Midwest Guest

Midwest travel links for August 2010

Check out these great Midwest-related stories I've read online this past month:

• Colorful Caribbean Floats-Charlie spotted some beautiful flashes of color while riding his bicycle through Detroit recently, discovering a workshop and artists creating floats and costumes for the city's Annual Caribbean International Festival Parade. Check out his story and photos of the workshop and the subsequent parade at Bikes, Books & A Little Music.





• Chicago and Milwaukee: Large Public Art and Placemaking-Public art pieces in Chicago like The Bean and a huge American Gothic sculpture are big tourist draws. Jeramey takes a look at <heh> Chicago's latest piece of public art and argues that Milwaukee could benefit from emulating Chicago's penchant for large pieces of statement art. Oh, and check out Milwaukee's Bronze Fonz, which is exactly what you probably think it is-the Fonz of Happy Days fame immortalized as (you guessed it) a bronze statue.

• Backyard Adventures: 100 Acres at the Indianapolis Museum of Art-Check out this outdoor arts park at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Arrows Sent Forth. Traveling with kids? This story also has some great tips about the terrain, rest rooms, parking, picnicking at the museum, and more.

• Evansville Otters Baseball for Southwest Indiana-There is still a bit of time to take in a baseball game this season, and Erik takes readers to a game with the Evansville Otters of the Frontier League at Indiana Insider Blog. I enjoyed hearing about the team's historic 95-year-old ball park and its connection to the movie, "A League of Their Own".

• Thriving in the BWCAW-Join Rob and his family on a canoe adventure in Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. It's been a while since we visited the area ourselves, but I vividly remember the quarter-mile downhill portage and the quarter-mile uphill portage we did during one of our day trips, so I can feel Rob's pain as he talks about two miles worth of portages during his trip at The Intense Traveler. But it's all worth it!





• Looking at the End of Summer from the Lighthouse Steps- The marble, Albert Kahn-designed William Livingstone Memorial Lighthouse on Detroit's Belle Isle is a real beauty, so I particularly enjoyed taking a closer look at this unique tower at Belle Isle Home.

• Road Trip Music: Indiana-Kerry explores the Midwest and its music at Music Road. Check out this profile of Indiana folksinger Carrie Newcomer (born in Michigan, by the way) and other Midwest musician profiles at Kerry's site.

• Discovering Musical History on Race Street-Michael takes us to historic Herzog Studio in Cincinnati, Ohio, in his Soapbox Cincinnati story. Popular music legends like Hank Williams, Patti Page, Flatt & Scruggs, and Bull Moose Jackson (an early R&B artist whose song, "Big Ten Inch Record", some music fans may remember best as an Aerosmith cover) all recorded at Herzog Studios.

• Highway 100-Travel the length of this Minnesota highway via video in a matter of minutes! I enjoyed this little virtual vacation at the Nokohaha blog.





• 7/79 video takes views on unique visual tour of Cincinnati's center-Driving into the Ohio River? Seeing Cincinnati-area landmarks like the Roebling Bridge or The Ascent in nearby Covington, Kentucky, from the air? Randy posted this virtual vacation on Urban Cincy.

Do you know of any other Midwest-related blogs I should check out?

© Dominique King 2010 All rights reserved

Midwest travel links for July 2010

Here are a few interesting Midwest-related stories I've read online this past month:

• A Visit to Round Island Lighthouse-This little gem of a lighthouse near Michigan's Mackinac Island opens to the public one day each year, so is a special treat when Jennifer shared these photos of her recent visit to the lighthouse with her friend Bree on Bree's Mackinac Island Blog.

• The J.W. Wescott II mail boat-A boat with its own Zip Code? Read about it at Sweet Juniper as Jim writes about the Detroit River Post Office aboard the J.W. Wescott II, the only boat in the world dedicated expressly for mail delivery to vessels along the Detroit River.

• Cincinnati's Dramatic, Multi-Billion Dollar Riverfront Revitalization Nearly Complete-Urban planner Randy Simes details this Ohio city's riverfront $3 billion transformation from an aging industrial space into an exciting mixed-use district at the Urbanophile. We visited completed components of this revitalization like the Great American Ball Park and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center during our last visit to the city.





