Off the Grid - Friday, June 24 - Tuesday, June 28

We are back in civilization - at least the wireless internet & laundry facility type of civilization - here in Michigan.   We have traveled through some beautiful & remote areas over the past few days.

Blue Water Bridge (the city park next to the bridge)

Freighter going under the Blue Water Bridge

Michigan has a lot of road side parks.  This was a nice rest stop next to Lake Huron.

Is this the same freighter we saw going under the Blue Water Bridge???

A short scenic drive...

Grand Traverse Lighthouse

This flower bed was constructed in 1920.

Susan was taking a picture of me at the same time that I was taking a picture of her.

Crossing the bridge into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Danny viewing the Mackinac Bridge from the UP.

The view from our campsite as the sun was setting.

After the sun went down... (It is a little blurry - I didn't pack a tripod.)

Castle Rock - view from the highway

The view from the top of Castle Rock.

The Soo Locks at Sault Ste Marie Michigan... 

we arrived just in time to see this freighter travel through the lock system.

The Trip Advisor app advised us this would be a good restaurant...

it was right.  We had lunch there & it was excellent!

A beautiful lighthouse along the way.  It was on a Monday, so it was closed.

I didn't get a picture of its name...

Taken while riding down the highway...

The trail to Lower Tahquamenon Falls...

The Lower Tahquamenon Falls

This looks like this is a black & white picture - 

except for the tea colored water passing over the falls.

The lighthouse at Whitefish Point

The bell from the Edmond Fitzgerald...

(This is the actual bell recovered from the shipwreck;

another bell engraved with the names of the twenty-nine

men lost in the shipwreck replaced this one on the sunken ship.)

The view of the shipwreck museum at Whitefish from

the top of the lighthouse.

We traveled back to Tahquamenon Falls to

view the upper falls.

Thursday, June 23 - Just trains & automobiles today

We are still in Dearborn, Michigan...

The morning started with our tour of the Ford Rouge Factory.  They make F-150 trucks in this plant.

Photography was very limited inside their assembly plant.  The tour consists of five areas within the plant; however, photos were only allowed in two of those areas.  The first stop was a short movie about the history of Ford.  The second stop was in an area with screens located around the room & a lot of high-tech video production depicting the engineering & innovation within their company.  The picture below is from the third area we visited; it highlights Ford's dedication to using more green energy & their drive to make a positive impact on the environment.  (See the vegetation on the roof? Apparently, those plants keep the plant 10 degrees warmer in the winter & 10 degrees cooler in the summer.)



The fourth area was around a cat-walk within the actual assembly plant itself.  Sorry, but absolutely no pictures were allowed to be taken there.  It was really an interesting place to visit, so I would highly recommend visiting.  (However, just remember to put the lens cap on your camera before you enter.)
The pictures below are from the fifth area.  It is really a lobby located near the exit to the building.  Sorry for the quality of these pictures, but I had to take them quickly.  There was a school field trip with children scurrying around, so it was difficult to take pictures without little people in the shot.

We left the plant tour to visit Greenfield Village.

Susan volunteered to be a (short-term) apprentice in the printing office.  She is using the printing press in this picture.

This is a light bulb was in the Thomas Edison building.

The following pictures are from the Greenfield Village Roundhouse.  These trains are all working steam engines.

Tommy & Danny are under the steam engine - checking out the mechanical workings of this machine.  

This was the last Model T which came off the assembly line; it was the fifteen millionth Ford to be manufactured.

This steam engine is getting ready to leave the station.