#7 A Fish Story

You can pretty much be sure that a National Park will be a special place, and its no different for a National Seashore. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Seashore stretches for about six miles along the Lake Michigan shoreline and is comprised of a variety of coastal topography, the most striking of which are the 450+ foot tall sand dunes right next to the lake.  Forests, open fields and scenic shorelines add to the great scenery. Unfortunately for us, the cloudy weather and some rain has diminished our experience here.

What hasn’t been diminished is the fishing, because the fishermen seem to be everywhere. The fishing is very good this year, and we wanted to learn more about it by visiting the nearby Platte River State Fish Hatchery, the largest one in Michigan. With several acres along the Platte River, the Hatchery offers a self guided tour that starts at the Visitor Center and has many interesting exhibits describing the various aspects of  the fish and fishing in Michigan.  

 Since the hatchery is where many of the Coho and Chinook salmon were hatched and spent about a year, its where they return to spawn. Some are diverted from swimming upstream by a barrier called a weir, and the eggs and milt (sperm) are harvested at the hatchery. More eggs are harvested at the fish weir near our campground, which is on the Platte river.

 Most interesting was watching the many fish and their pursuers along the Betsie River at a dam.  State law requires that fishermen must be at least 100 feet downstream from the dam – 100 yards at the weir.

 Large and smaller Chinook and Coho were jumping like mad to clear the dam and get upstream, some 4 or 5 feet into the air. 

We saw several fish hooked, but none actually caught. However, three or four fisherman were dragging their limit of 5 fish back to their cars. 

These are big fish, mostly over 2 feet long and heavier than20 pounds. We did see a chinook caught when we went to another spot where the Platte empties out into Lake Michigan.  

Interestingly, we asked a number of locals where we might be able to purchase a salmon steak for the grill, and were told that roadside or other vendors sometimes sell salmon, but we found none.  We also received conflicting advice about the suitablilty of the salmon for eating at this time of the year; some said it was unpalatable and others said it was fine. We, and the cats, were disappointed……….

#6. Music House Museum and BMX Racing

One of the attractions near Traverse City that we wanted to see is the Music House Museum. A small museum that started with a local architect’s collection, the Music House specializes in antique automated musical instruments ranging from small music boxes to their showpiece, a gigantic dance hall organ which is 30 feet wide and nearly as tall. Built in 1922 in Antwerp, Belgium it is one of only a handful of these organs still in existence and fully operational. It plays more than 2000 dance tunes and light classics – all by itself!

Visitors to the museum are conducted by knowledgeable guides, volunteers who take you on a two hour stroll through the musical the past.

All instruments are operational and short selections give the visitor a true sense of what entertainment was like before radio, TV and CD players. This 1938 juke box has five instruments, all choreographed by the paper roll.

A theater organ that was manufactured in 1944 and is still used today to accompany silent films occasionally played at the museum.

Many specialty players, such as the Mills’ Violano-Virtuoso that plays a violin and 44 key piano were demonstrated. This all-electric instrument had 26 patents and it was declared one of the eight greatest inventions of the new century when it was displayed in 1909. Can you see the rollers that act as the bow and the many fingers?

Many other early Victrolas, radios, and juke boxes are on display for visitors to see at their leisure.

A BMX bicycle track was on the 4H Fairgrounds where we stayed for several days. Around 6pm on Saturday we walked from our campsite over to the 800 foot long track and were amazed to see scores of cars and many eager riders assembled for their last meet of the season. And guess what? This is the 3^rd best attended BMX track in the US, just behind one in California that has a lot longer season.

The age range surprised us – from 3-year-olds on pedal-less bikes practicing their balance skills (fully helmeted!) to a 43 year old local bar manager, who is ranked 15^th nationally. Also at the meet was the nationally top ranked 15 year old girl. The oldest age group that races is 55+. 

With the different age, gender and skill ranges represented, this sport has a much wider appeal than we realized.

Topping off our 5 day stay in Traverse City, we were treated to a gorgeous sunset.

What's next?

#5 Traverse City

When we arrived in Traverse City we were quite surprised at how big the city is.  We are staying about 10 miles from the downtown and lakefront, and are still in the city proper. Of course, its not so populated around the area where we are, which is - you guessed it - another county fairgrounds! We liked the last one so much that we decided to try this one too. Its got 50 amps power, and lots of open space.

Tomorrow is a a horse show show and BMX bike race on a special track they have behind the park. We took Duffy for a walk around all the buildings on the property and were thinking about what a lot of activity was going on here during the 4H fair when all 135 campsites are filled. 