• Milwaukee, A Walker's Paradise-Andrew takes readers on a tour of walkable Milwaukee at Urban Out, checking out some downtown bars, eateries, shopping districts, and residential neighborhoods.

• Chicago's Grocery Store in the Sky-Wayne takes us to one of Chicago's most exclusive stores, a grocery store on the 44th floor of the John Hancock building called the Potash Gourmet 44. Visitors must pass a lobby security checkpoint, pass the 44th floor lobby receptionist, and be a building resident (or with a resident) to go shopping there. Or you can enjoy this virtual visit with Wayne.

• Wayne County Treasures: The Levi Coffin House-We learned a bit about Levi Coffin and his role in the Underground Railroad in Ohio when we visited the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, so it was especially interesting to me to learn a bit more about his earlier days with the Underground Railroad in Indiana. Check this story by Andrea on the Indiana Insider Blog.

• Flint Portraits: Lloyd Copeman-Next time you fill up your glass with ice by flipping ice cubes out of your flexible ice cube tray, you can thank Flint-area inventor Lloyd Copeman. The flexible plastic ice cube tray earned this prolific inventor an astounding $500,000 during the late 1920s. Gordon writes about Copeman and his many inventions at Flint Expatriates.

• Jolly Green Giant Statue-Beth and her family visited the big green guy in Blue Earth, Minnesota. Read about their visit to this 55-foot-tall landmark and roadside attraction at The Vacation Gals blog.

• Two Miles an Hour-Did you ever wonder what it was like to cross the prairies in a covered wagon? Join Andrea at Horizontal Lines as she takes on a day-long trail ride in northwestern North Dakota to relive her immigrant ancestors' experiences as they settled into a new land.

© Dominique King 2010 All rights reserved

Midwest travel links for June 2010

Here are some interesting blog posts about the Midwest I read in the past month:

• 18th Annual Detroit Concert of Colors July 16-18, 2010-Tim previews one of our favorite summer events. Check out his story and fabulous photos from recent Concert of Colors festivals at The Wandering Photographer.

• Crossroads Guitar Festival brings guitar legends and their contemporaries together-I enjoyed this quick recap of this Chicago festival to benefit Eric Clapton's Crossroads Centre (a rehab facility in Antigua) at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Rock Hall Blog.

• Around Cadillac Square-I've driven past this spot, and gone past the Cadillac Center stop on Detroit's People Mover, many times, but I've never really seen Cadillac Square up close. Let Belle Isle Home show you around this great little urban gem.

• Biking in Detroit: The City on Two Wheels-Most people think of cars when they think of the Motor City, but there are a lot of other great ways to get around Detroit. Let Becks of Detroit Moxie show you how to use some pedal power to get around the D.

• Exploring the Cleveland Metroparks-I've seen a bit of Cleveland's much-loved "Emerald Necklace"-a chain of parks that pretty much circles the city. Check out this story at What Locals Like About Cleveland Plus to find out more about the parks and the vision of the young engineer in 1917 that resulted in this beautiful green legacy enjoyed today by residents and visitors alike.

• Flint River Kayaking-I enjoyed this story of a river's rebirth from at Flint Expatriates. Gordon rediscovers this great little river near Flushing, Michigan, and learns something about second chances and stereotypes.

• June on the Farm-I appreciate the value of being a tourist in my own town, so I really appreciated Linda giving us this great look at spring on her Minnesota family farm at Travels with Children.



Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens' great ball park


• Fort Wayne Tin Caps Baseball is Great Family Fun-I've written about the joys of minor league sports and advocated those events as budget-friendly alternatives where you can usually score a seat much closer to the action than you can at a big-league venue. Join Erik at the Indiana Insider Blog for fun on a Friday night in Fort Wayne with the Tin Caps baseball team.

• Falling in love at White River State Park-Amy gives us ten great reasons to fall in love with this urban park, chock full of green spaces and waterfront, in Indianapolis at the Indiana Insider Blog.

