Mackinac Island

In July we had visitors all the way from California! Dan's brother Larry and his friend Mary Ann were nearing the end of a cross country trek and since they were relatively close to our neck of the woods, they did a swing by before heading back home. They were here for three days, and we tried to fit as much in as we could during that time. We went on the Elk Viewing Ride & Gourmet Dinner one night, and we took one full day to visit Mackinac Island, across the Mackinaw Bridge, and both Mackinac and Mackinaw are pronounced the same (Mack-In-Ah). That was confusing until someone on the Island explained it to us - then it was even more confusing!

Mackinac Island is 8 miles in circumference, and covers 3.8 square miles on Lake Huron. It is located at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac between the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan. To get there, you can go by private boat, ferry, small aircraft, and in the winter, after the lake freezes over, by snowmobile. The Island has a ban on almost all motor vehicles, so once there, you must get around on foot, bicycle, or horse drawn carriage. We hoped a ferry in St. Ignace and set out on foot for our tour. The crowds were amazing! This is quite the tourist attraction, and the number of ferries coming and going, along with all the people, is enough to make you dizzy!

Most of the main street is lined with retail shops, candy stores (the Island is famous for its Mackinac fudge, and tourists are sometimes referred to as "fudgies"), gift shops, and Victorian style hotels. We battled the throngs to explore this for a while, then took off for a hike up a hill and to the outer perimeter of the Island where we found Arch Rock, a natural limestone arch standing 146 feet above the Lake Huron Shoreline. We passed on touring Fort Mackinac, too pricey, and I'm tired of visiting memorials to war, in any case. (Where are the memorials to Peace?) We hiked a little in the woods, and then headed back down to Main Street for some lunch, then back on the ferry for the trip home.

Here are some pictures of our day on Mackinac Island.

Huron Sunrise Trail Bike Ride

When we get the right combination of events – good weather, a day off “work”, no other plans, and enough energy – we like to find fun places to ride our bikes. We heard about a bike path in Rogers City (about 30 miles from Hillman) called The Huron Sunrise Trail, that meanders around 8 miles of Lake Huron, through woodlands and Hoeft State Park, and ending up at Forty Mile Point Light House. This sounded great, so we headed out for a ride and a picnic. We picked a beautiful day to do this! The temperature was pleasant, the ride was easy on paved road the entire route, no climbing to speak of, and the scenery was spectacular. The lake was in view most of the ride, the park was a perfect place to stop for lunch, and the Light House was a fun place to learn a little more about the history of shipping on Lake Huron. It’s hard to fathom how big this Lake is (and all the Great Lakes, for that matter!). With the sand beaches, light houses, and sea gulls, you can almost convince yourself its really an ocean! I’ve included a few pictures we took along the ride.

Hillman, Michigan

Two months ago we arrived in Hillman, Michigan. (I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to update our blog!) Hillman is a very small town (population 800), a village, actually, in northeast Michigan, about 25 miles inland from Lake Huron. Last September we heard about Hillman through a job advertisement from Thunder Bay RV and Golf Resort posted in our daily Workamper’s e-mail. The job description read “Summer on Michigan's sunrise side at Thunder Bay Golf & RV Resort. Resort includes RV park, suites, villas & chalets; Championship Golf & our nationally acclaimed Elk Viewing Carriage Ride. Seeking friendly, enthusiastic, flexible Workamper couples to work 36 hours/week/couple in exchange for unlimited golf w/cart, Full Hook-up site, Wi-Fi & cable TV”. Since we had never been to Michigan before, and the lure of unlimited golf was hard to pass up, we decided to apply for the position. Fast forward to May, and here we are along with five other Workamper couples. The “jobs” have been split up among the twelve of us; I primarily help Linda with the gardening on and around the golf course, and Dan performs a variety of maintenance related tasks including splitting and stacking wood for the resort cabin, mowing greens on the golf course, sanding tees and greens, and whatever else comes up.

