Our Travels During 2022 and 2023

Saturday, October 1, 2022 ~~ We are leaving Tres Rios on October 5 for Houston with a two day stop in Caldwell, Texas so we can visit the Texas Bucket List Store in College Station. I hosted my last corn hole tournament Thursday night with 28 players and 14 teams. That was a lot of people - the most I have ever had. It's a good thing that was all we had because I did not have a bracket sheet for 15 teams. But all in all we had a great time as always, and everyone enjoyed the evening. We even had some new players who were there for the first time. 

Corn Hole Tournament

Todays Prophets given to us from God

I have found some modern day prophets to listen to. The first person is Kim Clement, who prophesied for many years until his death in 2016. 

Miners Hall Museum, Franklin, Kansas

We stopped at a Mobile Home & RV park in Pittsburg, Kansas for a few days. We found the Miners Hall Museum just up the road from where we stayed, and decided to see what kind of mining took place in Kansas. Staffed by volunteers, we were the only ones in there the Saturday we went. We were even able to bring Lucy inside with us! It is free, but they have a box for donations. 

Iowa Gold Star Military Museum, Camp Dodge, Johnston, Iowa

Yes, another military museum. The Iowa Gold Star Military Museum is in Camp Dodge. That surprised us; the GPS took us to the gate and I said to the guard on duty that I wasn't sure if we were at the right place. But yes we were, and told us to just follow the Red Bull signs. The museum is about Iowa's military past and the contribution of Iowa Veterans in state and national defense from the early 19th century to the present. It took us over two hours to go through the whole museum, and did not get to the outdoor exhibits as it had started to pour down rain, and we also ran out of time. 

The History of the Deep State Cabal ~~ Who Owns the World

I diverge from my normal blog posts about our travels to write about the current state of affairs in our country and look to see what has been happening throughout our country's history. Many seek liberty from governmental control while others welcome the tyrannical beliefs of the socialist candidates who are out to destroy the moral soul of America. You think I'm off my rocker with that statement, just read on. 

EAA Aviation Museum, Oshkosh, Wisconsin

The Experimental Aviation Museum (EAA) is a museum dedicated to the preservation and display of historic and experimental aircraft as well as antiques, classics, and warbirds. The museum is located adjacent to Wittman Regional Airport, home of the museum's sponsoring organization, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), and the organization's EAA AirVenture Oshkosh event (the world's biggest fly-in and airshow) that takes place in late July/early August. With over 200 aircraft, indoors and outdoors, and other exhibits and activities (including occasional aircraft rides nearby), the AirVenture Museum is a key tourist attraction in Oshkosh and is a center of activity throughout the AirVenture fly-in and airshow each summer. The museum is open year-round with the exception of a few holidays.

SpaceShipOne

Debunking the Flat Earth Theory

I am getting very tired of hearing people spout that the Earth is flat. How ridiculous. I believe that the flat earth theory is a CIA psyop, especially after reading the article below called Fake “Flat Earth” Conspiracy Finally Outed As C.I.A. Psyop -- Flat Earth Kingpin Eric Dubay Exposed as a CIA Asset. I found some articles that discussed a Biblical interpretation of some concepts that flat-earthers claim from the Bible. You can decide for yourself what you want to believe.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Munising, Michigan

For Jim's 71st birthday I booked us a cruise on the Pictured Rocks Cruises to see Pictured Rocks lakeshore. It would be virtually impossible to see these rock structures from the shoreline, as you will see from the pictures, you can see the rock structures best from the deck of a boat. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is between Munising and Grand Marais along Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It is America's first National Lakeshore with beaches, 10 inland lakes, and nearly 100 miles of trails.

Tahquamenon Logging Museum, Newberry, Michigan

Michigan used to be a huge logging area. The amount of trees that are up here is amazing; we see people selling firewood all over the place, and the amount of trees does not seem to diminish. We went to Tahquamenon Logging Museum on our way to visit Tahquamenon Falls State Park. They are both a good distance from our campground, so we did not want to make two trips to this area. From the mid-1800s to 1900s, Michigan lumber from the nature around you was a hot commodity for the logging industry. That’s right; before you sought out our tree-filled oasis for a getaway, it was already on the map. Do you know this chapter of our story? The Tahquamenon Logging Museum tells it well with the help of original artifacts, enthralling events, deliciously hearty meals and tales passed down through generations of wide-eyed listeners.