• The Ford Bridge Then and Now-You know that a post about a great bridge will always catch my eye, so I enjoyed this story about the historic Ford Bridge that spans the Mississippi River to connect Minnesota's Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis at the Nokohaha blog.

• City Profile: Milwaukee by UrbanMilwaukee-Milwaukee is another place I've only driven through on the way elsewhere, but it's a place I've always wanted to spend some time visiting. Meanwhile I can visit the Ubanophile blog for virtual tour of the city that includes photos of their striking art museum from Dave of UrbanMilwaukee.

© Dominique King 2010 All rights reserved

Midwest travel links for January 2010

Let's start the new year with a new list of Midwest-related blog posts from other writers I've enjoyed reading this past month:

• Cave Point's Icy Cliffs-I enjoy Bo Mackison's beautiful photos at Seeded Earth Photography, and you can just feel the wind-whipped chill as she ventures out to Cave Point County Park in Door County, Wisconsin, to capture this image of the icy cliffs along Lake Michigan.

• Fried Chicken and Frozen Waterfalls-This may sound like an unlikely pairing, but check out Illinois' Starved Rock State Park with Justin at The Windy Pixel. This grand old log lodge reminds me of the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

• In-Town Tourist: Frozen Falls in Hocking Hills-People often express surprise when we mention the waterfalls we've visited in Ohio. Join hometown tourist Heather as she shares some beautiful winter views of the frozen falls in southern Ohio's Hocking Hills area.

• Hocking Hills Winter Hike-It's obvious that Hocking Hills isn't a secret to the 5,000-plus people who joined the park's traditional winter hike this past month. Join Joe at My Quality Time for this six-mile trek through nature's winter wonderland.

• Get Out on the Lake!-I've often seen gaggles of ice fishing shanties out on the frozen lake, but Amy gives us an up-close look at some fun and unique ice shanties created for the Art Shanty Projects on Minnesota's Medicine Lake.

• Across the Icy Green-Hard-core golfers will enjoy this story a winter golf tournament born of cabin fever during a particularly harsh winter in Grand Haven, Michigan. Check out the Look blog at Seeking Michigan for more fun blasts from Michigan's past.

• The best time for a public art inspired tour of Chicago-Chicago has some really fabulous public art, and Helly at Travel by the Calendar tells us that spring is a great time to plan an art-themed trip to the Windy City.





• Kerycik Riverview Elk & Buffalo Ranch-Join Melissa at Midwest Girl as she gets up close and personal with elk and buffalo at this Nebraska ranch.

• Wakarusa Dime Store-Who doesn't love an old-fashioned dime store? Jessica checks out this 100-plus-year-old store in Indiana's Elkhart County that is home to the giant jelly bean!

• Karmageddon's gonna getcha!-Eating Flint can be a blog with bite, but check out Bob's tasty visit to this Flint, Michigan, gem-the Most Beloved Farmer's Market in the country. This reminds me that I need to drive on up to visit the market one of these days, and Steady Eddie's sounds worth a stop as well.

• US-27 in Michigan-Michigan in Pictures is always worth a visit as it showcases wonderful images from around the state. The site also occasionally features a vintage shot like this mid-1950s shot of the old two-lane highway that served as a major route to northern Michigan. This view reminds me a bit of present-day M-115 that runs northwest from near Clare to Frankfort-the favorite part of our drive when we head to that area of Michigan.

  © Dominique King 2010 All rights reserved

Midwest travel links for November 2009

Check out some of these Midwest-related blog posts from other writers I've enjoyed reading this past month:

• Bite into Cocktail Hour at Roast-I loved hearing that "Iron Chef", and Cleveland-area restaurant owner, Michael Symon opened Roast in Detroit's renovated Westin Book Cadillac Hotel. I've been longing to eat there, but until I do, I can enjoy this review from Becks Davis. Becks enjoyed a "cheap date night gone swanky" with her hubby at Roast's affordable Cocktail Hour.

