The Mississippi Headwaters!
Walking in the Miss.Wow, this was an experience to see the origins of the ole' Miss....especially since we had seen the Louisiana mouth of the river last February! Growing up in IL. had us near and experiencing this great river many times. Our church even helped a family clean up after the big flood, which showed us how violent this mostly tranquil body of water can get. A family at the origin was even floating toy rafts they had built and walking in the river where it is twelve feet wide.
local junk man
block after block of flowers
Lake Superior
Lake Michigan
The red rust thing is so large it held a train of ore cars. One operator thought his 98 car length train was 96 and he sent the last two off the end of this thing. Looking for a new job. 
Minnesota was a pretty neat state with tiny towns, cranberry and wild rice fields and then the giant Lake Superior! The 7 foot high markers attached to fire hydrants was an indication they must get some snow here, for sure. A harbor cruise at Duluth took us past the many ship loading facilities that demonstrated the vast network of ore and grain moving ships this lake supports. I forgot from 5th grade social studies how important these lakes are and how powerful the glaciers were that formed them. It's easy to forget one is not looking at an ocean!
Wisconsin, of course, is the home of cheese and breweries, along with that wonderful accent of the people. The smoked lake trout was a first for us also!
Architecture borrowed from Boston
Copper mine
this drum wound the cable that lowered the workers down into the mine or brought up ore
workers sat in the bleacher looking thing on the right then got lowered down a mile or two
PastyTwo peninsulas far north in Michigan took us to light houses, more of the Great Lakes and the copper town of Copper Harbour. This area was huge in mining in the 1800's. A whole town of Calumet sprang up with lots of Boston money being invested in it. Even Harvard had an influence and according to one fellow.... the high school has a statue of Aristotle in the library because of it.
A national park has been established to preserve the mines and town, a demonstration of the park system supporting history as well as natural wonders.
A preserved mine with the above ground system was fascinating. The Industrial period at its best! These guys worked 12 hour shifts. A video showed them loading on a miner carrier before the shift and how quickly they got off the damn thing at the end of the shift, a "get me the hell out of here attitude". They carried Pasty sandwiches to eat which are a product of England..... many immigrants involved......it was a pie loaded with rutabaga, pork, beef, and onion. One filled me up for sure!
This state has so many fruit orchards and fields, blueberries, cherries, apples, pear and peach. Great jams and cherry juice concentrate.
note the curve at the top
I did several miles on a mountain bike trail here rated as one of seven in its class in the world by the International Mountain Biking Association. The system was rated the same as ski runs with colored diamonds. I got on one I shouldn't have been on and ended up over the handle bars, but wore my scratches around like badges. What an idiot! Living on the edge again!
Teddy Roosevelt said that wilderness is a tonic!
Thoughts by Janet: I have numerous thoughts about my roommate, particularly his recklessness and carelessness for his age, but I won't bother you with those!!! I do believe that Ty has had enough tonic!!!
Other Thoughts:
As you might recall in the last blog, I spoke of an elderly Native American lady of the Salish tribe who is an artist in bead work. While speaking with her, I found myself lost in her eyes....the way they glistened. I instantly felt that I connected with her. As I had mentioned in the last blog, she did remind me of our Mother. She spoke with her hands in a very gentle voice and her eyes just sparkled. Her way just reminded me of our Mother. Her spirit had such an impact upon me!
It has been said that the eyes are the windows to the soul.
We had visited a lighthouse during the past week....the Eagle Harbor Light Station in Eagle Harbor, MI. We learned about lighthouses and have seen others in the past. We are always awe struck by their simpleness and beauty and more so their purpose.
The visit to the lighthouse made me think of Karen Kopi, the Indian lady. She had a real striking light to her eyes and to her spirit. I wondered then what her soul had experienced over the years. What was the beacon or guide in her life? I then was reminded of the Native Americans belief of mankind's existence coming from the center of the earth and of their grand reverence for wildlife and mankind and the earth itself. Don't we all have a source of power we draw from, a beacon as such?
our bodies.....our homes our spirits..... our light
Michigan preview of coming fall attractions!
This Lighthouse of Mine
"This little light of mine,
I'm going to let it shine!"
A powerful light from a radiant source....
from our soul, our earth, our God...
or all of the above!
It can radiate warmth from within,
brilliantly beaming like the sun!
So powerful this light can be!
It can light the way, guide the way,
find the way......
it can prevent a shipwreck along the way
by warning of an oncoming storm!
a potent light which gives us
solace all through the day!
What a force, so splendid,
what a natural source within!
It is part of us, this wonder!
I sang this song, "This Little Light is Mine" to Mom in her last hour with us. It is a special song from Sunday school and is still special to Jane and I. Our Mother had shown her light to us our entire lives and we are thankful to this day for her gift of sharing her wisdom and light!
Funny: I have wrestled a loose license plate on the front of Silver and it finally fell of in a campground. I heard a noise flapping and stopped to find the plate under Silver. I picked it up, continued on and heard more tire noises. Found the two screws holding the plate on in the tire clicking. Roadside service took care of it and it gave other campers something to talk about.
Wildlife that we had wished we had seen:
I have looked for a moose for months along the road at every pond, bog,etc. Well here he is... in a toy store of all places!hahaha!
We walked into a small shop in Copper Harbor and the shop keeper was in the back but this dog was sitting on a stool at the register. It looked so much like the dog was running the place I laughed out loud.
People
The Michigan people I found to be very tough, outdoor people through and through. They are so used to cold weather, snow, that weather does not stop them. At a campground one eve they all had roaring campfires going and it started pouring rain. When it stopped the fires were out and I headed for the showers. When I came out low and behold they had all the fires roaring again. How I asked??? Wet wood, magic? The children even biked in the rain, nothing stops these people!!!!!!!
At the beginning of this trip last Nov we both hit our heads on the cabinets regularly. We finally learned. Then this week we both hit the same cabinet within 24 hours. Silver reminding us of who is in control of this trip.......getting our attention maybe!!
