for a meal is the Montana Club.  They have everything from steak to soup and salad.  

Sunday morning we headed home.  Decided to call some friends in Elk, WA, about 25 miles north of Spokane.  Would they like some company?  They asked if they needed to dust the guest room so we spent the night.  They have a new puppy, Tucker.  Really frisky and fun loving.  Monday we walked around a lake close to their property.  What fun.  Left about 11:00 am and were home by 4:00 pm.

John, Tucker, and Mary

It is always good to be home.  Now begins the work of unpacking the truck and going through the mail.

South Dakota and West

 Sunday was a quiet day.  We visited a few stores along the way and were disappointed.  The temperature was decent and it was dry.  

We arrived in Sioux Falls, SD on Sunday evening. Sioux Falls is a large city, about 182,000.  It appears to be a clean city with industries that include tourism, agriculture, a network hub for transportation among others.  It is home to one of the largest stockyards in the US.  Unemployment is about 2.7%.

This is our third trip to Sioux Falls.  One of the reasons we keep coming back is because it is a pretty city and the water fall.  The first time we visited the water fall was in the early spring and the water was frozen in place.  

A couple of years later we visited in the fall.  2017 was real wet for SD.  There was so much rain the farmers were unable to harvest their crops.  There was standing water in the fields and the tractors were unable to maneuver the fields.  Hence the water fall had an abundance of water flowing over the rocks.

Now in 2021, the water fall is not frozen but because there was not very much rain last year and little snow this last winter, the water fall has minimal water coming over the rocks.  Of course they are hoping for more rain this summer to water their corn and soybeans and to feed the water fall.  Today was cold with wind.  I had on a pair of jeans with some insulated pants over the jeans.  On top I had 4 layers plus gloves.

Sioux Falls, SD

Through the south western part of Minnesota and south eastern part of SD most of farmers depend on rain throughout the summer to water their crops.  We have seen little evidence of irrigation.

After visiting the water fall we drove west again on I-90 to Mitchell, S.D.  Mitchell is about 75 miles west of Sioux Falls.  Mitchell has a population of about 16,000.  It is best known for the Corn Palace.  

This is the 3rd time we have visited Mitchell.  Our first visit in 2015 was by accident.  I was so interested in exactly how the mural was reconstructed each year and I wanted to see it in progress.  So in the fall of  2017 we visited again to watch some of the progress.  We learned that it actually occurs throughout most of the year starting when the crops are harvested.  The corn and other grains have to just the right amount of moisture in them to attach them to the walls of the building.

Eight years before the turn of the 20th century, in 1892 (when Mitchell, South Dakota was a small, 12-year-old city of 3,000 inhabitants) the World's Only Corn Palace was established on the city’s Main Street. During it’s over 100 years of existence, it has become known worldwide and now attracts more than a half a million visitors annually. The palace was conceived as a gathering place where city residents and their rural neighbors could enjoy a fall festival with extraordinary stage entertainment - a celebration to climax a crop-growing season and harvest. This tradition continues today with the annual Corn Palace Festival held in late August each year.

By 1905 the success of the Corn Palace had been assured and a new Palace was to be built, but this building soon became too small. In 1919, the decision to build a third Corn Palace was made. This one was to be permanent and more purposeful than its predecessors. The present building was completed in 1921, just in time for the Corn Palace Festivities. That winter Mitchell hosted its first boy’s state basketball tournament. The building was considered to have the finest basketball arena in the upper Midwest area.

In the 1930’s, steps were taken to recapture the artistic decorative features of the building and minarets and kiosks of Moorish design were added restoring the appearance of early day Corn Palace.

Today, the Corn Palace is more than the home of the festival or a point of interest of tourists. It is a practical structure adaptable to many purposes. Included among its many uses are industrial exhibits, dances, stage shows, meetings, banquets, proms, graduations arena for Mitchell High School and Dakota Wesleyan University as well as district, regional and state basketball tournaments. USA Today named the Corn Palace one of the top 10 places in America for high school basketball.

