Category: Places & Travel

I know you’ll be disappointed to read that I have just three more installments of road trip photos.

We spent the night in Deadwood, South Dakota, looking for Joanie’s place but to no avail. They discovered gold in the Black Hills in 1874, and from the rush came the town of Deadwood. They discovered modern gambling in Deadwood in 1989 and from that rush came the preservation of an interesting little town, though one that looks nothing like it did in the TV series. Still, better than most tourist communities, and some amenities including this pretty good restaurant. Several places in Deadwood take the name No. 10 because the original No. 10 was the location of Wild Bill Hickok’s death.

Just three or four miles from Deadwood is Lead (pronounced Leed), South Dakota. That’s where the serious gold was. Fred and Moses Manuel and Hank Harney staked their claim called Homestake on April 9, 1876. George Hearst, father of William Randolph Hearst, bought the claim in 1877 for $70,000. The mine closed in 2002 after nearly 40 million ounces of gold and 9 million ounces of silver had been extracted. We tend to think of gold mining as something one does in a cold stream with a flat pan. The real ore came from big industrial mines run by big industrial mining companies.

The Crazy Horse Memorial is the world’s largest mountain carving. It is carved with explosives. The work began in 1948. When finished the front part of the mountain will be a horse’s head. The long strait line will be the Oglala Lakota warrior’s arm pointing to the distance. You can see the face. Note the vehicles in the photo at the base of the rock to get some idea of the scale.

Click any of the images for larger versions.

There, in a patch of rolling grassland, loosely hemmed in by Bismarck, Dickinson, Pierre, and the greater Rapid City-Spearfish-Sturgis metropolitan area, we find our answer.

Between the tiny Dakotan hamlets of Meadow and Glad Valley lies the McFarthest Spot: 107 miles distant from the nearest McDonald’s, as the crow flies, and 145 miles by car!

Weather Sealed has a map of the lower 48 showing the density of Mickey Dees. More interesting than you’d think.

During our recent 6-day trip from Michigan to Denver we did not eat at a national chain restaurant even once.

In my visits there, no place exceeds Custer State Park in the South Dakota Black Hills for wildlife viewing. These photos were taken August 31st. Click for larger versions.

A good story from a good column at Frequent Flier:

I was in first class, and we were on the tarmac waiting to take off. A woman, in about row 35 starting talking on her cellphone. No problem. Except she was speaking so loudly you could hear her all the way up front. Everyone started looking at each other and we were all thinking the same thing: Please keep your voice down.

She told the person she was speaking with to call her back. And then, in a really loud voice, she gave her cellphone number to the person she was on the phone with. I committed that number to memory. And then I waited about 10 seconds and called her cell.

When she answered, I told her she was being too loud and everyone on board the plane could hear every word of her conversation. And it wasn’t that interesting.

She started screaming at me, demanding to know who I was. So I told her to look toward the front of the plane. I stood up and waved at her with a big smile on my face. She hung up, sat down and no one heard from her the rest of the flight.

It doesn’t look like much in these photos — frankly it didn’t look like much in reality — but from 1963-1974 and from 1991 until this year this was the tallest manmade structure on earth. It’s the tower of KVLY-TV (originally KTHI-TV) of Fargo, North Dakota, located near Blanchard, North Dakota. It is 2,063 feet tall (629 meters).

From 1974 until it collapsed in 1991, the tallest manmade structure was the Warszawa radio mast in Poland at 2,120.67 feet (646.38 meters). This year (2009) the Burj Dubai in the United Arab Emirates reached 2,684 feet (818 meters).

The KVLY tower is now just the world’s second tallest manmade structure. A few miles away is the third tallest, the slightly shorter KXJB tower, which we could see in the distance. (No other U.S structures are above 2000 feet.)

That’s the Missouri River near Washburn, North Dakota, site of a replica of Lewis and Clark’s 1804-1805 winter camp. What other blog has brought you photos of America’s three longest rivers in the past month?

Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and his wife Libby lived in that home at Fort Abraham Lincoln (near present-day Bismarck) from 1873 until 1876. It was from here that Custer led his invasion of the Black Hills in 1874 and began his fated trip to the Little Bighorn Valley in 1876. I have a closer shot of the house, but this is about as close as I like to get to Custer.

Further south along North Dakota highway 1806 is the Standing Rock Reservation. Above is a photo of the tribe’s handsome administrative services building in Fort Yates.