Tahquamenon Falls State Park, Paradise, Michigan

Tahquamenon Falls State Park encompasses close to 50,000 acres stretching over 13 miles. Most of this is undeveloped woodland without roads, buildings or power lines. The centerpiece of the park, and the very reason for its existence, is the Tahquamenon River with its waterfalls. The Upper Falls is one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi. It has a drop of nearly 50 feet and is more than 200 feet across. A maximum flow of more than 50,000 gallons of water per second has been recorded cascading over these falls.

Upper Falls

Museum of Ojibwa, St. Ignace, Michigan

On the shores of the Straits of Mackinac is the homelands of the Objiwe. Generations of Objiwe people have lived here at Ettakwaamshing (The Place of the Lookout), today known as St. Ignace, and in the surrounding area. The Objiwe responsibly utilized northern Michigan's unique natural resources while building a culture centered around kinship, mutual respect and beneficial exchange, and equality. The history of the Objiwe people is long, but it is not yet finished -- the Objiwe and their culture remain here today. The Museum of Ojibwa tells their story.

Mackinac Island, Michigan

The island of Mackinac is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Michigan. We went on a Sunday hoping that it would not be that busy, but that was not the case. There were two cruise ships that came in, so it was still crowded. We took the Shepler's Ferry Service out of St. Ignace because they allowed Lucy to come with us, and she was able to take the Horse & Carriage ride as well.

Soo Locks, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for the entire complex at the Soo Locks; they maintain and operate the locks, run the hydropower plant and navigation channels. The Visitor Center in downtown Sault Ste. Marie where it gives the history of the locks as well as a viewing center where you can watch ships and the Soo Locks Tour Boat go through. There are more than 7,000 vessel passages every year moving up to 75 million tons of cargo. The primary cargoes carried through the locks are iron ore, coat, grain and stone.

Sights to see in Michigan

The things I am putting here are small places that we visited; places that are not big enough to do a separate post. When we arrived in Gaylord, we stayed at one of the Outdoor Adventures Coast to Coast resorts -- Benjamin's Beaver. We happened to meet a fellow Tres Rios member there -- Dean and Tanya(?). He drives a flat bed truck that he puts his blue three-wheel motorcycle on. We sat and talked with them for about an hour one afternoon.

The things we saw while there was the Elk that the city has in a huge enclosure behind the Elk Lodge on E. Grandview called Gaylord's City Elk Park.

Call of the Wild Museum, Gaylord, Michigan

We went to another museum in Gaylord that highlights the animals in the United States called Call of the Wild Museum. There was a similar museum that we went to in Cave City, Kentucky, but this one is well done and a lot nicer. The museum was built by Carl Johnson, who is deceased and his children and grandchildren have taken over the operation of the museum.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan

We started our adventure at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Philip A. Hart Visitor Center in Empire, where we got our brochure and information on what to look for in the park. Before leaving the Visitor Center and heading out, I went through the museum area and took some pictures about the dunes. We did not go south in the park, but north to the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, then north on MI 109 to Glen Haven.

Dune Overlook

Michigan Legacy Art Park, Thompsonville, Michigan

I went by myself to the Michigan Legacy Art Park. Jim was not feeling very well and I read that there was some strenuous hills through the park, so it was best that he stayed at home. I did take Lucy, and we had a good walk through the park, while I took pictures of all the art and poems. The donation is $10 and it seems to me that they should use some of the money towards preservation of the art objects. Some of them look dilapidated and coming apart. There are around 50 sculptures in a permanent collection, and some rotating exhibits and poetry stones.

Point Betsie Lighthouse, Frankfort, Michigan

It was another hazy day in northwestern Michigan. I don't know if it was from the Canadian fires or just haze from the weather. We stopped at the Arcadia Overlook aka Inspiration Point to look at Lake Michigan, then we made our way to Point Betsie Lighthouse Museum in Frankfort. 

Point Betsie Lighthouse

Port of Ludington Maritime Museum, Ludington, Michigan

The Port of Ludington Maritime Museum is located right on the inlet of the Ludington Harbor where the SS Badger comes in and goes in to its dock. We were going to stay until around 7pm to watch the Badger come into port and turn around before docking and the passengers and vehicles unloaded, but unforeseen circumstances delayed it for a couple of hours, so we did not wait for it. The museum is located in the former U.S. Coast Guard Station and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The museum overlooks Lake Michigan’s wild shoreline, Ludington’s iconic North Pier Light, and the historic carferry Badger.

