POTR #72 From The Great Lakes To The Big City

PEACE ON THE ROAD

From The Great Lakes To The Big City

June 22, 2012

I am sure that all of you have seen signs that make you shake your head in wonder. When we were in Duluth, MN we drove by a business with a large LED sign. One of its advertisements was for “Organic Smoking Products.” Let me see if I've got this straight. First a smoker is putting a match to tobacco and burning it. Then they are breathing the smoke which has over 4,000 chemicals in it with at least 69 of those chemicals which are known to cause cancer. Then they are going to worry about some farmer fertilizing the field with chemicals that are not strictly organic. Maybe there is some sense in that but to me it is totally ludicrous. Maybe I am just behind on the organic food scene.

Another thing that I have to laugh about is tree planting. We stayed in a RV park that had a couple lakes. Our site was 75 yards from a lake and we could see it out our front window. On the lake was a loon family, parents with two babies. We could actually see the place where the loons were nesting. One time there were also at least 8 mated pair of Canadian geese with 6 to 8 young each. All of these birds plus others could be seen on the lake once in a while. The camp owners have planted many trees along the edge of the lake and in a few years they will be large and beautiful. When the trees reach that maturity they will block any view of the lake. I would have to ask, “Would I rather camp where I can see a lake with birds swimming and maybe fish jumping or a row of trees that are blocking the view?”

Forty-five years ago I saw my first Yellow Lady Slipper Orchid in the wild but could not photograph it. While not far from Egg Harbor, WI, I was fortunate to find a stand of many of what I believe are called Small Lady Slipper Orchids. To find even one would be exciting but I found an area that could well have had over a hundred, perhaps more if I had wanted to search. In the same area were some Wood Lilies. Both are beautiful wild flowers. Some people say, “Stop and smell the roses!” I say, “Stop and photograph the flowers!” Of course while you are at it photograph everything else too.

TWO SMALL YELLOW LADY SLIPPER ORCHIDS (one for each of the ladies feet)

We have traveled up into the northern Part of Wisconsin into Door County. There are lots of trees, picturesque farms, small lakes, the great lakes and quaint villages. There are more lighthouses than any other area that we have been. The biggest problem with them is that mostly the view is inaccessible except by water or blocked by trees. Across the US we have seen several lantern housings on lighthouses that have had the light on the land side blocked by a solid wall rather than open through windows. We heard a tour guide telling people this was done because the light bothered the people living in the area and also their farm animals. The tidbits of information that we pick up in odd places is amazing. Traveling is not only fun but it is educational if the time is taken to pay attention.

Have you ever been to a “fish boil”? Or maybe I should ask have you ever heard of one. I have seen on TV fish boils being served and was not impressed. Our friends took us to eat at one. I do not believe that we would ever have gone on our own, and that would have been a mistake. Real life action was a whole bunch more fun than it has looked on TV. At a fish boil a pot of water is heated to boiling on a fire. A sieve holding potatoes is lowered into the boiling pot of salted water. Then another sieve is added that holds cut up white fish. The one we went to used 15 gallons of water with seven pounds of salt. The salt brought the boiling temperature up to 220 degrees. Right at the end the cook threw some kerosene into the fire which caused the fish oils to be frothed out of the pot and burned in the fire. It is then ready to serve. I have to say that it is delicious. Much better than I expected.

INSIDE THIS FIRE IS THE POT WITH THE POTATOES AND FISH READY TO EAT

There are many restaurants that we have either tried or have heard about. When we are in an area we try to enjoy the local cuisine. Sometime there are just too many places to eat in the time we are in the area. As a matter of fact that is true in most cities. One restaurant we had to see but did not eat at was in Sister Bay, WI. Al Johnson built a restaurant back in the 1950's, got married in the 1960's and in the 1970's had a building fabricated in Norway, shipped to the US and assembled over his restaurant. On top of the building there was a special under layer laid down. This layer was seeded with grass and goats were placed on top the building to forage. The restaurant never closed during all the construction. There are two “goat-cams” mounted on the roof which cover up to 95% of the total roof. The goats are on the roof during the daylight hours during the tourist season, from May to October. At night they are taken down and kept in a barn on the outskirts of town. To say the least it is a very interesting place to see. The reports are that the food is also very good. Check out the “goat-cams,” http://www.aljohnsons.com/goat-cam/ It really needs to be seen to actually believe it does exist.