The weather has been very cool since we got here, and folks tell us it has been much cooler than usual this year. This is quite a change for us, coming from Sacramento and very hot summers! We are lucky to see a day over 75 degrees! I’m not complaining, mind you! I much prefer the milder weather. I’m also enjoying the slower pace of living in a small town. Folks here are incredibly friendly, and it’s true – everyone does seem to know everyone else. Everyday at noon and 6:00 p.m. the church bells ring, and since the church is right next door, I get to enjoy this even when I’m sitting inside my 5th wheel home. Local fruits and vegetables are starting to become available and it reminds me of growing up in Orangevale and eating fresh and local fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Most businesses close on Sunday and holidays, and even the newspaper we subscribe to is only delivered Monday – Saturday. There are some drawbacks – the closest Starbucks is 50 miles away, and we have to drive 25 miles to the nearest “big town” – population 11,000 - to take care of most of our business.

One of the draws to Thunder Bay Resort is the Elk Viewing Carriage Ride. Visitors are taken by horse-drawn carriages through the woods and treated to Elk viewing (a herd of Elk is maintained by the resort owners). Along the way visitors are entertained with stories about the resort, the owners, the Elk, and the history of the area. The ride culminates at the Resort Cabin where guests are served a gourmet meal prepared by Jan Mathias, one of the resort owners. Jack Mathias (Jan’s husband and the other owner) entertains guests with stories about Elk, his family, and will answers any questions visitors may have. Here is a link to Thunder Bay in case you want to check it out: http://www.thunderbaygolf.com/

My next posts will include some of the fun things we have done away from the resort since arriving in Michigan!

P.S. – Dan is enjoying the unlimited golf, and I have taken a few lessons and am beginning to enjoy it!

Lansing, Michigan

Our next stop after Indianapolis was Lansing Michigan, our last capitol tour for several months. (After Lansing we head to Hillman, Michigan where we will be for 4 ½ months if all goes according to plan.) We definitely felt the weather cool down as we headed north. It’s nice in a way, because the more northerly we travel, the more we are able to experience an extended Spring season, as we come upon the new wildflower blooms and the greening of trees all over again. We arrived in Lansing on Sunday, May 10th, toured on the 11th, and left for Hillman on the 12th.

The Lansing metropolitan area includes three medical schools, two nursing schools, two law schools, including the nation’s largest law school, and a Big Ten Conference university (Michigan State), in addition to being the state capital. The exterior of the capitol building itself wasn’t all that impressive, but inside it was very beautiful. There were not many exhibits nor artifacts for viewing, but the architecture was prominent and detailed, hard for the eye to take it all in at a casual glance. Like so many capitol buildings, in order to really appreciate the level of detail in the various architectures, you must stand in one place for a while and slowly scan your surroundings. Although not all capitol buildings have rotundas and interior domes, I am always glad when they do, because the interior domes are usually the highlight of the structure and architectural design. I was not disappointed this time! The rotunda rose 160 feet to an opening at the top of the inner dome called the oculus, or eye of the dome, which provided a glimpse into the vastness of the universe, represented by a starry sky. Directly beneath the dome is the glass floor of the rotunda made of 976 blocks of glass. The higher into the dome you get, the more the floor appears to fall in an optical illusion creating an upside down dome effect. It was fun to look at this and see the changing perspective from each floor.

The pictures are of the exterior of the capitol; the starry dome (interior); the glass floor; and a beautiful church across the street from the capitol.

Our touring will more localized as we spend our summer in Hillman. I’m looking forward to settling down for a while and exploring this part of the state and country.

Indianapolis, Indiana

We left Springfield on May 7 and drove to Indianapolis, Indiana, the next stop on our State Capitol tour! Since we planned to visit a friend who lives in nearby Martinsville, we checked in to the Indy Lakes RV Park for three nights - one day for visiting and one day for touring.

Downtown Indianapolis is very metropolitan, but not all that big. Everything seemed to be squeezed into a few square blocks. The architecture is a mix of old and new with quaint historic churches nestled between modern glass and steel high rises.

The capitol building is called the Indiana Statehouse. I’ve not heard capitols referred to as a Statehouse before. It was built in 1888 and is the fifth building to house the state government. This capitol, more so than others, had a warm feeling to the interior. Dozens of chandeliers hung from the ceiling reflecting a soft golden glow from the wood and stone surfaces throughout the vast halls. The stained glass dome was among the prettiest I’ve seen – be sure to click on the picture above to enlarge and get the full impact.