Travis City is quite the tourist city with a huge variety of dining and shops along the lakefront area. Taking a drive along one of the peninsulas that are on either side of the city, Old Mission, we saw a lot of great lakefront scenery and a number of wineries, and, of course, many nice homes and mansions along the lakefront too. The lighthouse at the tip of the peninsula was just that – a house with a light atop it! About 100 yards offshore is the 45^th parallel – the circumferential line about the earth that is just half way between the equator and the North Pole.  Hard to believe we are still that far from the pole!

Stopping for lunch at a small local grocery store offering some prepared items, we had a great lunch of roast chicken, broccoli raisin salad, and roasted and marinated artichokes. Delicious!!

Probably because the vineyards grow best on hillsides, wineries seem to offer the best countryside scenery you can find, and Chateau Chantal was no disappointment. In addition to tasting and purchasing some of their excellent wine, we enjoyed the great scenery overlooking their fields.

In addition to visiting every thrift shop in the City, we visited Moomers Ice Cream Shop yesterday. Its known for winning the best ice cream in America award on Good Morning America in 2010. 

It was goooooood!

#4 Another Day, Another Zoo - and a Necklace

Grand Rapids’ John Ball Zoo is small, or you could charitably call it compact. Due to light showers and the kids being back in school, we practically had the place to ourselves, which was really neat.

Although small in size, the animals are housed in an open setting such that you can view almost every one without obstruction or through glass. We were able to get physically closer to many animals than ever before.

Most of  the exhibits were well done, and gave the animals adequate space and a natural habitat.

Except for the small aquarium and tropical building, all of the animals were outdoors; their indoor habitat was off limits.  Overall, the John Ball Zoo provided us with a pleasant experience and a chance to get up really close to our wild – or almost wild – friends in the animal world.

Our sister in law, Jane, makes hand crafted earrings, necklaces, and pendants that she sells at local craft fairs. They are quite attractive and we thought you might enjoy seeing them. Some of the pendants and earrings are made of hammered aluminum wire, and some of them are embellished with glass beads.  

In other cases, Jane has recycled old dominoes into painted and stamped pendants.  

Other necklaces are made of glass beads entwined with crocheted silver  plated wire.  

Jane sells her items at local farmers markets and craft fairs. Want One?

She’s one talented lady, isn't she?

#3. Grand Rapids IS Pretty Grand!

We may have asked a few of you how big your driveway is; well, be careful how you answer that one, because you may find company out there when its least expected! Anne's brother, Steve, said his drive was quite large, and that is all we needed to hear. Pretty soon, Grand Rapids was a stop on out trip. There is nothing better for a camper than free camping, or boondocking. We love it!

This coming Wednesday a new 10 day international event called Art Prize begins in Grand Rapids. What the heck is Art Prize, you might ask - as we did. Well, its a $250K prize awarded to the top art projects submitted to the annual competition. The art may be large or small, sculpture or painting or anything in between. Though we were a little early for the official start, we did see some interesting art scattered around the downtown area.

One of our favorites was this huge mosaic crafted entirely with lottery tickets.

A large bronzed pyramid-shaped work comprised of migrating lines of birds was pretty cool. At the top of the pyramid, they changed direction and start circling the perimeter of the pyramid - maybe an endless migration???

Do you shop at Meijer's? We do - but little did we know that the company is headquartered in Grand Rapids, and that the son of the founder was a philanthropist who helped found the Frederic Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. When asked by the Grand Rapids Horticulture Society about sponsoring some projects, he said that he just happened to have a 130 acre parcel of land looking for a home (it was to be a Meijer store, but zoning didn't permit building it). He donated the land, and in 1996 the Gardens opened. Mr Meijer asked that the Society include space to exhibit some sculpture - he had been an avid collector all his life, and the Garden now includes a 32 acre outdoor sculpture park. Like the Mejer chain, the Gardens have continued to flourish and today are the third most visited attraction in Michigan - after the Ford Museum and Greenfield Village.


This weekend there was a special exhibit at the Gardens of decorated gourds. Some of the creations hardly looked like gourds.

In addition to Venus Fly Traps, a sizable collection of different carnivorous plants was on display. They look hungry, don't they?

And Orchids........

The sculpture park could be lazily viewed from the tram.

Ahhhhhh..........

And what was the most impressive exhibit? Nothing less than Leonardo Da Vinci's 24 foot tall bronze war horse. Mr. Meijer learned about Da Vinci's design that was sculpted in clay, but never completed because of a war. He contracted to make two of the horses according to Leonardo's plans and drawings. One now resides at the sculpture park, and the other was presented to the city of Milan, 500 years after the full size clay model was sculpted there. Once we saw the horse, we realized that we had seen a PBS special about how the bronze statues were made. WOW!!!!

What a magnificent war horse! Imagine facing this fellow on the battlefield?

And what other places are hidden in Michigan?