Retracing Our Past Through Travel - Day Nine

     On July 7, we drove all the way from Marinette, WI to Detroit, MI. Before leaving, we decided to eat once again at Schloegels. 

Potato Pancakes

      Driving was going great until we were about 1 mile from the Mackinac Bridge in the UP. Stop and Go! The traffic was backed up for a long ways. We finally made it to the lower peninsula and promptly exited to eat in Mackinac City.

Chef in a Melon

     We ate at the same restaurant that we ate breakfast in a week before. I ordered the Fish and Chips plate. Let me tell you, the fish was fresh and I got 3 huge pieces for under $10. At the salad bar, they had the carved melon shown above.
      After eating, we entered the freeway only to find stop and go driving all the way down to where I-75 and US-23 branches off just south of Flint. What a long drive that was. The good thing is that I averaged 62.8 MPG all the way! More on that in my next blog.



      By the time we got to Flint it was 8 PM so we decided to stop at the Westside Diner on Balenger Highway. They have a burger, malt and fries special so we ordered that. They make the best malts and you get the entire metal cup that they make it in. We ordered one malt and split it. The waitress really outdid herself! That is REAL whipped cream on top.

Our Burgers

     After we got back on the freeway and entered the split, most of the traffice went down US 23 so it was free sailing after that.  We arrived at home around 10:30 PM and we were dead tired.
     So as a recap, we left Detroit on June 30 and hit Mackinac City, Marinette, WI, the cemetery in Marinette, WI, Stillwater, MN, Worthington, MN, the cemetery near Adrian, MN, Sioux Falls, SD, Lamberton, MN, Mankato, MN and then back to Marinette, Mackinac City and Detroit on July 7. Along the way, we buried our Mom, saw many of our relatives, and Retraced Our Past Through Travel.



    

Retracing Our Past Through Travel - Day Eight

     Today was a travel day. We are heading home now and will make the final drive tomorrow. Today we drove from Mankato, MN to Marinette, WI, a total of 403 miles. We set a new miles per gallon record in my sister's Prius. She hit 66 MPG on the last leg! Do you believe it! The Prius is one of the best designed cars I have seen in a long time. Why pay $32,000 for a Volt that has limited range when you can buy a Prius C for $21,000 and get over 50 mpg and go over 450 miles on a tank?

     At one point I saw a cute little outhouse by a house as we zipped by and made my sister turn around so I could photograph it. The pic's are on my other camera so I will add them later to this blog.
     After arriving in Marinette, we visited the graves of my father's family and the flowers we planted there last weekend are doing very well.

Where My Dad and his Family are Buried

Saying Hello to my Dad

      Next we went to Mickey Lu's BBQ and I ordered four (4) double hamburgers and a malt. The waitress couldn't believe it and said she had to watch me eat them. I did!

4 Double Hamburgers with a Malt

Cooking My Double Hamburgers

First One

Fourth Double!

     And this ends today's update. I hope all of you are happy and healthy as you read this...

Retracing Our Past Through Travel - Day Six and Seven

     This is a recap of the last two days. We were so busy yesterday at our cousin's house, we were literally too tired to do anything but fall into our beds. Here's the recap...

Note: The videos will be fixed later. It's midnight!

     We left Sioux Falls, SD and headed to Worthington, MN to have breakfast with a cousin. He is a historian and is interested in anything having to do with our clan. He found out that I had the branding iron that branded all the beer kegs at my Great Grandfather's brewery up in Marine on St. Croix, MN. He asked us to bring it so he could make an impression of it. He wants to have another one made.

Creating the Impression

Brand in the Goop

     After that, we headed to our cousin's house near Springfield, MN for a very busy day. Here are some of the things that we did: Lunch with the family, went to the nursing home to see her mother and our Aunt, went to the top of a huge grain elevator (her husband Lenny maintains all the antennas), drove the fields looking at all the crops that he and his family farms (1600 acres!), pulled out one of his huge tractors and drove it using Auto Steer coupled with a GPS, went back home for an evening BBQ, jumped back in the truck to see Anita's dance studio that she runs, visited the graves of some of our relatives, inspected the water damage from a failed sump pump in their basement and finally ended the evening with a fireworks display at their home. Whew! Are you tired yet? Here are some of the pictures and movies I took.

Me Coming Down in the Service Elevator

Lenny Coming Down in the Service Elevator

Me at the Top of the Elevator

 Starting the 8230 John Deere

Backing the Tractor into the Barn

Giant John Deere that was built using the Gold Key program

 (Case Combine in the back)

    

Steering Wheel Down for Driving

Steering Wheel Up for Exiting the Cab

Some of the Controls

Anita's Dance Studio Art

     Today we drove to Mankato, MN and spent time with our relatives there. Here is a picture after dinner at The Damn Store located next to a Dam.