Down the street from the state capitol building is the very impressive Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument which surrounds the Colonel Eli Lilly Civil War Museum. (This is the same Eli Lilly associated with the drug company, which is headquartered in Indianapolis). Although I have a philosophical objection to all the memorials to war everywhere we go (why can’t we see more memorials to peace?), I can still appreciate the beautiful works of art.

We enjoyed our stay in Indianapolis, and had mixed feelings about being here so close to the Indy 500 and not staying to be a part of it! It would have been a unique experience, but we are off to Michigan, maybe next time around!!

Springfield, Illinois

Abraham Lincoln. If I had to sum up our Springfield, Illinois experience with two words, those would be it. This experience may have been intensified by the fact that 2009 is the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth, and the entire city of Springfield went all out to celebrate. Ordinarily when we visit a capitol city we may tour the actual capitol and maybe one other nearby attraction. But Springfield had so many historical sites and Lincoln related exhibits to visit that we extended our stay and allocated three full days to touring. This was a very intense experience, resulting in a sort of Lincoln immersion. Over the course of the three days we visited the following locations:

1. The State Capitols (current and “Old”). The current capitol building was majestic and stately, but devoid of very many artifacts, which were to be found in nearby museums, monuments, and libraries. It was a beautiful building, though, and worthy of our time. The Old Capitol was much smaller, but more historic (Lincoln had his presidential campaign headquarters here, for example) and has been turned into a museum.

2. The Illinois State Museum. The Illinois State Museum promotes discovery, learning, and an appreciation of Illinois’ natural, cultural, and artistic heritage. The Museum’s extensive collections and research activities provide the foundation for exhibitions and public programs that tell the story of the land, life, people, and art of Illinois. (No photography allowed)

3. Abraham Lincoln’s Springfield Home & Neighborhood. Here we were able to walk in the footsteps of Abraham Lincoln in the historic neighborhood surrounding his home of seventeen years. Restored to its 1860 appearance, the four-block area contains eleven historic structures dating back to Lincoln's time.

4. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum. This was an awesome experience! The exhibits were top notch, high tech, interactive, and very intense. We spent hours in here and still didn’t see everything. It was telling to (re)learn how turbulent Lincoln’s presidency was, as well as his personal life. The issues he faced and the high emotions of public sentiment around slavery and the Civil War had to be an impossible task. I’m thankful I had the opportunity to experience this museum. (No photography allowed)

5. The Lincoln Tomb. Dedicated in 1874, The Lincoln Tomb is the final resting place of Abraham Lincoln, his wife Mary, and three of their four sons, Edward, William, and Thomas. The eldest son, Robert T. Lincoln, is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

6. Lincoln’s New Salem. Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site, about 2 miles South of Petersburg and about 20 miles Northwest of Springfield, is a reconstruction of the village where Abraham Lincoln spent his early adulthood. The six years Lincoln spent in New Salem formed a turning point in his career. Although he never owned a home here, Lincoln was engaged in a variety of activities while he was at New Salem. He clerked in a store, split rails, enlisted in the Black Hawk War, served as postmaster and deputy surveyor, failed in business, and was elected to the Illinois General Assembly in 1834 and 1836 after an unsuccessful try in 1832.

Jefferson City, Missouri

We left Fort Smith on Thursday, April 30 and traveled to Chanute, Kansas for a scheduled appointment with the Nu Wa factory to have our 5th wheel evaluated for repairs and maintenance. We found out what needs to be done, and how much it will cost (gasp!), and will probably swing back by in October to get the actual work done. We drove from Chanute to Jefferson City, Missouri on May 1st, and we were in rain, sometimes torrential, the entire day, along with much thunder and lightening. It was a beautiful drive none-the-less, off the interstate, through miles and miles of green rural countryside. We saw a lot of roadside flooding, but luckily nothing that threatened our progress. Getting settled in at the RV Park in the rain and mud was quite an adventure, but we managed, and much to our delight, today the rain was gone, and the sun was even out for part of the day for our tour of the capitol. (Most of you probably know by now that one of our goals is to visit all the state capitols.)