• The game that made Mark Fidrych Famous (June 28, 1976)-Relieve the glory days of Mark "The Bird" Fidrych's brief heyday at the mound as a Detroit Tiger pitcher. Check out the short clip featuring a bit of a particularly memorable game when Fidrych's pitching brought a stadium full of baseball fans to their feet and demanding a curtain call for the always animated Bird.

• Storm Chaser: Surfing in Grand Haven-Yes, you read that correctly. We have awesome surfing in Michigan! Be sure to click out to the link from the blog to the preview of Unsalted, a flick about Great Lakes surfers.

• Glen Haven, Michigan: Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore-The Sleeping Bear Dunes Lakeshore in northwestern Michigan is one of our favorite vacation destinations. Check out Tim's take on the nicely restored town buildings in this formerly bustling port, lumbering and tourist town turned to National Park Service land and museum.

• Fresnel lens tune-up-The strikingly beautiful Split Rock Lighthouse in northern Minnesota celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, so it's time to get ready for the lighthouse's close-up. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at tuning up the nation's last operational Fresnel lens in a lighthouse lens room, operating with the original mercury float, and rotating with a clockwork mechanism.





• Midwest shopping destination: Mall of America-Looking to combine travel with holiday shopping? Check out Beth Blair's report from the gigantic Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. Beth offers helpful tips for navigating the mall's 520-plus stores and numerous attractions.

• Photo Friday: Land of Evermor, Baraboo, Wisconsin-I love Linda's knack for finding the most intriguing sights and exploring off the beaten path. Check out these cool animals created from scrap metal, especially the creative use of discarded instruments to build flocks of long-legged birds!

• The Lincoln Museum & some tips for Springfield, Illinois-Want to learn a bit about history in the Land of Lincoln? Follow along as The Little TravelNotebook Team visits the Lincoln Library and Museum--and get a few tips to make your visit easier, especially if you're traveling with an RV or travel trailer.

• Free things to do in Cleveland-We visit Cleveland, Ohio, fairly often, but I'll be sure to take this list of freebie sites with me next time I visit the city. Check out Kristin's article at Kathika for a list of ten great Cleveland sites to check out that won't cost you a dime.

• Photo Friday: The Farm-From Cleveland, head on down to Amish Country and visit The Farm, a working Amish farm and animal preserve! It seems like an odd combination to me, this post at Flip Flop Caravan made it look like a fun way to spend a day in scenic Holmes County, Ohio.

• Wanderlust Sunday: The American Midwest-I feel this region is often ignored when it comes to travel writing, so I was thrilled to see TheWordWire feature a list of Midwest posts in a Wanderlust Sunday column. The fact that two of the five stories were mine (one from this blog, and one from The Urbane Life), and one came from Tim's blog (The Wandering Photographer), tells me that Tim and I need to keep traveling, writing, and taking photos!

• Awful Library Books on Jimmy Kimmel Live-OK, so this isn't a travel story...but this site is just too hilarious not to include somewhere. The Awful Library Books site is the work of two Michigan librarians who unearth the oddest, most obsolete, and outdated books lining library shelves. Checking out the covers of these books is hilarious enough--commentary from Mary and Holly makes this site even more fun. This post includes a clip of their recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel's late night show with a few of their most jaw-dropping finds.

© Dominique King 2009 All rights reserved

Midwest travel links for October 2009

Check out some of these Midwest-related blog posts from other writers I've enjoyed reading this past month:

• Ode Lo Toledo-Author Brian Fies writes about visiting the Toledo Museum of Art for the opening of the LitGraphic: The World of the Graphic Novel exhibition, which features pages of original art from his book, Mom's Cancer.

• 40 Things to do in Detroit before you're dead-Becks celebrates her 40th birthday with this list of must-sees in the "D"  





• Where's Tyler?-Forget about finding Waldo and check out Tyler's travels in western Michigan.

• Adventures in apple picking-Follow Farsighted Fly Girl into a northern Indiana apple orchard for the quintessential autumn experience of picking apples in the Midwest.