SS City of Milwaukee, Manistee, Michigan

We went to tour the SS City of Milwaukee, the ship built to replace the SS Milwaukee, which sank in October 1929. The SS Milwaukee was built as the SS Manistique Marquette & Northern I in 1903, for the Manistique, Marquette & Northern Railroad by The American Shipbuilding Company from Cleveland, Ohio. The Railroad was not financially successful and went bankrupt just one month after the ship entered service. The line was then purchased by the Pere Marquette Railroad and the Manistique ran for a short time. In 1905 the Pere Marquette lost control of its route and went into bankruptcy. The Manistique was eventually sold to Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company. She was renamed the SS Milwaukee and was in service for over 21 years as a Grand Trunk ferry.

SS Milwaukee

Windmill Island Gardens, Holland, Michigan

Windmill Island Gardens is a municipal park located in the city of Holland, Michigan. It is home to the 251-year-old windmill De Zwaan, the only authentic, working Dutch windmill in the United States. 

South Bend Chocolate Company, South Bend, Indiana

Of course I would find a company that gives tours in a chocolate factory and also gives away free samples during the tour. And that's where the South Bend Chocolate Company comes in. The company was founded in 1991 by Mark Tarner. The company got its start making chocolates under a license from the University of Notre Dame. It's first three products were the Domer, the Rockne, and Nuts for ND. In their store today, there is a whole display dedicated to Notre Dame with their logo. The produce over 500 different chocolates and sweets and ship all over the country.

RV/MH Hall of Fame, Elkhart, Indiana

We visited the RV/MH Hall of Fame again since we are lifetime members and wanted to see if there was anything new there. The last time we were there was in 2019 when we came through this area on our way back to Texas. I took a whole lot more pictures on that trip. If you click on the link, it will take you to my blog post in 2019.

Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, Dearborn, Michigan

We enjoy watching Mo Rocca and Innovation Nation, and this program is what prompted me to want to visit the Henry Ford Museum. Since we were heading to Ohio, Indiana and Michigan this summer, we made a short side trip to Dearborn to visit The Henry Ford.  Unfortunately, we only had time to tour one place, even though Greenfield Village and the Ford Factory would have been something to do.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio

While we were staying in Medina, Ohio visiting friends and family, we went to visit Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which is located south of Cleveland, starting in Bedford and going south near Akron. Jim and I both grew up in the Cleveland area and I and my girlfriend Karen would ride our bikes from Maple Heights to Bedford Reservation and explore Tinkers Creek Gorge. 

Chateau Laroche, Loveland, Ohio

Chateau Laroche was built as an expression and reminder of the simple strength and rugged grandeur of the mighty men who lived when Knighthood was in flower. It was their knightly zeal for honor, valor and manly purity that lifted mankind out of the moral mid-night of the dark ages, and started it towards a gray dawn of human hope. The name of the Castle is "Chateau Laroche." Because so many castles of this type are located in Normandy and England, built about the time of William the Conqueror and the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the name is in French. The goal "jail" contains a "nest" for "bad eggs."

National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, Dayton, Ohio

The National Museum of the United States Air Force is celebrating its 100th Anniversary in 2023. Since 1923 the Museum has grown from a small engineering study collection to the world's largest military aviation museum and is a world-renowned center for air and space power technology and culture preservation. 

The Lost Sea, Sweetwater, Tennessee

We drove up and down I-75 many times as we headed south and north. We always just drove by The Lost Sea and said that it was something we wanted to see. But, we were always in a hurry to get where we were going, so of course, never stopped. This year we were at Raccoon Valley RV Park, just north of Knoxville. This was the closest we have ever been to The Lost Sea so I asked Jim if he wanted to go, and we decided to see it. The day we were scheduled to go dawned crisp and sunny, so it was a good drive down I-75. We got there about 1/2 hour earlier than our scheduled time, so we sat along with the others scheduled for the 2pm tour, and waited for our guide. That was the only time Jim enjoyed being here.

K-25 History Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

The Manhattan Project was a top secret mission. It was the largest industrial project ever conducted. The race to the moon, 20 years later, does not compare with the magnitude of this endeavor. Even more extraordinary, the scientific and industrial advancements that resulted in the first atomic bomb occurred quickly -- just under three years. The Manhattan Project succeeded through the unprecedented collaboration of multiple nations, military agencies, scientists, and industries. Despite its many participants, the project was conducted in secrecy. Even U.S. Vice President Harry S. Truman did not know it existed, until becoming president upon Franklin D. Roosevelt's death. To understand the complex story of the Manhattan Project, you must understand its context -- the context of a particular place in time, of a world at war, and of the unique personalities of those involved. The K-25 History Center tells this story.