Jefferson City is on the northern edge of theOzark Plateau on the southern side of Missouri River near the geographic center of the state. The city is dominated by the domed Capitol, rising from a bluff overlooking the Missouri River to the north. Lewis and Clark passed beneath that bluff on their historic expedition upriver before Europeans established any settlement there. As of 2006, the population was 39,274. Jefferson City was named after Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States of America.

The capitol building is very grand, with the exterior walls and all the indoor floors and corridors, constructed of white crystalline limestone marble from Carthage, MO. It is a symmetrical building of the Roman renaissance style and is situated high atop a bluff overlooking the Missouri River. The Capitol dome towers 262 feet above ground level (and 400 feet above the river), and is topped with a bronze statue of Ceres. (Ceres is the Roman goddess of grain and agricultural and was selected as the patron goddess of Missouri, a strong agricultural state.) The exterior construction boasts towering columns, grand staircases, and bronze front doors – each 13 by 18 feet, the largest cast since the Roman era. A 13-foot statue of Thomas Jefferson is the centerpiece of the southern steps. Inside there are beautiful murals, stain glass, paintings, friezes, and bronze statues of prominent Missourians. High within the dome is a small viewing platform on the dome’s roof beneath the statue of Ceres, and a whispering gallery (a gallery beneath the dome enclosed in a circular area in which whispers can be hear clearly in other parts of the building).

We have visited twelve state capitols so far, and I would put Jefferson City’s capitol building high on the list of the most beautiful we’ve seen so far.

Fort Smith, Arkansas

Our visit to Fort Smith, Arkansas just flew by! We stayed for just about a week, and spent most of that time visiting with Dan’s extended family: His brother and wife (Mike and Angie), his aunts (Aunt Tookie and Aunt Jean), and cousins (David and his wife, Cindy, Lee and his wife Shelly, and Melinda). It was fun catching up with everyone, and we were able to get a few family shots along the way.

Next stop: The Nu Wa factory in Chanute, Kansas for a factory check-up on our Hitchhiker II 5th wheel.

Hot Springs, Arkansas

Our first stop out of Livingston, Texas was Hot Springs, Arkansas. We arrived Tuesday afternoon and decided to stay one day to explore before moving on. First we drove to the top of Hot Springs Mountain for an expansive view of the city below. We saw many possible hiking trails, perhaps for another visit when we can stay longer. Back down to historic Hot Springs and Bathhouse Row for a tour and some history of the area.

Hot Springs takes its name from the natural thermal water that flows from 47 springs on the western slope of Hot Springs Mountain into the historic downtown district of the city. (And what is really interesting is that Hot Springs National Park is actually right in the middle of downtown Hot Springs, surrounded by businesses and a busy highway.) About a million gallons of 143-degree water flow from the springs each day. The rate of flow is not affected by fluctuations in the rainfall in the area. Studies by National Park Service scientists have determined through carbon dating that the water that reaches the surface in Hot Springs fell as rainfall 4,000 years earlier. The water percolates very slowly down through the earth’s surface until it reaches superheated areas deep in the crust and then rushes rapidly to the surface to emerge from the 47 hot springs.

People have used the hot spring water in the therapeutic baths for more than 200 years to treat rheumatism and other ailments, although bathing in the spring water now is available in approved facilities only. Bathhouse Row consists of eight turn-of-the-century historic buildings. Two of the bathhouses remain in operation today – The Buckstaff, currently the sole bathhouse operating in its original capacity, and the Quapaw which was reopened in 2008 in a modern co-ed setting. Another bathhouse, the Fordyce, has been converted into a museum to give tourists a glimpse into the fascinating past of the city. As I was touring the “treatment” rooms at the Fordyce, I was reminded more of visions of water torture at sanitariums than of relaxing spa treatments. I’m too accustomed to the modern Day Spa concept, I guess!

The pictures here include the exterior of Buckstaff Baths; one of the treatment rooms in historic Fordyce; the Hot Springs National Park entrance sign; Dan at the summit of Hot Springs Mountain; the Grand Promenade trail that winds around behind the bathhouses; the Hubbard Tub that was used to treat various ailments at Fordyce; a stain glass ceiling in the men’s bath at the Fordyce.