Michigan Musings

Note: Edited 8/29/17--(because I was too tired the night I originally posted it to think of adding photos. oops!)

Michigan!

After spending two weeks exploring the state of Michigan I wanted to share some of our favorite observations. Some are trivia facts. Some are things perhaps I should have known, but didn't. And some are just things that caught our attention.

My Top 10.

Pasties: a Yooper Favorite.

10. What is the favorite regional food where you live? If you live in Michigan, it is Pasties, a meat and potato pie served hot or cold, with gravy or without. The one Larry tried was huge, hot, drenched in gravy and served on a plate, but I'm guessing some can be held in your hand. It is a staple in the U.P. Every roadside stand, food truck, diner and restaurant had big signs outside: PASTIES!!

9. A local commercial I heard one morning claimed that everyone in Michigan lives within 5 miles of water: lake, stream, or river. There is a lot of water in Michigan!
       But it made me wonder what is the average distance people live from a body of water? Since most communities are built near water, I would think that even in the desert, people live near a water source. So I Googled it. (God Bless the Google Creator--or maybe God is the Creator of Google too. It can do everything!) One survey/report says that 50% of the world's population live within 3 Km (1.8 miles) of water, but 10% live within 10 Km (6.2 miles). That is your Trivia Fact for the day!

8. Michigan is home to the Hiawatha National Forest, and the Land of Gitche Gumee, immortalized in the "Song of Hiawatha", by Henry Wordsworth Longfellow. He was a professor at Harvard and a poet who lived in New England, not Michigan. I probably should have known that Gitche Gumee was the Indian name for Lake Superior, but somehow I missed it way back in high school.  We saw many signs and motels named Gitche Gumee. I didn't miss it this time.

7. In 1975 an American Great Lakes freighter, The Edmund Fitzgerald, sank in a storm on Lake Superior, taking the entire crew with her. She is still the largest ship Superior has claimed. Gordon Lightfoot's song, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, refers to 'the big lake they call Gitche Gumee'. I remember the song well, but I still never connected Gitche Gumee to Lake Superior!

6. SAND! It's not just for Ocean City, Florida, California and Hawaii. Lake Michigan has tremendous, beautiful sand dunes. Road signs warn of Sand on the Highway. We had to sweep the RV daily to keep up with the sand inside. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Shoreline was beautiful, but we saw sand dunes in many shoreline areas.

5. Residents of the Upper Peninsula are called Yoopers. As a friend said, "Beats being called UPee,r's!

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Lake Superior

4. Michigan is bordered by 4 of the 5 Great Lakes! Superior, Michgan, Huron and Erie. The only one it doesn't touch is Lake Ontario. I missed that in my Geography classes. (Another Trivia Fact)

Parallel Parking a la Mackinac Island style

3. Most people know there are no cars on Mackinac Island. (pronounced Mackinaw). A few cars were brought onto the island in the early 1900's, but they scared the horses so a law was made banning cars. The law stands today, with the exception of a few emergency vehicles: an ambulance, a fire engine, and a police car.  The island has the shortest state highway, a perimeter road of 8.2 miles. There is only one campfire allowed on the island; at the Boy Scout camp and with the Fire Chief present. With one fire engine and few roads, fire is a real risk.

Traveling through the Soo Locks in Sault St. Marie

2. The Soo Locks, connecting Lake Superior to the other Great Lakes via the St. Mary's River, is free to all boat traffic. There are no tolls or fares collected. (Your third Trivia Fact.)

Lakenland Junkyard Art

1. After paying out for pretty much every thing we did, (Pictured Rocks, Soo Locks, Ship Museum, Lighthouses,--all excellent sights) we passed Lakenland Junkyard Art and decided to take a stop. We expected to go in, take a look, and move on. Which we did-- an hour and a half later. That place was great! Beautifully maintained. Artistic. And Free! In fact, it was so neat my next blog will tell you all about it.

Michigan was fun. We enjoyed the state, the beaches, the lakes, the sights. I wonder where we will head to next!

Frog and Toad and Dead End Roads

Oops, We did it again.

The saying goes that in the north there are two seasons: Winter and Construction.

Well, we're deep into Construction Season. We've bumped our way over many roads that need an overhaul and wound our way through plenty of orange barrels.

Then, there is the morning local traffic report.

The TV was on as we were eating breakfast and packing up, catching glimpses of the weather and traffic reports, but not paying much attention. There was something about an accident, some road was closed.... Perhaps we should have listened more closely, but it was turning into one of those mornings.

