Detroit Area

I missed the Welcome to Michigan sign – got bounced so hard that I took a picture of the air above the sign! I probably should have called it in to the Pothole Hotline – but I’m not sure it would have helped. We found a reasonable deal on another fairground campground – close enough to Detroit that taking an Uber to go sightseeing was practical. With an address on Quirk Road it fit with our love of all things quirky.

 

The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn is so extensive that we could have spent a lot more time there. We opted to only visit the Museum of American Innovation and they had to chase us out at closing time. Greenfield Village (seven different districts highlighting different aspects of 19th century life) would have been another good option for a full day of exploring.

There was so much to see – so after walking towards the DC-3 hanging in the center of the exhibit hall we started with a cup of coffee at the old fashioned diner!

Then we began with the cars – so many different cars. We tried to wander through them in an organized fashion and got sidetracked several times – but we always came back to the cars.

A display of clocks and another display of blown glass were situated in hallways off the main exhibit space – I’m sure many people miss them. We both love clocks – although Charlie is fascinated by the workings and I’m more interested in the decorative cases. There were many in this collection that were impressive. The evolution of art glass is pretty amazing – although the newer examples are not so much to my liking (I prefer the earlier examples). But the talent and skill are very much in evidence! The cases around the clocks and glass made it hard to take photographs due to reflections.

Back in the main exhibit hall we wandered through farm equipment as well as trains, airplanes, a stagecoach, buses and Presidential cars. Some of the airplanes were set up as if in use with single color statues of pilots, passengers, cargo, etc. – kind of eerie.

 

We toured a “house of the future” that never caught on – only one was ever built other than the prototype. It had some nice features but was quite small and not very flexible. There were furniture exhibits (not related to the futuristic house) as well as wood-burning stoves and sewing machines.

 

And then of course there were more cars – some exotic, unusual and fast ones.

 

Another Uber ride took us back to the RV and we prepared for moving on down the road tomorrow!

Click here for many, many more pictures from the museum and click here for just a few miscellaneous Michigan pictures.

Acadia National Park

We relaxed outside Bangor for two nights before heading to Acadia National Park – both to break up the drive and to minimize our campground cost (the campground near Acadia doesn’t accept our discount club on weekends). We walked around the campground, I caught up on the blog, Charlie flew his drone and we planned for Acadia National Park.

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The short drive from Bangor to the park ended well – we managed to get better than expected deals on both a campground and a rental car. There are so many low overpasses in the park that driving the RV to explore just isn’t practical (on top of the unhooking each morning and hooking up again at the end of the day). We ended up with a Mustang convertible – not our choice but all they had available and we got it for about half its normal rate (close to what I’d found online for a compact car). For a while it was odd to be so low to the ground – we’ve gotten used to being up high and having a huge windshield.

Before picking up the rental car we drove to the Visitor Center to get tips on where to go and what to see. Unfortunately the road is all torn up just before you get to the park entrance – no fun in the RV. We received several good suggestions of places to see – especially for good photos. As we left we asked if there was an alternate route that we could use to avoid the mess – unfortunately the ranger must have forgotten about a 12′ overpass (we’re about 12’6″ or 12’8″) so we had to retrace our path and endure the road work again.

Our campground is not in the park or even on Mount Desert Island – but just over the bridge across the Narrows. The season is just beginning and there are only a few other campers here so we can see the water from our campsite and it is nice and quiet. The pricier (non-discounted) campsites are on the water – and they have quite a view!

After breakfast we loaded up the car with maps, camera equipment, hiking equipment and everything we should need. Rather than get on the Park Loop Road as soon as we got to the park we decided to drive into Bar Harbor first. The road construction stretches from just before the park entrance all the way into town – really glad to be in a car instead of the RV. There are some beautiful churches in town as well as all the touristy shops you can imagine. The roads are narrow and there is very little parking – we would hate to be here in July when tourists are everywhere!

We parked by the marina and got a few more pictures – it was low tide and the sandbar that connects Bar Island with Bar Harbor was exposed but we opted not to make that hike. Then we left town and got on the Park Loop Road at approximately the point at which we had to turn back due to that low overpass the previous day.

There are many overlooks and scenic stopping points along the Loop Road – we stopped at a few but couldn’t see very far due to fog just off the coast. The sea gulls are seemingly without fear of humans – in areas where picnics are popular the signs warn that sea gulls will steal your food if you turn your back! There are some amazing houses along the coast – you can see the fog just beyond this one at Schooner Head.

Sand Beach is the only beach on the island’s coast with sand rather than rocks and boulders – so it is a popular spot. It was very windy the day we were there so few people were spending much time on the beach – blowing sand isn’t fun. I’m not sure I’d ever want to swim here – they claim the water gets to around 55 degrees in the summer but that’s too cold for me! From the parking lot we could see Beehive Mountain – I was afraid the hike would be too difficult for me so we didn’t attempt it.

Our next stop was at Thunder Hole – water rushes in a narrow slot and crashes into the rock causing a thunderous sound and large splash.

Then a hike up Gorham Mountain was next – about a one mile hike with a moderate rating. At the trailhead we found signs indicating that part of the trail was closed for trail maintenance and we would have to take the Cadillac Cliffs trail for a portion of the way – it is a section of climbing over boulders and along what used to be sea cliffs (when the ocean level was higher). I made it just to where the boulder climbing began – and it was too much for me so I waited while Charlie continued to the top for some pictures. Whisps of fog came close to the trail so it is not surprising that the views at the top were limited – although Sand Beach could be seen through the fog.

