Trip North July 27 - 28 2016

Another day's travel going highway routes from Coloma to Bryon Center, arriving around 2 on Wednesday afternoon at the Wood Chips campground, less than 2 miles from my brother Joe & SIL Bev's house.  The drive was once again through farmlands.  Much of  Byron Center is still rural, but "progress" is slowing encroaching.  After setting up camp, we went to Joe & Bev's where later our niece, Michelle, her husband, Nathan, and their newly turned 15 year old son, Connor, joined us for dinner and a fun card game of "Hide the Ace" aka "Screw Your Neighbor".   The next day, Joe and Bev took us on a tour of the area.  We were going to go to Meijer Gardens, but it was so crowded, we decided to travel to Grand Haven to see Lake Michigan, then we drove down the coast into Holland for dinner, and continued back to their home.  It was a full day, so we said good night around 7:30 and went back to Wood Chips.

 

In addition to corn and soy fields, we saw wildflowers and apple orchards along MI 131 on our way to Byron Center

We have not been here since 2010

We've stayed at Wood Chips before.  This time the park was crowded with "stay-cationers" and folks who had come for Byron Center Days.  The park caters to families,  offering many fun activities for the kids, who always seem to have a ball being there.

Niece, Michelle, grand nephew, Connor, and nephew in law, Nathan.  Connor is both scholar and athlete, and almost 6 feet tall already.

Taken from back of driveway of Joe & Bev's home overlooking golf course.  Michelle & Nathan's home is across the fairway.  Bev had planted the hydrangea bush over 15 years ago, and it never bloomed until this year when she threatened to pull it out. 

Joe mentioned in passing that he wanted to get rid of their 35 year old pop-up camper, but would need to replace  the tires first. So, Bob offered to take them off.  Neither Joe nor Bev wanted Bob spending our vacation time that way.  I had a hard time convincing them that this  would probably be the highlight of the trip for Bob.

On our way to Meijer Gardens crossing over The Grand River in

Grand Rapids.  Salmon migrate up the river during spawning time.

Outside Meijer Gardens.  Meijer is the founder of the  super-stores in the area.  Watch out Wal-Mart!

Bev, Joe, & Bob along the causeway out to the lighthouse at Grand Haven.  The Grand River is at the left just before it meets with Lake Michigan.

 

Lake Michigan; a jetty; and the northern coast line.  I thought it looked like the Oregon coast. 

Bob and Joe on the causeway to the light house.  The red flag indicates dangerous swimming conditions, but that did not deter the folks at the beach or the foolhardy folks diving off the jetty into the lake.

Grand Haven lighthouse and catwalk overlooking Lake Michigan

 

 After leaving Grand Haven and continuing south and east throughout this and that little street (if you knew my brother Joe, you'd understand...he would have been Lewis, Clark, or Marco Polo in another life), we arrived in the lovely town of Holland.  They treated us to dinner at the Alpen House, and after leaving the restaurant, Joe and I walked up the block to enjoy this jazz street band for a few songs before heading back to Byron Center.  We will see each other again on Saturday at their son, Jeff and his wife, Kate's home in Troy near Detroit on the other side of the state.  

 

 

 

Days 6&7 Trip North - July 25 & 26 2016

The ride from Prophetstown to our next stop, Coloma, Michigan, was pleasant.  About 4.5 hours of countryside.  As we crossed the state line, the landscape changed to more woodlands than pasture and fields.  Our campground, Dune Lake, is a family owned park, one that honors our Passport America membership.  We unpacked, then took a little ride into town before settling in for the night.  Today (Tuesday), we enjoyed the beach at Hagar Park on Lake Michigan, then it was laundromat time, and after that, we hit some thrift stores.  Tomorrow we will drive to Bryon Center to meet up with family.

 



Dune Lake swimming hole.  The owners put a chemical in it to help keep it clean

There is a sandy beach at the lake surrounded by trees.

We, of course, had to stop at this roadside market outside of town.  We bought a pint of blackberries that were the size of half my thumb.

Lake Michigan at Hagar Park Beach south of Coloma

Half of the 102 stairs leading down to the beach

Seeing the lake, I can understand why many years ago someone from Michigan who had seen the Atlantic at the Jersey shore for the first time asked, "What lake is this?". 

A local radio station had reported the lake temperature was 73 degrees.

The water was crystal clear 

As the morning progressed, more folks came to enjoy the lake.  I was content to sit and catch some sun.

 

 

 





Day 5 of trip north - Sunday July 24, 2016

We packed up early in the morning and hit the backroads.  We had been in the central time zone since we crossed into Tennessee, but would be going back to EST once we got into Indiana, so we factored in the hour time difference we would "lose".  Once again we had about  a 7 hour trip that covered around 260 miles, but worth it. It is amazing the country that you can see when you can travel without having to be on the interstates.  Of course, you need to have the time to be able to do that, which thankfully, we do now that we are retired.  Our night's stop was at the Prophetstown State Park near Battle Ground, IN, an area rich in history.  We didn't arrive there until 4 pm, so we didn't stop at any of the landmarks.  We were there just for the night, and in the morning we would be heading to our next stop in Coloma, Michigan.

The bridge over the Ohio River

Rustic barns dot the cornfields

We stopped at a community park in Greencastle, IN to have our lunch





On either side of the roads, literally as far as the eye could see, were soy bean fields..