The Palace is redecorated each year with naturally colored corn and other grains and native grasses to make it “the agricultural show-place of the world”. We currently use 12 different colors or shades of corn to decorate the Corn Palace: red, brown, black, blue, white, orange, calico, yellow and now we have green corn! A different theme is chosen each year, and murals are designed to reflect that theme. Ear by ear the corn is nailed to the Corn Palace to create a scene. The decorating process usually starts in late May with the removal of the rye and dock. The corn murals are stripped at the end of August and the new ones are completed by the first of October. Just like South Dakota Agriculture, growing condition can affect production of our decorating materials and may delay the decorating process.

Today the palace features murals of South Dakota celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 3rd Corn Palace Building.  Due to COVID and too much rain the murals have not been replaced for 2 years.

Mural for 100th Anniversary of Corn Palace
Murals made from grasses and corn grown
in the area.

After re-visiting the Corn Palace again we continued west on I-90 toward Rapid City on the other side of South Dakota.  We stopped in a little town called Chamberlain.  It is another one of those little Americana towns that are fun to walk through.

There are two other small towns along I-90 that we have visited before.   The term "been there, done that" holds true for these towns.  One is Murdo which has a huge car museum.  If I remember, there are 5 large buildings full of cars of all makes.  One is even made entirely of wood.  The other town is Wall.  There are road signs from the east and the west boarders of SD, advertising Wall Drug.  It is a block long store that is supposed to look like several stores but inside they all run together.

Arrived in Rapid City about 5 PM.  There was a time change so the day was longer than most.  We were tired of sitting and looking forward to getting out of the truck.

We will be home soon.  Good Night

It was a good day for traveling.  The roads were good but there is still snow on the ground and in the hills.

Wisconsin Dells to ?

Wednesday, April 13, 2021 -  I should probably apologize for my blogs being so long.  This is my way of reminding myself what we did, where we went and anything else of interest.  I figure when I'm in my 90's I can re-visit all of the great places John and I have traveled.

Today we left  Wisconsin Dells to Tomah, WI.  The store we wanted to visit opened at 10:00 so we wanted to leave by 9 to open them up at 10.  We were about 30 minutes late.  The store was nice but we did not find anything we were interested in.  You may think we are silly hopping from antique store to antique store but it is like visiting local museums of Americana.  There is no entrance fee but sometimes we have to pay to get out.  

Our next stop was Sparta, WI.  We see many of the same items from one area to another.  Amazing how the prices change from one area to another as well.  For instance the price of Hummel's and Royal Dalton figurines vary from area to area.  Some as low at $15 each to a high of $200.

A few miles northwest of Sparta, WI is Onalaska which is just outside of La Crosse.  We stayed in Onalaska for a couple of days.  There were several stores in La Crosse which we visited.  We saw a lot of lovely items but left them all where they were.  

The elevation of La Crosse is about 550 ft.  I talked to a local and he suggested we drive up to Granddad Hill.  He said it was a beautiful view and it was.  When we got up there the elevation was just over 1,000 ft.  We could see across the Mississippi River to Minnesota and up and down the river.  In the late 1800's some industrial people were wanting to remove Granddad by removing the trees and picking away at the hill.  Mind you most of this area is pretty flat.  Anyway, a group of people got together to save the hill.  Today they hold celebrations on the hill and there are many walking trails winding around the hill.

Granddad Bluff View

Downtown La Crosse, WI

 There are three rivers that come together, the La Crosse, Black and Mississippi.  In some places it looks like some of the area is flooded.  There are several islands and peninsulas connected to the river.   

From La Crosse we drove northeast along the Mississippi River to Winona.  There we found 3 really cool stores.  One older gentleman had a very small store in the basement of an old building.  It was not  big but the treasures were great.  We are looking for a particular Saturday Evening Post.  He said he knew exactly which edition we were looking for.  However some repairs had to be made in the store and all of the Saturday Evening Posts were put in boxes and stacked in the corner.  It was an area of about 10x10 stacked to the ceiling.  But he said when he got the corner cleaned out and found what we are looking for he would give us a call.  I doubt we will ever hear from him, but it gives us hope.

Winona has a levy that runs along the edge of the river to minimize any flooding that might occur.  We saw 3 barges tied together being pushed down the river by a tug.  We also found out that the majority of the trees in the area are aspens which means that in the fall most of the color in the trees is yellow.