• 3-Way-That's chili, people! I'm not a fan of chili with beans, and I usually can't get it without beans in restaurants in the Detroit area. I acquired a taste for Skyline Chili when visiting southern Ohio and always try to keep a few cans of it in my cupboards at home, so I can appreciate this story about this Cinci specialty.

• Ohio's best inns and B&Bs-I love small bed & breakfasts and country inns. I've stayed at a couple of places on this list (Inn at Cedar Falls and Inn at Brandywine Falls), but it looks like there are plenty of other great places I'd love to stay at on future trips to Ohio.

• Museums of northwest Indiana-We've visited the fab Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum several times, but this list has several other great-sounding small museums in the same region. Northern Indiana has museums dedicated to art, autos, outlaws and more!





• Milton House Museum in Milton, Wisconsin-Learn about this stop on the Underground Railroad as Linda and her family travel through an underground tunnel leading to a cabin used as a secret hiding place for slaves on their way north to freedom.

• Must-see museums: The Louvre in Minneapolis-Angela at The Gypsy's Guide previews what looks to be a great exhibit, The Louvre and the Masterpiece, playing at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts this fall and winter.

• Books with North Dakota and Norwegian roots-Minot, North Dakota, hosts the annual Norsk Hostfest, North America's largest Scandinavian festival. Annika checks out the Scandinavian Heritage Bookstore at this year's festival, makes some recommendations for readers, and shows off her traditional Norwegian costume.  

• Somewhere in Time, a cult classic filmed in Michigan-Well before the recent flurry of filming movies in Michigan, fueled by state incentives, Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour starred in this romantic late 1970s movie filmed in large part on Michigan's Mackinac Island. Check out Part 2 of this story here.

© Dominique King 2009 All rights reserved

Food for travel giveaway and more Midwest links

My father's good, Jack, had an April birthday, but Jack pretty much celebrated his birthday for weeks leading up to the big day--and for weeks after the big day.

Perhaps Jack's influence explains why I'm still celebrating the first anniversary (August 1) of Midwest Guest!

Besides, I had a lot of fun giving away my BlogHer kids' swag bags last month. Congrats again to Tracyn and Beth!

This month, the theme is food.

Pasties in Michigan's Upper Peninsula? Skyline Chili in Cincinnati? Fried whitefish livers in Wisconsin? Crawfish in Louisiana? Grits in Kentucky? Fried catfish in Arkansas? We love eating in the little local joints and eating local specialties when we travel.

When we're not on the road, we love watching shows and reading books about great regional road food finds.

Planning a road trip this year? Here's your chance to win a two-book package that should help you find the best eats from Maine to California--and everywhere in between.

I'm opening this giveaway up to U.S. residents who leave a comment on this post telling me about their favorite road food or roadside "joint" by 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Standard Daylight Savings Time) on Friday, October 16.

The winner receives two books: Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives by Guy Fieri and 500 Things to Eat Before it's Too Late and the Very Best Places to Eat Them by Jane & Michael Stern.

Fieri's book is the New York Times best-selling companion to his fun show of the same name on The Food Network. The Sterns' book includes tips on side trips as you're eating your way through the country, and mail order resources for some of their food finds.

Both books look like just the thing to whet your appetite for travel!

Only one entry per person. Midwest Guest reserves the right to eliminate entries that are rude or spam comments.

Meanwhile, check out some of these Midwest-related blog posts from other writers I've enjoyed reading this past month:

Minnesota Music Hall of Fame in New Ulm, MN-Linda starts us off on a musical note at Travels with Children as her family learns about Minnesota's musical history and an eclectic group of musicians with Minnesota ties that include Bob Dylan, Judy Garland and Whoopee John!

The Dequindre Cut: An Urban Gallery-Becks takes us on a tour of one of Detroit's newest greenways and recreational paths for walkers, runners and bicyclists and tells us about the cool graffiti art along the way.  Check it out at Detroit Moxie!

South Dakota's Black Hills Buffalo Roundup-James takes a look at the world of cowboys with this Man Tripping story about the annual Buffalo Roundup in Custer State Park, where experienced wranglers help thin the park's herd to a level the park can support over the winter.

