MICHIGAN FLYING SUMMARY

Day 1 - I packed up the minivan and set out early. In North Platte (Nebraska), I stopped at Fort Cody Trading Post. What an amazing place! Not only was it packed full of Old West memoribilia, it also had an amazing display of animated miniatures (often doing very funny things!) which depicted Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. There was even a Muffler Man outside in the back! I spent the night at a Lowe's truck stop with a spectaular sunset.

Day 2 - My first stop was in Omaha to see Miss Uniroyal Suzibelle. She was located in the back of a tire shop which was unfortunately closed, so I could only peep at her through the window (yeah, it felt kinda creepy). Crossing into Iowa, I spent some time in Des Moines. First I got a tour of Terrace Hill, the governor's residence. While the governor was not in, her husband (the First Gentleman) was working in an upstairs office. After that, I visited the Salisbury House. Amazing! I spent the night at a wonderful state rest stop off the highway.

Day 3 - I was originally planning to spend the day in Iowa City, but a highway sign ignited my curiosity and led me to the Amana colonies, a series of settlements founded by German pioneers. There were numerous buildings, museums, a cemetery, wool factory, furniture shop, community house, cooper shop, barn and even an old church (and the reason why they are all now painted blue inside). My plan was then to cross into Illinois, catch Miss Uniroyal Vanna Whitewall in Peoria, Carl the Muffler Man in Normal, and finally the Bunyon Giant Muffler Man in Atlanta on my way to Springfield. However, much to my amazement, I also encountered Lumi the Pie Lady... and an entire museum devoted to these wonderful fiberglass giants! It was closed but I vowed to return in the morning. I found a nearby Walmart parking lot to overnight in.

Day 4 - I had a bit of time to pass before the museum opened so I visited the World's Largest Covered Wagon and the outdoor J.H. Hawes grain elevator and agriculture museum. It turns out the American Giants Museum had only opened earlier this year. I then said good-bye to the Texaco Big Friend and Mortimer Snerd and headed into Springfield to visit the capitol building and the wonderful Lincoln Presidential Museum. Another Walmart served as home for the night.

Day 5 - My first stop of the day was the Oak Ridge Cemetery, which housed Abraham Lincoln's Tomb. A very confused deer seemed to think the dead had risen as I walked among the tombstones. Next was the Lincoln Home National Historic Site, where the man lived before he became president. A ranger-led tour took us through the building and I touched the same handrail going upstairs that the great future president did. I picked up another Muffler Man before leaving town. I then grabbed one more in Macon before crossing the border into Indiana. I visited some of the beach areas at Indiana Dunes National Park, watched the sun set over Lake Michigan, then spent the night parked at their visitor center.

Day 6 - I drove to Michigan City (which was still in Indiana) and encountered my first lighthouse. I then actually entered Michigan and drove to the town of Holland. Windmill Island Gardens was wonderfully done up to resemble an old Dutch village, complete with traditional brick buildings, a footbridge over a canal and even a real windmill (imported from the Netherlands). I followed that up with Nelis' Dutch Village. Along with canals and lovely buildings, there were also demonstrations of Dutch crafts: making cheese, carving wooden shoes, Delft pottery, candy and fudge, and even dances. That night, I parked at a quiet reststop off the highway.

Day 7 - I drove up to the town of East Tawas, located on the shores of Lake Hudson. I went to a laundromat, in urgent need of clean, washed clothes, then met Dean a bit later in town. We first went for a swim in the freshwater lake. It was very odd since I've only ever swum in saltwater oceans! We then walked along a pier where a woman had called about an injured seagull. In the downtown, I met my first Bigfoot of the trip. I then drove us out to Lumberman's Monument. Since it was already getting late in the day, it was mostly closed, so we vowed to return. I would spend the next several nights parked next to Dean's airplane hangar at the Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport.

Day 8 - Today was a day of hiking! And climbing LOTS of stairs! After a quick visit to Foote Dam and then Cooke Dam, we returned to Lumberman's Monument to walk the 242 stairs down to the river, where there was a replica of an old wanigan (a covered raft that served as a store, served food to working lumbermen and could float to where it was needed). We headed over to a sand dune hill, down which the felled trees were rolled into the AuSable River. Our next stop was a 300-stair walkway down to Iargo Springs. Streams flowed all over from the hillsides. We had hoped to go flying tomorrow but a storm was moving in.

Day 9 - The storm blew in cold and wet. I walked down the Oscoda pier to watch the crashing waves, then we drove to Tawas to have lunch at one of my all-time favorite restaurants, Big Boy. We went for a drizzly walk along the Highbanks Trail, then spent the rest of the afternoon preparing the SeaRey for a flight tomorrow.

Day 10 - We took off from Oscoda in the morning. We first landed in Van Etten Lake but decided to hop over to Cedar Lake to do some swimming, jumping directly out of the plane! We flew up the AuSable River, landing in Foote Dam Pond briefly before continuing up and over Cooke Dam. We landed on a grass airstrip in Mio, changed into dry clothing in the nearby trees, then had lunch at the Paddle Inn. We continued flying to Northport. We landed in the water and pulled up onto the beach dunes. For take-off, Dean first had to pull us free of the deep sand! We then landed on the small local airstrip and were met by Janet and Rob, who had seen us flying above town and wanted to check out the plane. They then gave us a nice driving tour of the area... including bringing me to another Miss Uniroyal named Jolene. Even though it was getting a bit late, we stopped at Charlevoix and walked out to the lighthouse. We had a night flight home.

Day 11 - It was another day of not-so-great flying weather so we drove up to the Sturgeon Point Lighthouse in Harrisville. We saw the museum and also climbed up the tower. Afterwards, we swung by the Mt. Joy Cemetery, visited the Harrisville Harbor (to look for the remains of a sunken ship but didn't find it), and Dean got eaten by a dinosaur.