We left later than hoped, stalled by phone calls and a malfunction in the Leveling System, which kept wanting to drop the jacks. It's really hard to move forward when the jacks that keep the camper level are on the ground. Finally, Toad was hooked, jacks were up and phone calls were ignored. We were on our way.

Ten miles after we got on I-70 traffic came to a standstill. I pulled out my phone to see what MapQuest could tell me. A black line outlining the highway was punctuated by a circle with a line through it. A section of the interstate was closed. Humph. Annoying. We were stuck in a long line that was finally funneled off onto a side road. A police officer stood at the end of the exit directing traffic; some to the left, some to the right. We wanted to go right. He took one look at us and pointed left. In hindsight, I suspect he was trying to tell us we were too big and we needed to stay on the main roads.

I grabbed the Road Atlas and started searching. OK, I told Larry. Stay on here and we can pick up US-40 and take it to Washington and get back on I-70.

Our GPS didn't like the plan. Turn left in 1/2 mile, she said. "Don't!" I said.

Larry was heading away from where he instinctively felt we should be going.

Finally, 'she' convinced him there was a better way. The road she wanted us to take did indeed go to I-70, further west from where we had exited. I didn't like it, but Larry really wanted to get back on I-70. We turned onto a ..... yes, of course.... a narrow road. A half mile in a sign warned us of lots of curves ahead. Well, we couldn't turn around. We kept going, and going, .....A car coming our way pulled over as far as it could and came to a full stop. I could imagine the driver inside sucking in his breath and leaning as far away from us as he could, as if that would make more room. We inched past.

And then we saw a Semi ahead of us! We took that to be a hopeful sign. If he could make it, we'd be ok. Hopefully. He was leaving a trail of leaves as he drove under low hanging branches, but he wasn't clearing the path completely. Tree branches whipped and snapped at us as we drove under trees not accustomed to big rigs. We kept going, and going.... Finally I-70 began to show up on my iPhone map. I was just starting to relax when we rounded a bend in the road.

There was the sign: Road Closed 1500 Feet Ahead.

?*&!@$%!!!(More Unprintable language)

Seriously, We had no where to go. We weren't facing steep cliffs, but we took up most of the road we were on. It was forward or backward.

We passed a house and crept around another curve to see two semi's stopped at the bottom of a hill at a cross road. The good news was the dreaded barrier blocking our way was on the other side of the intersection! The bad news was the turn was too tight for the semi's to make. We stopped. Thankfully, they were quite a ways ahead of us, but it was obvious they were trying to figure how to make the turn from one narrow road onto another. We had just passed a small house and I was ready to get out, disconnect Toad so we could back into their yard, and get out of there, but we watched the trucks to see what they figured out.

One driver was out talking to the other driver. Truck number two backed up a bit, so truck number one could back up. Finally, the first truck maneuvered his way around the turn, and semi number two was able to do the same thing.

It was our turn. We ventured forth, swung wide, and rumbled down the road; I-70 a few miles ahead. A few more turns, much bumping and banging over pockmarked highway, and a whole lot of construction barrels later we found ourselves back where we wanted to be. It was almost noon. We hadn't yet gone 50 miles. It was going to be a long day.

But I had a new mission. I'm not allowing him to take anymore unknown detours. From now on, it's interstate or Principal Highways as designated by our road atlas.

I've also realized taking the Grands on a trip in the RV wouldn't be a good idea...unless they are wearing earmuffs.

Frog and Toad Get Stuck

There is one fear that most RV drivers live in fear of--the dreaded dead end; that place where there is no way out except to turn around. RV's pulling a car (TOAD) can not back up. Period. RV's can make U-Turns but a 35' one takes 4 lanes to do so. Getting stuck on a narrow mountain road with a sheer drop-off on one side and a steep hillside on the other that ends in dirt road heading off into the woods is the things nightmares are made of.

So is the dreaded Gas Station.

Gas stations are full of pitfalls. Is there room to pull in without blocking off everything else? Can I get in and get out? Can I drive around the islands without Toad knocking a gas pump off it's base? And of course a busy one is a pain because at some point you ARE going to block someone from something.

One tool we have is our travel bible: The Next EXIT. This book lets us know what gas stations, motels, restaurants, and grocery stores are available at each exit, so it's a great tool for any traveler. But it's claim to fame for RV'ers is the amenities highlighted in RED, which means they are RV accessible.

Usually.

Except for Exit 146 on I-79 in West Virginia. (RV'ers take note! Unless you are diesel, DO NOT GET GAS at the Pilot at EXIT 146 on I-79 in West Virginia! Also note, that is the only thing at Exit 146. Just keep driving.)