Mississippi River, Winona, MN

From Winona we headed west toward Rochester, MN.  This is the home of the Mayo clinic.  Like many health organizations today there are Mayo clinics all around.  Between Winona and Rochester are some beautiful rolling hills.  A couple of  hills you would think you were driving over Snoqualmie.

One unfortunate thing we have found around the county in small towns that the malls seem to be closed or very empty.  Part of it is most likely COVID.  The other reasons, I think, have to do with the tech world we are in.  

There are 5 antique stores in Rochester, a city of 100,000+ people.  We visited all 5 in about 2 hours and found nothing.  The next morning we were going to meet some friends about 15 miles away so we hurried through the stores.  

Saturday April 17, 2021 - This morning we found the hotel did not really have breakfast so we drove to Stewartville, MN to visit a store and have breakfast if there was a restaurant.  And boy was there ever.  A little hole in the wall but it sure was good.  From Stewartville we drove to Hayfield to visit friends that formally lived in Selah.  We had not seen them for about 1 1/2 years.  They had moved to MN because that is where Nyla grew up.  We visited for a couple of hours and then drove to Austin, MN home of the Hormel Spam Museum.  When John and I were here a few years back I had purchased a can of Spam that is shipped only to the Philippines. I could purchase it on line but the shipping cost more than the Spam.  Today I was anxious to purchase a half dozen cans of this special Spam.  Apparently there is an aluminum shortage and Hormel is not making that particular "flavor" for the time being.  A couple of gentlemen that were hosting today said they would go back into warehouse to see if  there was some available.  Waa La - out they came with two cans.  We completed going through the museum and visited the gift shop.

The museum was fun to visit again.  But mostly it was fun to visit with Don and Nyla.  Hopefully we will be able to come back to this area and visit them again.

After we parted, John and I decided to stay in Austin.  We had laundry to do and needed time to unwind.  Tomorrow we will drive to Albert Lea, MN

Fond Du Lac to Wisconsin Dells, WI

Friday - April 9, 2021 - Today was a good day. After breakfast we threw a dart at the map and decided to head east and travel along the Lake Michigan shoreline. The first stop was Sheboygon, WI. It reminds me of pictures of quaint beach towns. We walked a short way along a pier. But today was cold and rainy. When the wind blows off of the Great Lakes the temperature seems to go down by 10 degrees.

 We stopped at one antique store in Sheboygon.  The owner is trying to sell his Father's collection of antique cash registers, slot machines and other high priced items.  Interesting to see but not interested in buying.

We continued on down the road and decided to take an off road to another store.  It was in a barn over 100 years old.  Gordon, the owner is 83 and has been doing this for 40 years.  It is amazing the people we meet along the way.  That is probably the most interesting thing about our traveling.

John found 5 Tom Swift books to add to his collection.  We also found a beautiful sand painting that we are not bringing home.  It is so big we really don't have a place to hang it.  Gordon made a recommendation for dinner and another store about 30 miles west.  The store was not organized and really dirty but John did find a map book that he thought was interesting.

Carmex is my favorite lip balm.  John, Charles and Jennifer think it stinks but I love how it helps my dry lips.  Anyway, Carmex is made in a small town just south of Milwaukee in Franklin, WI.  The company was started in 1936.  In the early days Alfred Woelbing made the salve on the stove top,  bottled it by hand and sold it throughout Wisconsin from the back of his car.  In 1957 Alfred took the business from his kitchen to a rented manufacturing facility.  In the 1975 the business they changed to an assembly line business and expanded the business.

We went across the street for dinner to the Mine Shaft.  This restaurant has a occupancy of 379 people.  The restaurant has 2 floors, serves pizza, burgers, fish, pasta, ribs, steaks and on and on.  Every night is a special night of one thing or another.  Tonight was a Fish Fry, all you can eat for $10.  Had shrimp and perch.  Both were delicious but one plate was more than enough.  We arrived about 5:30 and had a 45 minute wait.  People came in in droves with children and babies.  Hartford has about 15,000 residents.  I think people drive here from miles around to come to this restaurant.

Fish Fry is a common term along the lake cities and towns.  Usually includes fish, coleslaw and the rye bread.