At The Dam Store sign

Dee, Romaine, Jodie, Monnie

     And so ends our visits with all the relatives we could drum up. Tomorrow we're heading back home so it's off to Marinette, WI and more Mickey-Lu's!

Retracing Our Past Through Travel - Day Five

     Today we traveled to the furthest point of our journey; South Dakota. South Dakota is best known for the Corn Palace, Wall Drug, The Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Buffalo, Deadwood, Leed, sawdust on the floor bars and much more. Beginning tomorrow, we are starting our long trip back home.
     The day began with...FOOD! Eggs, sausages, biscuits and sausage gravy to name a few items.

Breakfast

     Next was our drive to Sioux Falls, SD. When I graduated from college in Ohio, I interviewed with a company to install and repair their computers. The manager I talked with told me they had an opening in Sioux Falls, SD. I told him my grandma's farm was 50 miles from there. He said "You're hired!" I guess they had trouble getting anyone to move there. I lived there almost three years and learned how to fly at the Joe Falls airport. Are there any falls in Sioux Falls? You bet and it's shown below.

Sioux Falls

Me in front of the falls

My Sister and I at the Falls

     Next we decided to take in a few museums. First on the agenda was the Old Courthouse Museum. Construction began on the first Minnehaha County Courthouse in 1889.   The building is a product of local architect Wallace L. Dow, who designed many local buildings including the South Dakota State Penitentiary, the All Saints School, and the Thomas B. McMartin home (now the Pettigrew Home and Museum).  The building is constructed of native Sioux Quartzite stone, a popular local building material of the late 19th century.  When completed in 1893, Dow claimed the structure would be the “largest courthouse between Chicago and Denver.”

      Interior courthouse features include slate stairs, granite pillars, stained glass windows, and tiled fireplaces.  Perhaps one of the most striking features of the building is the 16 large murals on the walls of the hallways painted between 1915 and 1917.  Painted by Norwegian immigrant Ole Running, the murals detail early life in Dakota, natural features, and images of his home in Norway.  Running was paid $500 for his work on the walls of the building. 

Old Courthouse

     Inside the museum was an interesting thing. There was a tornado long ago in the area and it lifted a steel bridge and pieces of the steel went flying. One ended up penetrating the tree shown below.

Steel From Bridge Flung Into A Tree

     Also there was a chair made of horns...strange!

     On the second floor was the courtroom. The room has been cleared out and you can now rent it for gatherings. The third floor consisted of the balcony with chairs where people could observe court proceedings.

Court Room Floor

   The ceiling was really cool too and it's shown below.

Court Room Ceiling

     Next was a visit to the Pettigrew Home and Museum. Senator Pettigrew served two terms in Washington and was best known for his protests involving the changing from the gold standard to a combined gold and silver standard.

Pettigrew Home and Museum

     Tomorrow we begin our journey home but along the way, we will be visiting with a cousin and her family and we will be enjoying good food, conversation, fireworks and more food.

Retracing Our Past Through Travel - Day Four

     Today was the day that we scheduled to bury Mom. It turned out to be a very interesting day. We drove several hours from Stillwater, MN to southwestern Minnesota.
     On the way, just South of Minneapolis, there is an airport with a very nice display near the entrance to the airport. The Thunderbirds are doing a star burst pattern.

 Thunderbird Simulation

     We finally arrived at the cemetery and no one was there. We drove over to where the grave site was and it didn't look like there was any hole dug for the cremation container. Getting out of the car, we discovered that there was indeed a hole dug for the container but...on the WRONG side of the headstone! We were beside ourselves. Here is what we saw...

     You can imagine our amazement at this gaff! Well, we called the digging company and they said they would send someone right out. They had to drive 10 miles but arrived in about 6 minutes so they were burning rubber in their pickup truck.
     Out pops the owner of the digging company (85 years old) and the other worker (about 78 years old). He had a toothpick in his mouth and was able to talk to us while the toothpick moved from one side to the other. They both stood there and scratched their heads and said if we wanted the hole dug on the other side, they would do it. We said, OK, let's do it!
     The older guy (owner) began digging while the younger guy began to talk to us. Turns out he knew all the people that we used to visit when we were kids so it ended up a kind of entertaining experience.

Digging the New Hole

     After digging for a while, the older gentleman sat down ON TOP of our mother's head stone and kind of tapped the shovel in the hole like he was still digging. We thought he looked pretty tired and about ready to have a heart attack! Well, they finally got the new hole dug and the first hole filled back in. Then they told us they would leave for a while so we could have our service but to call them when we were done because they had to fill the hole while we were still there.
     We conducted our service and placed the container containing Mom's cremains into the hole.

     We called the diggers and within a few minutes, in drove the truck again. They carefully filled in the hole and then replaced the sod. Wait! The older one filled in the hole while the younger one told us a few interesting stories about other burials they had done.

