Aspen

There is a drive I frequently take in the fall between Danbury and Webster, WI.  There is  one hill that is all yellow, and I often try to capture the image without a result that I think reflects what I experience in person. Fall colors in Minnesota and Wisconsin are brilliant, with the bright red of maples and other deciduous trees. The mix of the evergreens and trees with brilliantly colored leaves mixed among the lakes is impressive. 

The yellow trees I always find so impressive in mass are Aspens. 

We are visiting Todd, Jess, and Porter in Salt Lake City and now have the opportunity to view the fall colors with the mountains in the background. They don't seem to have reds at this altitude, but the Aspens are spectacularly bright in color and density.

Washington Game Night

Seattle is a great place to visit, but one story before any comments on the gam

Cindy, Greg, and Lauri took an Uber for breakfast to try out a local eatery. I stayed at the hotel because my feet were sore, and I knew it would be a very long day. Cindy has a special bag she one of those cross-body purses she likes to use on our trips. To buckle her seat belt, she took the bag off. Yes, she forgot the bag when they got out of the vehicle. For drivers, forgetting things is common, but for riders, it can be pretty scary. Greg booked the ride, so he could contact the service, and the driver located the bag and shared a photo so everyone knew it had been found. Getting it back was a challenge and took over three hours. Although they had a phone number, Greg couldn't reach the driver. It all made sense afterward. The driver didn't understand English, so trying to communicate by phone was useless. At some point, Cindy sent a text message and this brought responses, sometimes in Chinese. Both Cindy and the driver were relying on their phones to translate and that was productive. Another part of the experience: Cindy had an Apple tracker in her purse. So we all could watch the driver move about the area in real time. Hopes would rise when he was close to the hotel and sink when he headed off in a different direction. Eventually, he indicated he was on his way and the purse was returned. 

The trip to the game was unique. We went by boat and spent several hours on Lake Washington. Tailgating near the stadium is evidently a theme. Part of the tour included a pass by of the homes of the rich and famous - Bezos and Gates.

It turns out not all stadiums are built like the ones we have experienced. This one was not that old but a real challenge. It was huge and you had to trek up what amounted to a road that wound back and forth just to get to your level. Then there were the very steep stairs, with gaps between sections where there were handrails. The rows were separated by very little room, and getting to the middle of the row to our seats was tough. People's shoes extended nearly to the next row which made getting past even friendly people a challenge. No leaving at half time for a hot dog.

The trip home was quick compared to the trip out - jet stream makes a big difference. The plane was even painted in recognition of the U of Minnesota. Game score - Minnesota 24 Washington 21 in an upset. 

Seattle - Gopher - Washington Game

 We are in Seattle with Greg and Laura to attend the Gopher vs Washington game. The charter was for Thursday through Sunday so we had a full day to explore which provided me to take some photos and have some new experiences.

We split our free day visiting the Space Needle and the Chihuly Garden and Glass. We have been in Seattle quite a few times with convention trips and I know I have seen the Space Needle, but maybe not spent time at the top. The Chihuly Garden is new to us and quite spectacular. 

Space Needle

Chihuly

Chihuly was a famous artist who fashioned his from blown glass.  Large and spectacular this exhibition has influenced Seattle and you see images referencing his work in our hotel. The garden area also included glass blowers demonstrating the complicated process of making even smaller pieces. For the larger pieces, the weight of the glass alone could require modifications of the building if the structure was to appear as part of the ceiling or suspended as a chandelier.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

 Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore stretches for more than 40 miles along the shore of Lake Superior. The area was established as the first National Lakeshore in the United States in 1966. 

The park's name comes from its colorful sandstone cliffs. Over thousands of years, mineral-rich groundwater has seeped through the rock, staining the cliff faces with vibrant streaks of red, orange, green, blue, and brown. 

We had viewed the colored walls on a previous visit, and this time it was from the water, which allows a closer and more varied view. A 40-mile trail runs along the edge of the water, and hikers were often visible. Four days was reported as the typical time frame for those willing to make the effort. 

Hundreds of kayaks followed the shoreline as this is another popular way to view the walls and caves.

This formation, consisting of multiple extensions from the shoreline, is called battle ship row. 

This tree is interesting. It grows on the rock without soil. If you look carefully, you can see the root system stretching to the left across the open area to the soil on the shore. The limestone is continually giving way, creating the caves and arches that attract the attention of folks like me looking to collect photos.

The contrast between the green (shallow) and blue (deep) water is evident here. This color change may indicate a steep 40 foot difference. 

Pasties

 No trip to the U.P. would be complete without a pasty (pronounced "pass tee"), gravy, and cold slaw. This is not an original topic, as I found a post from 2019 on the same subject, but from a different location. The longer you travel, the fewer novel topics there are.

The pasty (or pastie, depending on the sign) always reminds me of a chicken pot pie. According to Wikipedia, my definitive source, it originated in England, but I always associated it with the Finnish miners of the northern areas of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. Michigan makes a strong claim advocating for the "home of" and "pasty capital". 

The miners, at lunchtime with dirty hands, found the pastie they had carried in was still warm, and they could hold it by the crusty edge and discard the crust when finished. I kind of like the crust the best. I believe the part about retaining heat, as I remember from my youth, burning my tongue on the potato chunks in my pot pie. Wikipedia claims it is not just potato chunks, but also rutabagas that provide the starchy chunks. Both Cindy and I prefer the chicken option. 

Muldoons, the store where we found our lunch, claims beef was the original. This makes some sense because I read about many with a preference to top their pastie with ketchup and that makes little sense to me with chicken. 