The Standing Rock Sioux Reservation is situated in North and South Dakota. The people of Standing Rock, often called Sioux, are members of the Dakota and Lakota nations. “Dakota” and “Lakota” mean “friends” or “allies.” The people of these nations are often called “Sioux”, a term that dates back to the seventeenth century when the people were living in the Great Lakes area. The Ojibwa called the Lakota and Dakota “Nadouwesou” meaning “adders.” This term, shortened and corrupted by French traders, resulted in retention of the last syllable as “Sioux.” There are various Sioux divisions and each has important cultural, linguistic, territorial and political distinctions.

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe

There is a monument to Sitting Bull (Tatanka Iyotake) in Fort Yates. The monument marks the possible gravesite of the great leader. (There is some dispute whether his remains were removed.)

Great words (click the photo for readable version).

Alas, the usually proud Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has done a poor job maintaining the site that honors its most famous leader.

All photos taken August 29th and 30th, 2009. Click any image for a gallery of larger versions.

Fascinating. If only I didn’t get scared of water just going to the car wash.

From the Bizarre to the Beautiful.

The Mississippi River rises from Lake Itasca in north central Minnesota, about 20 miles southwest of Bemidji. I’d been to the spot a few years ago and I wanted to go back. The first time I had the River to myself — it was April and trying to snow and no one else was around. This time I was joined by about 150 voyageurs.

Both times being there was, for me, enthralling. I’ve been to Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. I’ve been to all 50 states more than once. Yet, for some reason I can’t explain, this is one of my favorite places on the whole planet. Go figure.

Clicking any picture should take you to larger versions of all four. Photos taken August 29, 2009.

The stones mark the beginning of one of the world’s great rivers; an arm of Lake Itasca is beyond. Traffic on the stones was busy the entire time we were there. Henry Rowe Schoolcraft — explorer, geographer, geologist, ethnologist, politician, one-time University of Michigan regent, and early Indian agent — identified the headwaters in 1832.

This photo was taken by turning to face downstream away from Lake Itasca (and the stones). In the distance you can see the first bridge across the not-yet-quite Mighty Mississip. (It’s a split tree trunk.)

Further downstream. From here the River flows northeasterly, through Bemidji, then mostly east to Grand Rapids, before it begins its trip south through the Twin Cities and on to the Gulf of Mexico.

… but actually she was born in the hospital on June 10, 1922. This is more accurately the early childhood home of Frances Ethel Gumm in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. She lived here until the family moved to California in 1927.

The home has been relocated from its original location.

And they’d be happy to host your wedding.

Oh, after being first called Baby Gumm, Frances Ethel Gumm later took the stage name Judy Garland.

Photo taken August 29th.

The Keweenaw Peninsula curves northeasterly into Lake Superior. It is anchored by Houghton and Hancock on the south and Copper Harbor near the tip (at 47º 28′, about as far north as Seattle-Tacoma International). The average annual snowfall in Copper Harbor is 250 inches (the record is 390 inches). It was mostly sunny and cool the day we were there, August 27th.

The Keweenaw Peninsula was the site of the first copper boom in America, beginning in the 1850s. The ore is 97% copper and was extracted by the Ojibwa well before the Finns and others showed up to mine the Keweenaw.

The Copper Harbor Lighthouse, one of the oldest on the Great Lakes, as seen from across the harbor.

Copper Harbor and the lighthouse from Brockway Mountain Drive.

That’s Lake Superior, of course. Isle Royale National Park is out there somewhere (though actually further to the west, as this photo faces mostly north).

We spent the night on the shores of Lake Superior in Eagle River. This photo was taken from the room with my iPhone. The weather turned cold and damp that evening (and it rained much of the next day).

Eagle River has a great courthouse.

The Keweenaw is special and, though out of the way, should be included in any visit to the U.P. Click any image for larger versions.

The Lower Falls of the Tahquamenon River, Michigan (click any image for a gallery of larger versions).

The Upper Falls is one 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. Four miles downstream is the Lower Falls, a series of five smaller falls cascading around an island. … The falls can be viewed from the river bank or from the island, which can be reached by rowboat rented from a park concession. The island walk affords a view of the falls in the south channel.