     One story was about an old Civil War burial near our plots that they found by using some new fangled digging machine. They found the head stone buried about 3 feet below the surface. The younger guy took it home, cleaned it up and then they placed it on top of the grave (shown below).

Civil War Veteran

     The stone says

JAMES A. 

2nd Son of the late 

JOHN HANNA 

ORKNEY 

of Quebec Canada 

Died 

Aug. 12, 1906

     The second really interesting story then came out. He said "You see that circle over there with the mushrooms growing? Turns out Indians used to be in this area and they had their teepee in that spot. When it rained, the oil from the bear hides went into the ground in the shape of a circle and the soil became super fertile. It is so fertile that huge mushrooms now grow year after year."
     If you look at the picture below, you can actually see the dark green where the teepee had been many years ago along with the current mushroom crop. The stem of the mushrooms are at least one inch in diameter and you can see one upside down in the picture.

Historic Teepee Site

     That brings us to the end of Day Four. Mom is now in her final resting place and happy to be back near the farm where she was born. In fact, you can actually see the farm from the cemetery.

Mom's Final Resting Place

     Thank you all for the encouraging words you have said about Mom and her teaching.
     Stay tuned for Day Five...

Retracing Our Past Through Travel - Day Three

     Today was a very long day of driving but we managed to see some sights along the way as well. The first stop of the day was at Schloegel's Bay View Restaurant in Menominee, MI. Why? They have the best potato pancakes. Only my Mother-in-Law makes better potato pancakes! Here's a picture of the perfect pancakes...

 

Potato Pancakes

     After breakfast it was off to Minnesota. We drove the back roads all the way and the roads were perfect, unlike the terrible roads around Detroit. As we were driving, we came across quite a few interesting outhouses. A few are shown below.

 

His and Hers Outhouse located near Mountain, WI

     Of course, I had to use the Outhouse and this one had a lot of not so nice writing on the walls. At the same location was an old cabin with a sign on the front "Mountain Log Home Museum". As I took a picture of it I noticed what looked like another old outhouse behind it. Sure enough, it was! Here it is...

Old Outhouse in Mountain, WI

  

 Inside the Old Outhouse

     Driving further West we saw this oddly named bar.

The Schoolhouse Bar - "It's Time for Recess"

    We started driving again and a short time later, we approached Pickerel, Mole Lake and Crandon. We passed an old schoolhouse and I thought I saw something almost completely hidden by large weeds. I turned around to investigate and it was a real find. Almost hidden by tall weeds was a very old outhouse with an unusual pointed roof. I looked around and way on the other side of the school yard was ANOTHER identical outhouse almost hidden by weeds. Back then, there would be an outhouse for the girls and one for the boys so that explains why there were two of them. Here's a picture of one of them.

 Schoolhouse Outhouse

     We began driving again. "Hey, that's a real nice graveyard...Oh, there's a Porta John and I have to go!". Another U-Turn and we stopped yet again. 

     About this time it was beginning to be a longer drive than we thought. I decided to only stop for an emergency. We made it to Stillwater, MN and then drove up to Marine on St. Croix, MN. My great great grandfather once owned the store in that small town so we went to see what was left. The store is still in business!

Marine General Store

     The store still has the original wooden floors and they creak as you walk on them. Next to the store is a museum. This town was really bustling in the day but as many lumber boom towns did, it almost went bust after the boom.

     Back in Stillwater, MN, we came across two of the old Zephyr locomotives that are being rebuilt. 

The Minnesota Zephyr

      My mom actually rode on the Zephyr train all the way to Washington D.C. a long time ago.

      Finally, to finish out the day, we stopped at Nacho Mama's restaurant and had way too much to eat. Here is what I had...a wet burrito filled with everything Mexican along with shredded chicken.

Nacho Mama's Wet Burrito

     Tomorrow is the big day when we bury our mom in SE Minnesota. It will be a very sad day for us. More to come...

Retracing Our Past Through Travel - Day Two

     Today we planned an easy day of travel so we covered around 250 miles from Mackinac City, Michigan to Marinette, Wisconsin. There are several reasons why we always stopped in Marinette on our trips to Minnesota; Food and Relatives.
     But first, let's update you on the clown car. Today I became a believer in the Toyota Prius. Look at this!

Our Mileage!

     As we drove, our mileage just kept going up until we peaked at 62.5 MPG. It only peaked there because we arrived at our destination but I firmly believe it would have gone up higher! Let me tell you two quick stories while at the gas pump. The first time we gassed up was yesterday and we waited and waited while the woman in front of us filled her car. Finally the pump in front of her opened up so I pulled in front of her and filled the Prius. 4.6 Gallons! We got in, drove away but stopped to fill out our car paperwork and when we looked back, she was STILL filling her car! The second story was today. We filled up again and it only took 4.5 gallons. A big Harley pulled in and I asked the guy what kind of mileage he got. He smiled and said 35 MPG. I smiled and said well, we're getting over 60 MPG in that car and then drove away leaving him staring at the car...LOL
     Keeping with tradition, if I see a usable Outhouse, I will stop and take a picture of it and use it. Here is the one we found today. It was actually clean and smelled like fresh wood. It also sported a toilet seat that closed itself slowly when you lowered it. Sweet!