...or corn fields.  Some fields alternated rows of soy and corn.  One of the fields was over a mile along the road extending back to the horizon approximately 11 miles away.  That's a heck of a lot of corn!  And just one farmer's crop!

Our campsite at the state park located near the Wabash and Tippecanoe Rivers. The town was named after  Shawnee Indian Tecumseh's brother, Tenskwatwa, who was known as "The Prophet".  In 1811, he convinced the tribes to attack the white soldiers before the soldiers could attack them.  But, General William Henry Harrison had sent 1200 troops to fight the Indians.  The battle was over in two hours.  The remaining Indians fled and the soldiers burned down the settlement in what was known as the War of Tippecanoe. After the battle, Harrison had gotten the nickname of Old Tippecanoe, and in a presidential campaign, with John Tyler as his running mate, Harrison used the winning slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler, too" to become our 9th president.  Among other activities at the park, there is a working farm known as Prophetstown Farm that was established in 1920, as well as a large aquatic center.  Our one complaint was that we had to pay a $10 entrance fee in addition to a registration fee and fee for the campsite just to have a night's rest.  So far, this was the most expensive campground.

 

 

 

 





Day 4 of trip north - Saturday July 23, 2016

Happy birthday, niece Jennifer!    Our itinerary today is not very extensive.  We planned on going into Leitchfield, a town about 20 miles south of the park, to hit some indoor flea markets, and then later try to find Green Farm, a 3000 acre old homestead.

In the parking lot of The Vendor's Village, there was an outdoor flea market.  The owner of this horse and buggy was either selling or "junkin' ".  We didn't meet him to find out which.

The size of both of the indoor markets was deceptive from the outside.  Each had aisles and aisles of crafts, antiques, collectibles, and someone's trash that could be a treasure.  We, however, did not find any. 

We did find Green Farm and the old mill, but it is no longer a tourist attraction, per se.

The ancestral home has been turned into a bed and breakfast as part of a golf resort.

The old mill which used to produce 3 grades of flour: Grayson Lily; White Rose; and "Good Enough" is almost collapsing into the Falls of Rough.

The general store is still standing, but not safe for touring.

The bridge was sturdy enough for foot traffic...

...and to imagine what the life here used to be like.

We later stopped back at the state park.  It was very crowded.  The lake was churning with  boat and water ski traffic.  Back at the our campground, dogs were barking and some yahoo was setting off fireworks (against park regulations) for over two hours.  We decided we had exhausted our sight seeing opportunities in the area and chose to forfeit one night's stay in lieu of taking back roads up to Michigan and making the trip in two days rather than one on the interstate.  We both agreed we would not want to stop at this Army Corps park again.

 

 

 

 

 

 







Day 3 of Trip North - Friday July 22, 2016

It was an overcast day, so we thought it would be a good time to do some sight seeing.  We decided to take a ride down KY 259 to Mammoth Cave National Park, about 50 miles away, and from there, like the bear that went over the mountain, we would see what we could see.  We weren't going to go on any of the cave tours.  Neither of us thought we could make the climb down into the cave nor walk the tour comfortably.  But, being so close to a national landmark, we wanted to drive there.

The park contains the longest cave system currently known.  It became a national park in 1941.  There are 52,830 acres around the Green and Nolin Rivers with 400 miles of explored cave passages.  Stories vary as to how the first cave was discovered.  The most popular is that back in 1797 one of the local Houchin brothers was either chasing a bear or being chased by one and found a cave opening.

A park employee in period costume...not one of the Houchin brothers.  The visitor center was a buzz with visitors.  We haven't seen so many folks since our cruise in April.

In the past, there were several ferry crossings along the Green River around the park.  The boats were large enough to carry the pioneers' wagons.  Some of the ferries are still operational, although modernized.  Here is one getting ready to load autos coming from the ramp in the background.

 Up the road from the ferry crossing, on the way out of the park, we spotted this young deer.

We were sure we would spook him, but to our surprise, our presence didn't deter him from having his snack.

On the way to the park, we had seen a sign for a produce market, and decided to stop on our way back.

We weren't sure what we would find when we saw this sign and the road that was probably wide enough for only this type of conveyance.

We were delighted with what we did find.

The young shopkeeper explained that they were a commune of  Old Christians living an Amish lifestyle in that they did not use electricity or anything electrical.  Although she gave me permission to take her photo, she said she wasn't supposed to "pose" for one, so I told her I would take a picture of the quilt on the wall behind her.  We bought some sweet corn; red potato; cantaloupe; pumpkin roll; and peanut butter cookies.  The produce was grown on the farm and the baked goods were home made.  She said we could drive around the farm if we wanted, so we did take a little tour.

In back of the vegetable garden, one of the farmers is using a manual baler being pulled by one of their horses in preparation for rolling the cut hay.

Another work horse resting in the pasture

This young lady is carrying a watermelon under each arm back to her home on the farm.

Laundry on the line...no dryers here.

We let the horse and buggy pass before heading out

Up the road from the farm, we saw a sign for Nolin State Park.  We stopped at the tailwater picnic area of the dam.

This dam was completed in 1963.  Lake Nolin is a 5795 acre lake formed by the Nolin and Green Rivers.

Sure hope that dam holds!!!

A glimpse of Lake Nolin from the road at the top of the dam. For not planning the day, we had a really good time.  The deer and the farm were the highlights of the day for me.  For Bob is was the farm and the dam.  And when we got home and tried the fresh cantaloupe, that ranked really high, too.