I have to take back my comment about putting away the warm clothes.  We are back to our coats and gloves.

We use the internet along the way to find places we want to go but are finding we need to call stores before driving how every far as the internet is not always correct.  Sometimes the addresses are wrong, most of the time the hours are wrong.  One store we were going to, the internet said they were open until 8:00 pm.  I called to verify and was told they store was closed except on holidays.  She said Google wanted $600 to correct the listing.  Another store owner said their posting was incorrect and Google wanted $1000 to correct his listing.

We drove through a lot of farm land today.  Love seeing the green pastures or bare land where hay or soybeans are grown.  Wisconsin is the cheese state but we have seen just one dairy farm.

Passed an old farm with many old rusted tractors.  Reminded me of the Car's movie where the tractors did their dance in the field.

Saturday April 10, 2021 - We stayed in Hartford last night.  This morning we started out for the Auto Museum.  Kissel was an automobile manufacturer in Hartford.  They made some beautiful cars but had to shut down when the depression hit.  After the depression the family attempted to bring back the company but were not successful.  Instead they started to build small motors for boats.  Today those motors are called Mercury.

There was also a 1950 Nash car at the museum with 61 original miles.  She purchased the car so she could learn how to drive.  After the first few miles the vehicle was towed where ever she took it.  The car still has the original blue paint and was referred to as the blue pickle.

1950 Nash - Blue Pickle

After the museum we traveled through the country side to another small town, which they refer to in WI as Villages.  It rained on and off today but when the sun was out the rolling green hills are beautiful.  The trees are beginning to burst with their tender green leaves.

Oconomowoc is a small village on the edge of Okauchee lake.  I love small town America.  The Village was busy today I can just imagine what is like on a warm sunny day in July.

From Oconomowoc we drove to Brookfield, just a few miles from Milwaukee.  Tomorrow we want to go down to wharf to see some of the ships.  Also will search out some antique stores.

One of the things I have noticed is how the weather and the different water has an affect on our skin.  At one point in northern Minnesota my skin was so dry and my whole body was itchy. 

Sunday, April 11, 2021 - Today was a great day.  We started off my driving into downtown Milwaukee and walking along the Lake Michigan shoreline.  The temperature was 45, partly sunny and a light wind off of the lake.  The sound of the waves coming in sounds just like the pacific ocean.  There is a narrow beach along the shore but it is long enough to accommodate a large number of people.  There is a huge park along the shoreline separated by a path to the lake.

Lake Michigan Shoreline

About  12 Noon we drove into downtown Milwaukee.  It appears to be a clean city.  Homelessness does not seem to be a major problem here.  Talked to one person that indicated there are a few homeless people but there are not homeless camps like we have at home.

Visited 3 antique stores today, 2 large ones and 1 very small one.  We hit the jackpot at the small store in Milwaukee.  John has been looking for an old cabinet with 1/2 inch deep drawers.  There are 36 of them and 4 drawers that are about 6 inches deep.  And yes we were able to get it into the back of the truck.  Found some very unusual chairs (new) that I thought were over the top.

Fischer designed material

At the end of the day we found a classy restaurant for dinner.  Had cloth tablecloths and napkins, excellent brisket and grilled asparagus.  

End of a great day.  Tomorrow we will head west toward Madison.

Do you know where the name Jeep came from?  Well, when the military first requested the vehicle designed like a jeep they referred to it as a General Purpose Vehicle. From there is was abbreviated to GP Vehicle, which if you say it fast enough becomes g-e-e-p.  Not sure how the G became a J.  At least that is the story.

Tuesday April 13, 2021 - Monday (yesterday) we were doing to drive to La Crosse, WI.  Well, we made it to Madison and felt that tug.  Just had to stop at a couple of stores as well drive through some beautiful farm country.  Saw a few more dairies along the way.  I don't know where the milk comes from for all the cheese they make but it is not where we have been.  In and around Madison and some of the other areas we have been in, the city limits seem to cross each other.  For instance when we pull up a town on the truck GPS it will list the town several times with another town in parenthesis.  