This is the land of Longfellow’s Hiawatha – “by the rushing Tahquamenaw” Hiawatha built his canoe. Long before the white man set eyes on the river, the abundance of fish in its waters and animals along its shores attracted the Ojibwa Indians, who camped, farmed, fished and trapped along its banks. In the late 1800’s came the lumber barons and the river carried their logs by the millions to the mills. Lumberjacks, who harvested the tall timber, were among the first permanent white settlers in the area.

Rising from springs north of McMillan, the Tahquamenon River drains the watershed of an area of more than 790 square miles. From its source, it meanders 94 miles before emptying into Whitefish Bay. The amber color of the water is caused by tannins leached from the Cedar, Spruce and Hemlock in the swamps drained by the river. The extremely soft water churned by the action of the falls causes the large amounts of foam, which has been the trademark of the Tahquamenon since the days of the voyager.

Tahquamenon Falls State Park

The Upper Falls of the the Tahquamenon River.

All photos taken August 26, 2009.

At the eastern end of Lake Superior is Whitefish Bay, formed by the narrowing of the big lake between Ontario and Whitefish Point, Michigan. The prevailing westerlies on the Lake blow unfettered for hundreds of miles making the water west of Whitefish Point among the most treacherous, even as they lie nearest the safe haven of the bay. And here, where the weather is severe and where all ships must pass, is the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.

 

The above photos (click any image for larger version of all) show diving suits, early and recent. A suit like the modern one was used to retrieve the bell from the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1995, 500 feet below the surface. The famed Fitzgerald went down 17 miles off Whitefish Point.

A Great Lakes freighter leaves Whitefish Bay for the larger lake. The land beyond (looking north-northeast) is Ontario, Canada.

The big lake they call Gitche Gumee.

All photos taken August 26, 2009. Map via Google Maps.

The Mackinac Bridge is currently the third longest suspension bridge in the world. In 1998, the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan became the longest with a total suspension of 12,826 feet. The Great Belt Bridge in Halsskov-Sprogoe, Denmark, which also opened in 1998, is the second longest suspension bridge in the world with a total suspension of 8,921 feet. The Mackinac Bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere. The total length of the Mackinac Bridge is 26,372 feet. The length of the suspension bridge (including anchorages) is 8,614 feet. The length from cable bent pier to cable bent pier is 7,400 feet. Length of main span (between towers) is 3,800 feet.
…

The height of the roadway at mid-span is approximately 200 feet above water level.

Mackinac Bridge Authority

The bridge began construction in May 1954 and was opened to traffic on November 1, 1957. Mackinac, from Michilimackinac, is an Iroquois term for strait, adapted by the French and pronounced Mackinaw, which is the English spelling.

This photo was taken from the northern side, alas further from the suspension part of the bridge. Lake Michigan is in the foreground; Lake Huron beyond the bridge. Click image for a larger version.

While many states have islands, no other state is divided into two land masses like Michigan. It’s lower peninsula, shaped like a left-handed mitten, has 97% of the people and two-thirds of the land. The Upper Peninsula — more commonly the U.P. — remains one of the most rural areas in the U.S., its economy dependent on tourism and logging since its mines have closed. Many long-time residents descend from Scandinavian and Finnish miners who first settled the area.

And a favorite food is the pastie (pronounced pah-stie, not pay-stie). It’s a Cornish dish of meat, potatoes and other vegetables baked in a thick crust. A yummy lunch for miners and road-trippers.

The toll was $3. The toll taker took one look at us in the Z with the top down on a beautiful day and said, “I’d always heard that life was unfair, but this is too much.”

This is an iPhone photo taken from the table while at lunch in Leland, Michigan, August 24th. It shows just a small part of Fishtown, Leland’s authentic fishing community. (And a couple of very nice boats.)

Fishtown is a collection of weathered fishing shanties, smokehouses, overhanging docks, fish tugs and charter boats along the Leland River in Leland, Michigan. Once the heart of a commercial fishing village, the structures and docks are real places where people can walk through, see and feel a connection to Lake Michigan’s fishing heritage. For the past half-century it has been enjoyed and appreciated by thousands of visitors and regional residents who find the shanties, fish tugs and docks that make up the property a living legacy of our maritime culture. 

Fishtown Preservation Society

I had a very nice burger at lunch that day, but my aunt only let me have half so I was pretty hungry still. We had fresh whitefish bought in Fishtown the next evening. And some great green beans and slaw, all fresh and locally grown.