Oh Dakota! Update on My Tour of the West-Reading about Gary's travels around the globe at Everything Everywhere is always fascinating, but I especially loved seeing his take on the Dakotas. Make sure you click on the Theodore Roosevelt National Park link in this post to see Gary's gorgeous North Dakota wildlife photos.

The Apostle Islands-Visit the pristine wilderness of Lake Superior as photographer Ian Plant of Mountain Trail Photo Blog explores the Apostle Islands in northern Wisconsin via sea kayak. Ian shares some stunning images of sea caves and Superior shoreline.

Kayaking at the Pictured Rocks-Move east into Michigan along the Lake Superior shoreline to check out northern_latitudes at Michigan in Pictures and click through to Tim's beautiful Pictured Rocks kayaking 2009 Flickr photo set.

Wandering on a Water Taxi-Join Farsighted Fly Girl Rosalind and her family as they explore Chicago via water taxi.

The Tiltons-Canadian photographer Sandi Wheaton embarks on a trip traveling the length of Route 66. Follow her adventures on pictureRoute66, especially through the initial leg of her journey as it takes her through Illinois and she meets the hospitable Tiltons.

Kansas Underground Salt Museum: the tornadoes can't get you here-Sheila of the Family Travel Guide takes us on a tour of a working salt mine 650 feet below Hutchinson, Kansas.

Ernie Harwell and the moment-I'll leave you with a particularly poignant goodbye as Billfer of The Detroit Tigers Weblog shares the moment when beloved baseball broadcaster Ernie Harwell thanked Detroit Tigers' fans and bid them adieu--and the fans, in turn, thanked him for many years of joy and expressed loving support for Ernie as he faces a foul ball of a health challenge.  

© Dominique King 2009 All rights reserved

Indiana cars help drive Frank Lloyd Wright design

Glamorous cars like those displayed at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum in northern Indiana often ended up in the garages of celebrities. I knew about the popularity of the Auburn, Cord and Duesenberg automobiles among famous Hollywood stars of the 1930s, but learning about famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright's reputation as a "car guy" was an unexpected and fascinating surprise for me.

I spotted a small exhibit of Frank Lloyd Wright drawings near a brilliant red-orange 1929 Cord L-29 Cabriolet on one of the museum's upper levels during our recent visit there. Given my latent leanings as a gearhead and frustrated architect, the exhibit aroused my curiosity.

It turns out that the great architect had a real fascination with cars--a fascination that informed many of his designs. He even attempted to design a few cars!

This ACD exhibit of 50 authentic and authorized Wright prints continues through October 25, 2009. The Cord automobile is part of the museum's permanent collection.

The prints come from the trust operating Samara, a Lafayette, Indiana home designed by Wright in 1954. The original owner, John Christian, still lives in the home and opens it to the public for tours, lectures and other events.    

The Cord Cabriolet, or convertible, is a car originally owned by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. The car is similar to the Cord L29 Phaeton Wright himself purchased in 1929 and painted the same bright Cherokee Red eventually called Taliesin Orange for the color used extensively at Wright's schools and studios in Wisconsin and Arizona.

Wright admired the Cord because of its front-wheel drive and streamline design.

The architect wrote copy for a sales catalog praising the Cord's performance on dirt, gravel and concrete roads near his Wisconsin studio. He felt front-wheel drive was more "logical and scientific" than rear-wheel drive and pronounced it "inevitable" for all future cars. 

Best of all? The architect thought the car "looked becoming to the houses I design".

The 1929 Cord originally cost an average of $3,095, at a time when the average price for a Ford or Chevy was closer to $450. The museum's car weighs 4,300 pounds and has an 8-cylinder, 125 horsepower engine.

It wasn't unusual for the architect to consider how automobiles and his architecture appeared together. He often designed for and around automobiles, starting as early as 1908 in his design for the Robie House in Chicago that included a three-car garage. He also coined the word "carport" and often included these car shelters with some of his designs for more modest 1930s homes.