As I said before we use the internet to hunt down stores in the little towns and off the beaten track.  Monday we were directed to a store named "An American Classic"  Now doesn't that sound like a winner?  Turned out to be an auto shop for corvettes.  There were 8 in the shop in different stages of restoration or repair.  I believe there was one from the 1950's.  The guys in the shop were nice and John talked to them for a bit, but they were surprised to learn they were listed under Antique Stores.

Then we went around the corner to a lovely shop in an old house.  She had 3 more Tom Swift books that we are bringing home.  Again, the conversation makes the day.  

So we stayed on the west side of Madison Monday night and Tuesday (today) we were going to drive to La Crosse.  But Monday we had driven by a store that was 15 miles back and decided to go back to see what we had missed.  Boy we sure are glad we did.  We picked up a couple of items and found a piece of furniture we would have like to bring home but we don't have the room.  When we get home we may see if it fits in a couple of places and if it does, send for it.  See the picture.

One more stop outside of Madison and then on our way to Baraboo, WI.  Baraboo was a disappointment but there is always another down the road.   Not far from Baraboo, WI there was another store we were skeptical about but turned out to be large but not having items we were too interested.

Options:  Do we drive to La Crosse tonight and pay a higher price for a hotel or stay in Wisconsin Dells at a lower price hotel and leave early in the morning to get to La Crosse by 10:00 am.  The later was decided on.  Found dinner at Kimberly's a quaint Mexican restaurant.  There was a small Mexican grocery attached to it and we think they spoke very little English.  However, it was delicious and different than what we have at home.  Wisconsin Wells appears to be the Branson, MO for kids.  The town has a population of 3,000 people and 45 hotels and resorts.  Most of the resorts have huge water parks or some kind of theme park.  I would hate to be here in the summer.

Tuesday was a fun day, exploring the differences in this part of the country from where we live.  The high was about 46 today with wind so we are defiantly wearing our coats again.

Tomorrow we will try to make it to La Crosse.  It is about 50 miles north west. 

Green Bay WI to Fond Du Lac, WI

 Monday April 5, 2021 - Today was a beautiful day.  There was no wind, the sky was blue and the temperature was mid 70's.  Weather has really changed since last week.  Time to get out the cooler pants and top and put away the winter coat.

Even though we are not football fans we went over to see the Green Bay Packers stadium.  It is open for tours but we declined and just walked around inside the perimeter, strolled though the Packers store and visited with some people we met outside.  The stadium is owned by the City of Green Bay and the team is owned by the people of Green Bay.  

The next item on the agenda was an antique store that was not very large and full of a lot of junk.  However, John found a set of Tom Swift books.  22 of them are in the set so he will have to look for the singles he does not have.  They are all in really good condition.

Next stop was down on the Fox River that flows from the Green Bay, which flows in from Lake Michigan.  Found a nice pub on the shore to have lunch.  After lunch we walked along the shoreline to enjoy the lovely weather.

Today is John's 77th birthday.  We spent the day in antique stores which were disappointing.  By 4:00 we were tired and found a restaurant that was special.  The name of the restaurant was Mark's East.  It is such a good restaurant it had survived doing the early days of the pandemic.  People of Appleton, WI have been very loyal.  We each had a small sirloin steak that included garlic mashed potatoes, sautéed vegetables and bread.  Because it was John's birthday, they treated us to a salted caramel cupcake.

Wednesday April 7, 2021 - Our first stop this morning was a paper craft store just outside of Appleton.  The small specialty stores are so hard to find.  The owner does daily live classes.  Found some things I had not seen before and am anxious to get home to try my new tools.

Found a couple of things in an antique store today.  One was a Tom Swift book and the other was a picture.  Nothing special but I liked it.

We are staying at the Hilton Garden Inn tonight.  Hard to believe the price is $71. Next door was a pub called The Hanger that we went to for dinner.  I had not had perch before but found it to be tasty.  They always serve a slice of rye bread with the fish which  goes back to an old tradition when they did not d-bone the fish.  The rye bread was served to put the bones. on.  

There are some distinctions regarding different types of eateries.  There is the Pub and Grill and then there are the Supper Clubs.  I gather that the Supper Club would be like Waterfire or Yakima Steak.

The architecture of the homes the area do not appear to be to different from Yakima.  I should qualify that to homes that were built in the 1980's.  We have not driven through newer areas of the cities.