GOATS ON THE ROOF OF AL JOHNSON'S RESTAURANT

We decided that we would stop in Chicago and do in part of it. Somehow we got mixed up and it did us in. We went to the Museum of Industry and Science (MIS) and saw part of it. To say the least it is big. It is also expensive to go “one” day. If I was to go again, and I really think I should, I would do things differently. I would plan to stay in the area at least a week or maybe two. I would purchase a membership to MIS. That would allow me to take a guest for free as many times as I wanted. Then instead of going once and trying to see all I could, which is exhausting, I would go several times and see one or two areas very well each time. I would take my tripod for the camera and take better pictures than I did this time and take a lot more pictures. The light in MIS is good for viewing but not for picture taking. I would visit one day and then take a day off to rest and reflect. In other words I need to get away from the mindset that when I go someplace I am on vacation and I have to see it all. Forty to fifty years of my adult life that has been true but not necessarily anymore. I am retired and my plan is to see and enjoy the places I go. I do not think that spending an entire afternoon viewing and touring the only captured German WWII submarine in the US would be difficult at all. The U-505 is the only German submarine of its type to survive to this day, and it was once scheduled to be used as target practice and sunk. It is interesting to me that it was captured on my Fathers birthday, June 4, 1944, when I was two years old. Another area of MIS features several pieces of farm equipment that were built by John Deere. I grew up farming with John Deere's. Granted the ones I drove were two cylinders engines that were nick named Johnny Pops and I don't considers four and eight cylinders to be proper. Still the tractor and combine with GPS technology, AC, CD/radio, etc were very impressive.

THE GERMAN SUBMARINE U-505 IN THE MUSEUM OF INDUSTRY AND SCIENCE

In driving through many cities in over 38 states and years ago in Canada I have come to the conclusion that drivers have a lot of times been given a bum rap. Having just driven in downtown Chicago and the main highways in and out of the city during the rush hour, in construction and at both high and low speeds I conclude that the vast majority of the drivers are courteous, considerate, and caring for the well being of their fellow drivers. All it usually takes is a flashing light to get a space to pull into. Several times I have seen two or three cars changing lanes at the same time each taking the space vacated by one of the other vehicles. In a way it looks like a choreographed dance on the highway. Sure I have seen accidents, a couple I even saw happen, but considering the number of cars on the road passing any given point I think that people are doing a great job. One thing that I hope is that I am not the cause of a accident due to my own ineptitude. It also would be too much trouble to get repairs.

We are currently in Elkhart, IN and are slowly headed to Rochester, NY. That decision was pretty much necessary about a week after we left the Winnebago factory and decided that we were mobile again. Although while we were in Door County, WI we were shut down for a short time. At a campground the first thing we do is put the leveling jacks down. One pair went down and the whole hydraulic system shut down. We could not finish leveling or put the slides out. I even had to spend the night on the couch. Since two jacks were down I dare not move the motor home even an inch. It was a simple fix that I can now do if it happens again. But it took three hours for the service technician to find the problem. Not only did I learn something, so did he. An education can be expensive at times but one thing for sure is that being uneducated or as some would say “stupid” is even more expensive.

Till Later This Is Doug Of,

PEACE ON THE ROAD

POTR #71 North Shore Of Lake Superior

PEACE ON THE ROAD

North Shore Of Lake Superior

June 7, 2010

In approximately a month we have traveled from three miles north of the Mexican border in Texas to about a hundred miles south of the Canadian border in Minnesota. The temperature at night has gone from somewhere in the eighties to barely above the thirties. We have traveled from a place that water was only found in a few streams to an area where it is seldom more than a couple miles to a lake. This country is so large with vast difference from one area to another. And yet there is a sameness that can be found no matter where we travel. We are really enjoying the tour across our wonderful country.