Wright's fascination with cars and facilitating their easy movement around buildings also influenced his design for the famous spiral ramp at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Movement between Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin and Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona drove Wright's his purchase of a car quite different from the big Cord--the quirky little compact Crosley Super Roadster. 

The Crosley, like the Cord, was an Indiana-built car and the brainchild of rich radio manufacturer and owner of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team, Powel Crosley Jr.

Crosley's car company had headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio and assembly plants in the Indiana towns of Richmond and Marion.

Considered the first modern compact car, the 4-cylinder Crosleys weighed less than 1,000 pounds and had a Crosley radio in the instrument panel.

The ACD Museum owns a two-passenger Crosley convertible originally owned by Wright and painted the signature Taliesin Orange. Wright purchased a small fleet of these tiny cars from a Madison, Wisconsin car dealer during the early 1950s.

Wright's Crosley fleet saw service most notably during twice-yearly trips between Wisconsin and Arizona. The architect, his staff and students left Taliesin in Wisconsin each fall to winter at Arizona's Taliesin West, returning to Wisconsin each spring. The trip took a week each way and the travelers camped along the way.

The Crosleys, like Wright himself, may have been a bit ahead of their time. They got 50 miles per gallon of gas, which probably wasn't that impressive to drivers in those days of cheap fuel prices.

Crosley car sales eventually tanked, and the company closed for good in 1952. 

© Dominique King 2009 All rights reserved

Five more Midwest lighthouses to love

I love visiting and photographing the many beautiful lighthouses lining our Great Lakes, and I thought it was time to do a follow-up post to my Five Midwest lighthouses to love article.

Every light we’ve visited has its own interesting history—tales that I never tire of telling. Readers of that previous lighthouse list post shared my affection for our Great Lakes lights and told me about a couple of their favorite lighthouses.

So, here is another list spotlighting a couple of reader favorites and a few other lighthouses I’ve visited over the years.

• Two Harbors Lighthouse, near Two Harbors (MN) on Lake Superior, holds a special place in one Midwest Guest reader’s heart. I loved taking photos of this bright red lighthouse against a brilliant blue sky with fluffy white clouds, and I had an especially difficult time choosing just one shot to include with this post. This lighthouse became a bed & breakfast since I last visited, so you can not only tour the lighthouse—you can stay overnight as well!




• Point Aux Barques Lighthouse, at the tip of Michigan’s Thumb on Lake Huron, holds the distinction of having Michigan’s first female light keeper. Catherine Shook took over keeping duties at the light after the light keeper, her husband Peter, drowned in 1849. The original Point Aux Barques tower needed replacing because of shoddy construction and the replacement tower built in 1857 still stands at the site today. Sue at Lighthouse News nominated this lighthouse and its expansive park as a must-see. I think it’s a good choice, and Sue’s site is a great resource for lighthouse lovers.

• Devil’s Island Lighthouse, at the northern end of Devil’s Island in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (WI) on Lake Superior, has an external skeletal bracing system designed to improve the tower’s stability. You can only reach this lighthouse by boat, so we viewed this tower as part of a sunset lighthouse cruise out of Bayfield, WI.




• Old Michigan City Lighthouse, near Michigan City (IN) on Lake Michigan, currently serves as a museum with newer pierhead lights serving as active navigational aids. The Old Michigan City Lighthouse, constructed of cream-colored bricks from Milwaukee, replaced the area’s original 1837 light. A female light keeper plays a key role in the Michigan City Lighthouse history as Harriet Colfax served in that capacity for 43 years, from her 1861 appointment until she retired at age 80 in 1904!

• Grand Traverse Lighthouse, at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula near Northport (MI) on Lake Michigan, sits in Leelanau State Park with a rustic campground nearby. I love walking out on the rocky shore at this light and finding a large rock to perch on as I sit, watch the waves and, especially during winter months, enjoy this isolated corner of Michigan.

Do you have a favorite Midwest lighthouse?

As always, these are only a few of our many beautiful Midwest lighthouses. Watch Midwest Guest for more lighthouse stories and photos in coming months.