Oshkosh is home to Oshkosh Corporation, formerly Oshkosh Truck, an American industrial company that designs and builds specialty trucks, military vehicles, truck bodies, airport fire apparatus, and access equipment.  I never realized all the different manufacturers that there are across our country.  There is a Kimberly Clark manufacturing plant in Appleton, WI.

Thursday April 8, 2021-During the night there was a huge thunder and lightening storm and did it rain.  This is what we saw this morning when we woke up.

Pouring Rain and Wind

Today was a great day.  The first thing we did was visit the Experimental Airplane Association (EAA) Museum.  There are several sections of this museum including experiential, commercial and military airplanes.  Started with  some of the earliest planes and ended with the Space Ship One, the first private plane going into space.  The museum also included a lot of history about WWII and a little bit about the Korean, the Vietnam Wars and the space missions.

The EAA organization is sponsored by thousands of people from across the US.  Each year there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of people that either drive or fly to Oshkosh to participate in an air show.  When I say fly some may fly by commercial plane but many of them come in their own planes.  They park them on a large grass field and some set up tents and camp on the grounds.  

A replica of Space Ship One was on display as well as a short documentary of the development and the successful flights.  On display was also a replica of the Voyager that circled the globe in 9 days without re-fueling.  This was just an amazing museum to learn about the imagination of some of America's brightest.

If you are interested in more detail about these experimental airplanes you should look them up on the internet.

Space Ship One

Voyager

After an inspiring 5 hours we visited a couple of antique stores to clear of minds of all the knowledge we absorbed.  

Tomorrow we will continue to explore the area near Lake Michigan and south toward Milwaukee. 

Duluth to Green Bay, WI

 

April 1, 2021 -After exploring the antique stores in Duluth (which were disappointing) we traveled north on the north shore road along Lake Superior.  Two Harbors is a quaint little town, some interesting shops but most attractive because of the lake ships coming in and departing.  We were lucky enough to be there at the right time.  There is a large parking lot near the docks for people to watch the activity.  Some brave soles walked the long break water.  The temperature had not yet reached 40 and the wind was strong coming off the lake.

The ships come in empty and are loaded with some version of iron ore.  As much as we can figure out, trucks come in and dump the ore into large piles like you would dirt or sand.  Then there are small cars on rails that move the ore from the piles to some kind of a slew that allows the ship to take on the cargo.  The same method is used in Duluth and Superior.  The Duluth and Superior ports are larger and can take more ships and maybe larger ones.

Two Harbors is large enough to handle 3 ships at a time.  We were able to watch one come out from its slip where it had to back out like you would a car and then go forward and around the end of the breakwater.  Because the one ship coming out was in motion the other ship waited in open water before it started to come in.  Remember these ships are about 1000 ft long and would not be easiest things to maneuver.

Ship leaving Two Harbors

After watching the ships, we found the visitors center for Two Harbors.  We do this often to learn about the immediate area and if we ask the right questions find out some secret places to visit.

There are numerous waterfalls in the area, which at first, I thought was strange, because there are so few hills in the area.  We visited one called the Gooseberry Falls.  There is a set of 3 because of the change in elevation.  This is a state of Minnesota State Park with a large visitor’s center, gift shop (which is now closed) and restrooms.  The path to the falls is easy with cement steps going down to the middle and lower falls.  After climbing back up to visitor’s center there is another path that takes you to the highest waterfall. 

Even as cold as it was there were a large number of families with children out.  This is spring break for them, and many were from the Twin Cities area.

Gooseberry Waterfalls, Two Harbors, MI

To back track a bit, when we were at the visitor’s center, we asked about a good place to find lunch.  A couple places were mentioned but one name caught my attention. “Betty’s Pies.”  I love homemade pie.  Before going to the waterfall, we stopped for lunch about 1:30. There was a 45-minute wait. (At 1:30 in the afternoon?)  Anyway, we made a reservation for 3:00 pm.  It was a late lunch, but it certainly was good. John had a hamburger with a bowl of ice cream.  I had a blueberry, apple salad with a piece of coconut cream pie.  That is my favorite.

After lunch we stopped into a little gift shop called Superior Finds.  They were overly friendly and helpful.  Easy to spend money in a shop when the staff is interested in their customers.