We knew we were in trouble when we pulled in and the sign said "ENTRANCE/EXIT" and the word CARS was visible, but RV was missing. However, we saw another lost soul and took heart. While Larry is navigating the lot, my job is to peruse it for the way out, the best pump with the most turning space, etc.

Me: "Look! There's an Airstream at that pump. Get in line behind him."

Larry: "How do we get out?"

Me: Hmm. Well, the parking lot goes back behind the building. That must connect to the truck lot and we can get out there. See, the Airstream is heading that way."

At this point I start to get out of the RV so that I can guide Larry into the pump. But as I do, I see the Airstream has stopped. And then he begins to back up.

Uh-oh! This is not looking good. Larry starts to pump gas and I go to investigate.

The Airstream occupants get out and are looking... well... it's that combination of confused, worried, anxious, annoyed...

(I will avoid dialogue here, because most of it is unprintable in polite company, and perhaps around sailors.)

We are stuck. We have found ourselves in The Nightmare. There is no way out, except the way we came in. Then it gets comical. The pumps are set up so that all traffic will exit right and make a right turn at the last pump to get back out. Good luck. WE are in the last pump. At this point, cars can still get out, but there ain't no way WE are getting out that way. To make matters even better, our 'RV Brake' monitor has just informed us that Toad's battery has just died, but that's a story for another time. Even if backing up was an option, once we disconnect Toad, we have to get a jump start to move Toad. Can it get any better?

There was really only one answer.

I ventured into the store and 'gently' informed the attendant in the store there were two campers stuck in his lot that weren't getting out until he blocked some pumps.

Which he did.

While one attendant blocked pumps and re-directed traffic, another, very helpful employee came out and directed Larry as he turned the RV, very narrowly missing a truck parked there. The driver of the truck came out as we were blocking him. He was not thrilled with the situation and had to wait until they could clear the pumps of cars and get us through. He made his thoughts known when he could finally escape. We heard the squealing tires all the way down the highway.

After several seemingly endless minutes we made our escape with much thanks, and apologies, although we couldn't have done much else. The Pilot station was also along that much dreaded narrow road with no place to turn around.

We waved goodbye to the helpful attendants and the Airstream guy who was still wondering when he was going to get out.

Larry was still hyperventilating and "F"ing everything in sight as we headed back north on I-79.

And then we opened our Travel Bible and crossed out Exit 146 on I-79 in West Virginia with big letters NO! written over it.

Some days, the adventure is just more than you hoped for.

The Secret in the Bluebirds' Nest

An Empty Nest Reveals a Story

When we moved to the Georgia Mountains I was delighted to see not only a bluebird box in the back yard, but a pair of bluebirds making regular visits to it. Each year since, we have had a family of bluebirds in the box, but last summer something happened. At the end of the summer, when I went to clean out the box, I found 3 unhatched eggs.

Our summer had been extremely dry and some local naturalists thought perhaps the parents had abandoned the nest because they were having trouble finding enough food to support the babies.

This spring, I watched to see if the bluebirds would return. Instead, we had a pair of chickadees move in and begin building. So I decided to research chickadees. Aside from the fact that bluebirds and chickadees have similar nesting habitats, I discovered a fun fact. Chickadees will build a few nests and then settle in the one that seems safest. Huh!

One day there was a ruckus outside. The bluebirds had returned and wanted their home back. I watched the battle ensue wondering who would win.

A week later, the blue birds were busy making a nest! It was time to start tracking the bluebirds nesting progress. Bluebirds don't object to you checking their nest. In fact there's a whole list of things to watch for as the nesting process moves forward. You can read more about that, here.

When our daughters' and families visited, the nest was still active, with mama and papa busily bringing food back to the babies.

I knew the time was coming for them to fledge, but one day I could really hear the babies chirping inside the nest, and then I saw their little faces pop up in the entrance as they checked out the world outside. Time was near.

The big moment came on the day three young bluebirds fledged from the nest. It is so cool to see their first flight. The best part was that my daughter was here and her camera caught all three in first flight.

All this is a nice story, but there was a surprise waiting for me when I checked the vacated nest.

Two chickadee eggs were embedded in the bottom of the nest. Chickadees will lay eggs and then cover them with feathers when they aren't around. Apparently, these eggs were already laid, when the bluebirds demanded their house back. The chickadees abandoned the nest, leaving the eggs behind. The bluebirds built their nest right over the chickadee nest. The eggs must have migrated down through the bottom nest because they were visible when I opened the box.

The natural world is a fascinating place. Often it leaves me with more questions, than answers. Like today.