The Self-Closing Toilet Seat

     This Outhouse was next to a waterfall. Here's that picture...

A View of The Waterfall

     Once in Marinette, we went to the city park where we used to camp and then on to the cemetery where our father is buried. His whole family is buried there as well. When we arrived, we noticed the graves had weeds growing in front. We cleaned them out, bought flowers and planted them in front of each family member. Here's my dad's before and after pic's...

 

Before

     Next on the list was food. For years we all went to Mickey Lu's BBQ for the best hamburgers in the world. Chuck Hennessy still owns the place and he still cooks the burgers on an open pit charcoal grill. Wow! They are great. Here's a video of Chuck grilling burgers. I don't think he has any hair left on his arms! 

     You can't get fries there but you can get Brats, Hot Dogs and Burgers. Today I tied my record and had 2 burgers and 3 double burgers! The best! 

     

Me in front of Mickey-Lu's

     Last on the agenda was to go to the park next door to our hotel to take in the first annual Rock Island Music Festival. There were quite a few bands that played and it was very entertaining.

Bridge to the Island

 The 1st Band Playing

 The 2nd Band Playing

     Finally, there are the coolest bronze action statues on the river. They depict a couple of boys having some swimming fun and I could just imagine my dad jumping off that rock to go for a swim. The boy below who is jumping is somehow attached to the rock but when you look at it, you wonder how in the world they attached a heavy bronze boy to the rock. Take a look below.

That could have been my dad years ago

     And so that ends day two of our journey. Tomorrow we will be heading to Stillwater, Minnesota. My gr. gr. grandfather and also my great grandfather ran a local brewery there and we plan to try and find where it was. See you tomorrow...

Retracing Our Past Through Travel - Day One

     In May, my mom died at the ripe old age of 99 years. She was a marvelous woman far ahead of her time and she lived life to the fullest. She passed away in Pennsylvania but she needed to be buried in Minnesota. She told us she wanted to be cremated and then taken to where she was born in Minnesota to be buried next to her parents.
     This first installment on my blog follows the trip that my sister and I are taking to take our mother's cremains to their final resting place. This trip is retracing a trip that we took countless times to our grandma's farm in Minnesota when we were children.
     So...we begin with my sister calling me a few days before she was to arrive telling me she traded in her gas guzzling mini van for a gas sipping Toyota Prius. Well, I thought to myself, there goes my packing list. You see, I take after my mother and take everything but the kitchen sink with me when I travel. So now I had to repack everything into a smaller sized load. Let's see...slide projector and slides to show to relatives along the way, computer in my Swiss backpack, good camera in my Lowepro backpack, suitcase, survival bag and cooler for drinks. Check!
     I looked out the window as she drove in the driveway and almost fell off my chair. An ORANGE car and a small one at that! Oh No!!! It's a clown car from the circus! Everyone is going to laugh at us!

Here it is!

     I'm thinking to myself "another yuppy car..." but little did I know what the future held for me.

     We packed the car and...well, you better take a look at it...

The full car

     Yes my friends, it is packed to the gills with all our things along with Mom and the back seats are even down. I thought to myself, "Man, the mileage is going to go to hell with all this weight."

     Our first stop on the trip while retracing the drive we took so many times was to Mackinac City, MI to take in the 5 mile long Mackinac Bridge. It's a suspension bridge over Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. 

Here's me in front of the bridge

     Next, you will soon find out that FOOD is at the top of my list so you will most always see pictures of food. We looked up a good restaurant and while on the way, I hit the brakes pretty hard. We heard a loud BANG! when something slammed into the center console. I said "What was that!". My sister calmly said "That was Mom." We had a good laugh. Here's a picture of my fresh Michigan Whitefish dinner.

Whitefish

     After dinner we walked to a local fudge shop and bought 4 slices of fresh Michigan fudge. Boy was it good. 

Fudge

     Last thing I did for the day was venture into a local saloon for something to cool off with. I was enjoying my brew and when I looked up, I saw something familiar; a toilet seat with some writing on it.

1st Place

     The bar entered the 1st annual Outhouse Race in Mackinac City in 2013 and they took first place. Apparently 1st Place was awarded a toilet seat! I should know something about Outhouse Races. They are built on skis and pushed 500 feet on hard-packed snow. I should know; I was the official photographer of the Trenary Outhouse Races for ten years. The races are held every year in Trenary, MI. 

     End of Day One