Next stop was Otter Point (and a quick stop at Otter Cliffs) for a much more typical rocky “beach” area. I like sitting back and watching the waves crash over the boulders; Charlie climbs out on the rocks as far as he can to get pictures!

After Otter Point the Loop Road curves around Otter Cove then back out to Hunters Head – but the fog was so heavy that we didn’t stop. Then we followed the road inland to Jordon Pond – the restaurant is not open yet for the season or we could have stopped for their famous tea and popovers! We did stop at the parking area just past the restaurant and walked down to the water for a view of North and South Bubble. Later as the road passed closer to the Bubbles we were able to get a view of Bubble Rock – a boulder left perched on South Bubble by glaciers.

Just before the end of the Loop Road we took the side road to the top of Cadillac Mountain – at 1,530 feet it is the highest point on the east coast of the United States and a great place for sunrise and sunset viewing. We were several hours before sunset but the view to the west from the Blue Hill Overlook near the top is amazing!And the views from the top – even with a lot of fog still to the east and south – were impressive. I love this shot of Bar Harbor and the fog coming in between the various Porcupine Islands.Back down the mountain we continued on the Loop Road to the alternate route back to the RV avoiding the road construction at the park entrance.

Next day we headed for the western side of Mount Desert Island – hoping that the fog would not make an appearance. We passed through several small towns on our way to the southwestern end of the island and the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. A wrong turn led us to this lovely church where we turned to get back on track.There are two places to see the lighthouse from – you can walk around to the beach and look up from the rocks or you can walk around the keeper’s house right up to the base of the lighthouse. Charlie was able to climb out onto the rocky beach and get great views but I had to wait until we walked around to the base to see it.

Our hopes for the fog lifting obviously were not met so our hike of the Wonderland Trail was less than ideal but it was a nice walk to a great birdwatching area.

As we continued north we passed deer in a few places – one was nibbling grass in a person’s yard and others crossed the road in front of us then began nibbling the grass beside a lobster pound.

Then we drove through the town of Southwest Harbor and the whole way around Somes Sound to the town of Northeast Harbor where we walked through Asticou Azalea Garden. The azaleas are just barely beginning to bloom – but it is still a lovely peaceful spot.

Before we left for the day we made one more attempt for great views from the top of Cadillac Mountain but the fog was still hanging off the east and south. So we headed back to the RV to unload the car and fill the gas tank before returning it. A dinner of lobster stew at Lunt’s Gateway Lobster Pound (just as good and not as much work as a whole lobster) rounded out our day!

We spent one more day just relaxing at the campground – figuring out where to go next and housekeeping a bit. Then we headed west for our next adventure!

For many more pictures and three videos (1 at Thunder Hole and 2 at Otter Point) of our visit to Acadia National Park – click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Southern New Hampshire

Our next stop will include history again – but more ancient than the American History that we’ve been getting in recent weeks! We headed north from the Boston area and were soon in New Hampshire – and sighted a beautiful, purple, well kept Dodge Charger before arriving at our ancient history destination.

 

America’s Stonehenge is supposedly four thousand years old and contains a maze of walls, chambers and what appear to be astrological markers. A short film gives some background about discovery of the site and the various research efforts. The area has had a varied history – a colonial settler used many of the chambers for storage, quarrymen removed many stones in the 1800s, and since the 1930 various research groups have studied the site.

The self-guided tour map is full of information about the various structures and leads you through both the main site of walls and rooms and the larger  area of walls and astrological markers. Information about the various research efforts in sprinkled throughout the map and best guesses about the site are included. Our visit was a great walk in the woods – so nice after a day in the city!

 

The owners also have a small herd of alpacas on the property – for no other reason than they were interested in the animals. Only saw one (out of six total) who was headed into the barn but I did purchase a skein of yarn as a souvenir!

You can click here for more pictures of America’s Stonehenge.

 

Western Arizona

The scenery is still rather barren for us (being from Florida we’re used to a bit more green) but we made the most of western Arizona with a few photo opportunities and scenic drives. Fun signs, rock formations and iconic plants were the bulk of the drive after leaving Phoenix. And there is actually something at Nothing – a cell tower!

Our campground for the night also had some unique items scattered about. At first Charlie thought the Willys was older than he is but we found out that he is about one year older. I’d never heard of the company before but learned (by listening to the owner & Charlie) that before their demise they were known for manufacturing Jeeps. This early 1950s model was from near the end of their passenger car manufacturing. I’m glad this one is still running – it might be needed to get away from the rattlesnake in the front yard.

 

We continued seeing more fun signs the next day on our way to several photo opportunities.

Leaving the interstate to get fuel was the perfect opportunity to travel part of Historic Route 66 through Kingman.

We continued on Route 66  just a bit out of town before returning to Interstate 40. It is a rather popular bit of real estate – we had the interstate on our right and railroad tracks on our left for a few miles. And big windmills generating power in the distance.

 

Next came the reasons we headed down this bit of interstate – Truck on a Stick and the Golfball House near Yucca, Arizona. The Golfball House was actually a private residence at one time but current plans are for a museum. They currently have a small convience store and it appears the new theme is aliens!

Thinking that we would head into southern California next we continued on to Topock (on Route 66 again) and got a glimpse of the Colorado River from our campground. We walked into town and spent an enjoyable evening at the local VFW talking with the locals, one of which spent a lot of time working at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

An oddity that we didn’t have time for is an actual bridge from London that was purchased and rebuilt in Lake Havasu City to attract tourist and retirement home buyers to the planned community. The sign on the highway near Topock caught my eye and then I had to research to find out what the deal was!

If you would like to see more pictures of our drive through western Arizona please click here.