It is necessary to be either on one of the coasts or at some port along the Great Lakes to see a really big ship up close. Most sea ports are closed to the casual visitor, partly because they are a working area and also because of a perceived threat to national security. While this also seems to be true around the Great Lakes there are places that the great ships can be closely seen. One of those places is in the Port of Duluth, Minnesota where the large ore ships pass through a channel that is only 300 foot wide. Along both sides of the channel are areas that people can stand just two foot from the waters edge. When an incoming ship is a half mile out the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge that is across the channel starts to raise to allow passage. When the bridge reaches its full height of 227 feet there is ample height for the largest ship that sails the Great Lakes hauling iron ore or grains. This bridge was originally built in 1905 as an aerial transporter bridge. There were only two of these bridges ever built in the US. It would transport a gondola with up to 350 people plus horses and carriages from one side of the canal to the opposite side in a minute and it made the trip every five minutes. In 1929 it was converted to a lift bridge to accommodate a greater auto traffic load. The bridge can lift to its full height in three minutes. During the busy times of the shipping season the bridge cycles 25 to 30 times a day. It is operated by a

THE 902 FOOT HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR HEADED TO PORT AT DULUTH, MINNESOTA

set of batteries which can be charged with generators. If the power lines to the lift should fail it can still be operated. The traffic platform is counterbalanced by two 450 ton weights. The bridge and the ships that pass beneath it is a large tourist attraction in Duluth. We have seen a couple 1000 foot ore boats come through the channel. One of those was at night. The schedule of ships in and out plus interesting information about the ships is published daily and made available to the public. Coal is loaded on to ships here, taken to Quebec City and stored. Then 4 or 5 laker (ships that only can operate in the Great Lakes) loads are transferred onto a single ocean going ship and delivered to Northern Europe. The lakers are BIG ships but must be a lot smaller that ocean going vessels.

I like lighthouses whether they are old brick or stone ones or simple lights that are out on the end of breakwaters. There is simply something special, perhaps romantic, about a structure that is placed in a strategic location to guide ships and sailors to safe destinations or away from dangerous rocks. Lighthouses are varied in their design because of the builder, the location or simply for identification in the daylight. One lighthouse that I have admired for years is Splitrock Lighthouse in Minnesota. It is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the US. It was built and commissioned in 1910. In November of 1905 three severe storms hit the Great Lakes and caused the death of 116 sailors, it also damaged 29 iron ore ships, two of which sank off the Split Rock shore. There have been five other ship which have been damaged within twelve miles. This area was once described as the most dangerous waters in the world. Lake Superior is 602 foot above see level with the cliff being 130 higher and the light is 54 foot above the cliff. The light itself is a bi-valve Fresnel lens which was built in Paris, France. It was fired by a kerosene light from 1910-1939 when it was converted to a 1000 watt electric bulb which was used from 1940-1969. It was decommissioned in 1969 due to the use of GPS and other more modern navigational devices. Before it was electrified the Fresnel lens was rotated by a

SPLITROCK LIGHTHOUSE AT SPLITROCK, MINNESOTA

clockwork like mechanism that required the lighthouse keeper to climb the tower and wind the spring mechanism every two hours. The kerosene lamp burned about five gallons of fuel every night which needed to be hauled up the tower. All supplies brought to the lighthouse had to be lifted by a hoist at the top which was dangerous not only to the operators but also to the supplies themselves. It was not until the highway, which became known as the Lake Superior International Highway, was built close to the lighthouse in 1924 that supplies could be brought in by land. The close proximity of the highway to the lighthouse also brought a large influx of tourist that wanted to see and photograph the beauty of the area. Lighthouse keepers found it necessary to ask the Lighthouse Service headquarters for guidance on how to work amid the visitors and it was necessary to erect fences at the cliff edge. An advantage for the keepers that the highway provided was the ability for their families to live with them all year instead of just in the summer. The children were able to go to school at local towns.

A side note to the Splitrock Lighthouse is the Edna G., a tugboat that spent its working years at Two Harbors, Minnesota. In the November storm of 1905 the Edinborn was towing the barge the Madeira. They separated with the Edinborn being beached with 25 sailors. The Maderia was broken apart against rocky cliffs and sank. A crewman was able to climb the cliff and with a rope rescue 9 other crewmen. Both crews found shelter with either fishermen or loggers where they stayed until rescued by the Edna B. a few days later. The Edna B. was built as a coal fired steam engine tug in 1896. She primarily moved ships and barges carrying iron ore and taconite For two years during WWI she served on the east coast. She also participated in the rescues of several shipwrecks. She now serves as a museum at Two Harbors as the last coal fired steam engine to operate on the Great Lakes.

COAL FIRED STEAM ENGINE TUG NEXT TO THE IRON ORE DOCKS IN TWO HARBORS

Till Later This Is Doug Of,

PEACE ON THE ROAD