Meanwhile, be sure to check out some of my other lighthouse stories:

A Day Away-spend a day at Marblehead Lighthouse, near Port Clinton (OH) on Lake Erie

Happy Birthday, Betsie!-celebrating the 150^th anniversary of Point Betsie Lighthouse near Frankfort (MI) on Lake Michigan

Hike to Big Sable Point Light-winter visit to Big Sable Point Lighthouse near Ludington (MI) on Lake Michigan

Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse new to us-visit Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse near the Mackinaw City (MI) on Lake Huron

Toledo Harbor Lighthouse still stands guard at Maumee Bay-a distant glimpse of the Toledo Harbor Lighthouse and a close-up look at its lens near Toledo (OH) on Lake Erie

© Dominique King 2009 All rights reserved

Seven sensational Great Lakes National Parks

Planning a trip to the great outdoors this summer?

The Great Lakes offer some great natural destinations

• Isle Royale is one of the most isolated and least visited of our nation’s National Parks, because a trip to this gem in the far reaches of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula requires a three- or five-hour ferry ride (depending on whether you depart to the island from Houghton or Copper Harbor) to reach the park. There’s always the chance that rough water on Lake Superior can delay your scheduled ferry ride by a day or so, but what is an extra day or two extension of your vacation? When we last visited Isle Royale, we used our ferry-delay day to squeeze in a little extra hiking and picture-taking before returning to the mainland on the next day’s ferry.

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• Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore near Munising (MI) is another one of Michigan’s Lake Superior gems. Kayak on the lake for some of the best views of the park’s sandstone cliffs or hike back into some of the park’s most remote and beautiful waterfalls. Enjoy more than 40 miles of Lake Superior’s rugged shoreline but be advised that swimming in the largest, deepest and coldest of the Great Lakes is only for the hardiest of souls on the warmest of summer days. I’ve gone swimming in Lake Superior, and while it felt great at on a hot summer afternoon, even this cold water lover only lasted a very short time in the chilly water.
• Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, in the northwestern portion of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula is a little closer to home for us so we’ve visited there many times over the years. Attractions like Port Oneida Rural Historic District preserve some of the area’s history, and the seven-mile Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive leads visitors past many of the area’s most interesting geological and natural sights. Many visitors best know Sleeping Bear for its challenging dune climb, where a beautiful view of Glen Lake rewards those who make it to the top.
• Cuyahoga Valley National Park, located close to Cleveland (OH) along the crooked Cuyahoga River, offers visitors a look at the history of transportation the Ohio and Erie Canalway. Even as the park is quite near heavily urban areas of northern Ohio, it offers visitors plenty of natural wonders like wildlife and waterfalls to enjoy. I hope to return to the park sometime with my bicycle to ride along the mostly level Towpath Trail that follows the path once traveled by mules to tow boats along the historic Ohio and Erie Canal.


• The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, which includes 21 islands and 12 miles of mainland along Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin, offers especially plentiful opportunities for serious kayakers and those who love photographing Great Lakes lighthouses. We loved staying In Bayfield (WI), where visitors can easily book shuttles to island hop or purchase tickets for one of our favorite trips—a sunset cruise past some of the area’s lighthouses.
• Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore offers visitors another look at the dunes along Lake Michigan. Indiana may not have a lot of Great Lakes shoreline, but this park showcases some of the best of that limited real estate. The National Park Service planned five prescribed fires at the park this spring as a means for landscape and ecosystem restoration, invasive species eradication and biodiversity protection. This project should offer park visitors an interesting view of how nature restores itself in coming years.
• Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota offers camping, hiking and wildlife watching opportunities, but requires visitors take to the water to best explore the area. Voyageurs paddled their birch bark canoes through the area two centuries ago as they transported animal pelts and other trade goods. Today, canoes, kayaks, houseboats and motorboats cruise these waters, and summer visitors can even take a guided tour aboard a 26-foot North Canoe to see the park much as the long-ago voyageurs did.
 

Have you visited any of these sensational Great Lakes parks?

© Dominique King 2009