Mackinac Island

We were in the Mackinac area 8 years ago.  Trish visited the Island then but I didn't; this time we both went, Artie too.

The Grand Hotel was built in 93 days in 1887, no labor laws then.  It boasts the longest covered porch in the world, has a full golf course.  Several famous people stayed here, including movie stars, on the Island to do what they do - act in movies.

The carriage house, above and below, dozens of carriages and sleighs with names and history.

Motorized vehicles aren't allowed on the Island.  Cycle, walk, rent a horse or take a horse-drawn conveyance.  The one below is the second one we boarded, doing the Island tour - which, if you enjoy history, is excellent.

Artie, patiently waiting for his burger and fries to arrive, napkin tucked into his collar.  Trish washed hers down with a margarita while I had an IPA.  After lunch, we took the ferry back to St Ignace.

Big Mac

We're talking bridges not burgers.  Big Mac is how the locals refer to Mackinac Bridge.  It marks the dividing line between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.

Mackinac Bridge is a real doozy.  Total length is 26,372' and the towers are 552 high.  In case you're curious, the Golden Gate Bridge is only 8,981 long.  No contest.

It takes 5 years to paint the huge mutha and they're finishing the job this summer.  The top 1/3 of the south tower is draped with drop cloths - BIG drop cloths - and people are up there with their brushes, rollers, spray cans, or whatever they use.  Elevators inside the towers go up to the second crossbar, after that it's a ladder.

These pix were taken from the St Ignace-Mackinac Island ferry.  When weather permits, the ferry drivers include the bridge in their route, briefly stopping directly under it.

"That's Too bad."

Tiki RV Park, St Ignace, MI.  Trish reserved a electric/water site here months ago, was told to check back to see if a full hookup site became available. 

She called 3 days ago.  "Who?  Our computer is down, can't help you now."

She called again 2 days ago.  "Who?  Oh yeah, Roberts.  Yes, we do have a full hookup drive-thru site you can have.

Pulled into the park, entered the office, old dingbat behind the counter, "Who?" 

Trish said, "I was told there was a full hookup drive-thru site for us." 

Dingbat: "That's too bad.  You're going to be in site 55.  It's a back-in"

So, here we are in site 55.  It's okay, has full hook.

RVers always prefer drive-thru sites because maneuvering into a back-in can be a bitch: trees, posts, rocks, other vehicles and RVs frequently make backing in a real challenge.

Some businesses succeed in spite of themselves - including this one.  If there were good alternatives to Tiki, I'd have told them in no uncertain terms where to shove their 'that's too bad' attitude.

Kitch-iti-Kipi

No, that's not a typo.  It's the Indian name for Big Spring, a freshwater spring that gushes out of the pool bottom at 10,000 gallons a minute.  It's in Palms Book State Park, near Manistique, MI.

This raft takes people out to where the water boils up at the bottom of the pond.  It's propelled by a 4' wheel you turn by hand, takes about 10 minutes to get above the outflow location.  Trish and I were the only ones on it, the folks in this shot were the next bunch.

Looking straight down at the outflows through 40' of clear water.  The fish are trout, huge buggers.

The lighter colored areas on the bottom mark where the water flows up through the sand. 

They resemble large pots of boiling, sandy water.

Our idyllic campground at Indian Lake State Park.

Rochester, MN

Soldier's Field in Rochester, MN, is possibly the most impressive 

memorial and military tribute outside of Washington D C.

Below, holding the bad news telegram.

The families of Vietnam KIAs were notified personally by stateside military personnel.

One of my duties when I returned from Vietnam was to assist widows and parents 

with funeral arrangements, military honor guard, insurance, and other military benefits.

The day after the notification, I'd call and make an appointment to visit them in their homes to work out the details.  Later, I would attend the funeral service, supervise the honor guard, and present the survivors with the US flag that had been draped over the coffin. 

A sad, sobering task.

The outside of the round tribute wall has scenes from several wars including Vietnam.  The 2 sentences below the images eloquently explain why most combat veterans don't talk about the details of their time in hell.  I'm no exception, have never talked about it much.  I did write a book about it, though.  That was a good thing to do, helped me deal with some of the demons.

Sioux Falls

Yes, Virginia, there is a water falls in Sioux Falls and it's spectacular.  The water flows down numerous steps over a considerable distance, several hundred feet.  There's wonderful public park areas on both sides of the falls

Quite an impressive display of sculpture in the heart of downtown.

Didn't pay much attention to the actual titles, named these three myself.

The one is obviously a Polecat.

I dubbed this one Anorexia.

Artie didn't like posing alongside Robo Cat.  

Notice he's leaning as far away as he possibly can.

Carhenge

It's near Alliance, NE and is modeled closely after the considerably older (by about 10,000 years) Stonehenge in Great Britain.  Can't help but grin as you stroll around the ....uh, sculpture?  Junkyard?   Gonna go with sculpture, wouldn't bother stopping for a junkyard.

Junkyard dog?  Artie would be offended.  

Doesn't even think he's a dog, much less the junkyard variety.

The website in case you're interested in the back story: http://carhenge.com/