That brings us to end of another great day.  We had made reservation in Superior, WI for Thursday evening.  There is a lot of freeway construction, so it took a bit longer to find the hotel.  Because of a large lunch, dinner was not necessary.  Spent the evening plotting our route for Friday.  Friday it will be Good Friday and we wanted to double check to make sure places would be open.

Friday April 2, 2021 – Today we are headed to UP Michigan.  Michigan is on Eastern time, so I made a phone call at 8:00 am to see if the museum we wanted to see was open.  Yes, the museum is open, and it is 200 miles northeast, so we were able to get a good start.  Breakfast at the hotel was non-existent so we grabbed a muffin and coffee and were on our way.  

The evergreen trees are more prevalent in this area than in the upper part of Minnesota.  There are still a large number of deciduous trees.  One of those trees if called a poplar, that someone told me was Junk wood.  There are places along this road where you can see the lake but mostly the road is inland.  Temp. today is 46 and we can see where the ice is beginning to melt.  Spring is Coming.

I spoke too soon.  As we continued to travel north, some of the lakes were still frozen and completely covered with snow.

We arrived in Houghton, MI about 3:00 pm EDT.  The mineral museum is amazing.  There are displays of a rock straight out of the ground and then what it looks like inside, polished and not polished.  This area is referred to as copper country.  I did not realize what copper looked like before it was mined.  There was also a section talking about how they would drill for ore or whatever they thought was in the area and test to determine if there was a cost benefit to drilling.  Two hours is not nearly enough time to completely see the mineral museum and then there will be the gift shop, of course.  Will come back tomorrow.

Story of Item below

Fulgurite

Houghton is a college town, home to Michigan Technical University.  Industries are mining, timber, fishing and of course tourism.  Recreation activities are in an abundance here.  Sailing, fishing, hiking, and all sorts of winter activities.  Because the weather is mild during the summer there are a lot of visitors that come north.

Found a local fish restaurant and helped ourselves to some delicious lake fish.  (I cannot remember the name of the fish, but it was good.)

Our research shows that 4 places we wanted to see in the lower part of Michigan are closed due to COVID.  The Gerald Ford Museum, the Ford, GM, and Chrysler Museums are also closed.  So, we have decided we will postpone that part of Michigan until a later time.

Saturday morning, April 3, 2021 - There is a canal that separates the upper peninsula from an island that is still part of Michigan.  We crossed the canal to Hancock, home of Finlandia University, a private non-profit liberal arts school.  There were suppose to be 2 antique stores, however both of them were closed. From what we could see through the window, one of them would have been fun to walk through.  Leading out of town the sign said the village of Calumet was 17 miles north.  Most of the road is along the shoreline.  Houses are perched on a ledge up above the shoreline.  I would wager to guess that thee have a birds eye view of some magnificent storms. Much of the lake in this area is still frozen even  though the temperature is 50 today. 

When we arrived in Calumet it appeared to be a small ghost town.  By the time we turned the corner we were surprised.  There a lot of old building still standing and vacant.  Internet said there were 2 antique stores in town.  In this small of a town we figures they would be closed.  Low and behold, they were open and doing business.  The first one was three floors very nicely done.  The fun thing was that there were 5 guys sitting or standing around "holding court" as John puts it.  One of them tried to sell John a plaster Indian statue.  I did find a table lamp that we are bringing home.  This is a Finish community which was evident by their accent.  I had to ask them what the accent was. The second store was mostly books with a few antique items.  We are looking for an old Saturday Evening Post and a book from Scranton Correspondence School, neither of which she had.

From Calumet we headed back to Houghton.  We did not have success find antique stores in Houghton open for business.  Later in the afternoon we had our first Pasties.  This is a combination of potato, carrots, rutabaga, and ground meat all wrapped in a pastry shell.  It is served with gravy or some people use ketchup.  We preferred the gravy.  Next stop is Iron Mountain, MI

Easter Sunday, April 4, 2021 -  Today we listened to Easter Service on Zoom.  After leaving Iron Mountain, MI we drove to Green Bay, WI finding one antique store along the way.  Tomorrow we will start exploring another area.

Good Night for now.