Grand Marais Splash-in

You can't plan for all of the interesting things you should see. Sometimes you are just sitting in a small-town restaurant, wondering why all the planes are flying overhead, and the waitress tells you it is the Grand Marais Splash-In. Float planes - I heard the word seaplanes too and am not sure if they are the same thing - are important here. After some online research I learned that a seaplane can land on water and a float plane is a version with floats. There are regular flights to Island Royal, remote fishing camps, and some medical emergencies. 

The planes gather yearly so the owners and families can socialize and engage in some friendly competition. The events included a balloon drop, landing accuracy, and water rescue. 

The water rescue was the most entertaining. There is a weighted dummy in the water. The pilot is alone in the plane and must circle, land, turn off the prop, and life the dummy from the water. It is a timed contest with the time starting when the plane touches the water. About half of the participants were successful, with the challenge of overshooting the dummy before the pilot could hop onto the float and grab it. One of the more amusing attempts involved a pilot who had everything lined up perfectly, but he landed into a headwind, and his plane started to float backward when he was a yard or so short of the target. He struggled trying to paddle forward without luck. 

Cheeseburger

 It is Father's Day. We have ventured to Paradise, Michigan. 

I have a stroke of genius, and we begin the search.

Cheeseburger in Paradise. 

Trolls

Cindy saw a picture of a giant troll on a "things to do" Facebook page and found the location so we could take a photo. It was big as advertised, but as I found out a little more, it made this one even more interesting.

Swedish artist Thomas Dambo has created hundreds of trolls throughout the world. His work has two missions. First, you have to be in nature to see his work. Second, he relies entirely on recycled materials. So, he provides these sculptures to encourage an appreciation of nature and a greater emphasis on conservation. His sculptures are placed in forests, parks, and natural settings. 

While looking online, I discovered a map showing the locations of artistic works. My screen capture appears below, but if you use the link you will find that the actual online map is interactive. If you know where we are camping and click the X marking that spot, a small drawing of the troll from the photo I took should appear. 

Tahquamenon Falls

 We ventured from our campground today to visit Tahquamenon Falls in Tahquamenon Falls State Park. A tough word to spell, and my Mac thinks I've spelled it incorrectly. The pronunciation rhymes with phenomenon. The word is an Indian term for the color of the water, which results from tannins picked up by the water as it flows through low areas with cedar trees. A lot of water goes over this falls, which is supposedly second only to Niagara in the eastern United States. It does seem odd to me when what I read describes my location as eastern US.

There are several falls here, and the one I photographed is the larger Upper Falls. I took my Canon 7D on this trip. It was my first high-quality camera, but I seldom use it anymore because it is so heavy and the iPhone is so easy to use for quality photos. 

Pine Forests, Roadside Bars, and Breakfast as the Best Meal of the Day

 Here is the end of yesterday's story. We had stopped at the Two Rivers Motel and Cabins and learned that we had a bad (very bad) wheel bearing. Not having a clue as what we should do we asked owner Tim (co-owner with Jen) who we might call. Tim said he would take a look and try to fix it. When he and Jen lived in Madison, he had been a mechanic. Tim took off the wheel, looked at the bearing, and decided he might try to fix it if the camper were his, but thought we would be better off having someone who specializes do the work. So now what, how do you get a camper 40 or so miles to a specialty shop?

Tim decides to take off both tires, drop the entire axle, get the entire thing in the back of a pickup and send his dad and me off to a specialty shop he had located.

An hour or so later we arrived. Got the axle unloaded and the mechanics took over. Half an hour and $229 or later, the bearings were pronounced fixed.

We headed back to the campground; Tim and I managed to position the axle so it could be reattached, and the job was complete. Tim does not want any money even though he had spent a lot of two days on what he seemed to think was an interesting project. It was interesting, but the mosquitoes were really bad while he was crawling around underneath our camper. Cindy offered to pay, but he refused any compensation. We left money on the bed this morning.

Driving through the Upper Peninsula consists of a lot of pine trees, a few lakes, and periodic bars/taverns. The experience is much like the surroundings of our lake place in Wisconsin with fewer options along the road. Much as the absence of towns has alarmed us when we needed a skilled mechanic, it would be difficult for most to appreciate the lack of humans. 

We stopped at one of the places we found along the way for breakfast. The manager/cook turned on the Open sign when he saw us drive up and we had a great breakfast. We were the only customers the entire time. It is the slow season. Great food and adequate coffee.

We are now established in a half deserted campground in Newberry, Michigan. 

Better late than never. 

Be Optimistic - Life is an adventure

Cindy is more optimistic than I am. This helps. When you are safe and can afford what recovery involves, think of challenges as adventures.

We started a trip yesterday. We have campground reservations in the Upper Peninsula of  Michigan - Newberry. A 7 or so hour trip. On the way, we had to make a stop at the place we have our camper maintained because we could not get the anode screwed into our water heater. Turns out they could not either so there will be no hot water unless we heat it on the stove. Not serious, but acceptable. 

We decided to stop along the way and found a little place because we planned to stay in a motel one night anyway, and we found an interesting place near Trout Creek, MI. We headed into town from our motel to find some food, and as we pulled into a pizza place, a woman sitting outside a bar across the street yelled at us to check our rear tire because it looked like a bearing was going out. This turned out to be the case and we were now stranded 40+ miles from anywhere. We limped back to the motel to start seeing what we would have to do and the owner says he would fix it for us. He seemed very confident and capable, so how could he be so lucky? We could stay one more day (no more vacancies after that). 

Today, he decided that the fix would be more challenging than he had anticipated. He said if it was his camper he would fix it, but he would also help us get the section of the axle that needed to be repaired to a shop that would guarantee the work. His father would drive the piece there in his pickup. So, that is the situation to this point. I am riding along. Pretty cool adventure. More to come.