K-25 Center

Baxter Gardens, Knoxville, Tennessee

Every year during Knoxville's Dogwood Arts Festival, the Baxter Gardens are open to the public for the entire month of April. It is comprised of 15 gardens, which connect through walking trails or the road. They have a beautiful printed map of the gardens and the paths connecting all the gardens are well kept. There were a lot of flowers that had not bloomed yet, so we did not walk the entire gardens.

Mock Orange Tree

American Museum of the House Cat, Sylva, North Carolina

Yes indeed, there is actually a museum dedicated to the four legged feline pet. Dr. Harold Sims is a retired biology professor and his wife Kay set up a no-kill cat shelter in 2002 right next door to their home in Sylva, North Carolina. The museum was conceived as way to share their vast cat-themed collection with feline lovers, document the history of human-cat interaction, and raise money for the shelter. On most days, Sims is at the museum, adding to the unique experience with stories about the exhibits. Dr. Sims was at his American Museum of the House Cat on the day we visited. He was showing some people around and then started talking to Jim and me about the various phonographs he has and played some records on them -- all still working great. He had just celebrated his 88th birthday just last week, but he is still going strong.

Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Cherokee, North Carolina

Detsadanilvga ~~ Welcome. The Cherokee people have told stories for many generations, passing them from generation to generation. These stories tell important lessons about how to live in the world as a Cherokee person. Stories also preserve history, entertain people on long winter evenings, explain how things came to be, and recount marvelous and supernatural happenings. The Museum of the Cherokee Indian help tell those stories.

The Blowing Rock, Blowing Rock, North Carolina

The Blowing Rock is an immense cliff 4,000 feet above sea level, overhanging Johns River Gorge 3,000 feet below. The phenomenon is so called because the rocky walls of the gorge form a flume through which the northwest wind sweeps with such force that it returns light objects cast over the void. The current of air flowing upward from The Rock prompted the Ripley's "Believe-It-Or-Not" cartoon about "the only place in the world where snow falls upside down." Visible from The Rock down the gorge to the southwest are Hawksbill Mountain and Table Rock. To the west are Grandfather Mountain (the highest peak in the Blue Ridge chain) and Mount Mitchell (the highest peak east of the Rockies).

Currahee Military Museum, Toccoa, Georgia

Currahee Military Museum is located in historic downtown Toccoa's restored train depot. It is home to the WWII history of approximately 18,000 soldiers that trained at Camp Toccoa to become paratroopers. Located in the museum is a horse stable, built in Aldbourne, England in 1922 that served as housing for Able and Easy Companies of the 506th PIR prior to and after D-Day 1944. History of 501st, 506th, 511th and 517th Paratrooper Infantry Regiments is on display for visitors seven days a week.

Andersonville National Historic Site, Andersonville, Georgia

The last time we visited Andersonville was in 2014, a year before Jim's Mom died. His father died in 1985 and is buried there, and when his Mom died, she was buried there with him. Also, the POW Museum was not there, so this visit we were able to go through the museum, take pictures and read about the prisoners of war.

Museum of Aviation, Robins AFB, Warner Robins, Georgia

The Museum of Aviation consists of four big buildings; the main building hosts a history of World War II with bits of information about other wars. The other buildings house airplanes. The museum is dedicated to preserving the heritage of Robins Air Force Base, the land on which it was born and the people who shaped its events.

Manatee Viewing Center, Apollo Beach, Florida

TECO, Tampa Electric Company, located in Apollo Beach, Florida has a wonderful viewing center for the public to come and view the manatees that come in the winter to warm themselves in the discharge waters coming out of the plant. They have a platform, boardwalk, snack shop, gift shop, education center, and a tank with stingrays that you can actually touch! When we were there, we saw some Tarpon and a couple of manatee that came close enough for me to get a picture.

Nature Coast Botanical Gardens, Spring Hill, Florida

The Nature Coast Botanical Gardens are managed by volunteers and is an actual nursery that grows and sells plants. The gardens have "owners" who plant and manage their own section of the gardens. They are open to the public to wander through and enjoy the various plants that they have there. We went on one of the days that the actual nursery was not open, but we did not go to buy anything anyway. The only downfall to going to gardens in the winter is that there are not many flowers in bloom. There was mostly greenery and very few flowers.