dumped

This is an experiment in picture loading. I am days behind because I've barely had cell service, never mind 3G or enough "bars" to load any pictures.

This is Diane's greatest boo-boo of the trip. I hope it is the worst that happens to me and the Van of Discovery. I was trying to do a 3-point turn and wasn't as careful as I should have been. Of course, as in the last time I flipped my van off the road, I had no cell service -- nada -- zilch -- nothing -- so I couldn't call Coach-Net for a tow.  Luckily, it was a fairly busy road and LOTS of people helped. I was lucky in that the only undercarriage damage I had was some rubber gasket ripped off the edging of a heat shield. A twistie tie should do the trick to put it back on again.

One of the guys tried to pull me out with a tow strap. That didn't work. The strap broke. As he went back somewhere to get a chain or something, someone else got the idea to push me out. Below are eight of the ten people who literally pushed my van back up onto the road again.

As far as the picture loading experiment, it took one full minute to load each picture. Maybe I'll spend the next hour trying to cover some of my past days' events.

Prairie Village

While driving through Baraboo, WI, I passed this replica of a typical prairie village. It was closed, but I was able to walk around and take a ton of pictures. The next day, I happened to pass by it and it was open, so I stopped in again. I had a personal tour of all the buildings and museum that took nearly two hours. All of the buildings were located within 30 miles of the village's current site. Some were dismantled and put back together here. Others were moved intact. 

The Blacksmith's Shop:

The Church. Inside, it had a working pump organ:

And what church is complete without a cemetery. This one is just for show, though. No one is buried here.

The schoolhouse:

Pictures of the inside of one of the cabins. I am surprised they came out so good because I took them through the windows.

International Crane Foundation

Today I visited the International Crane Foundation. There are 15 species of cranes worldwide and this is the only facility that has all 15 of them. Many were inside their shelters. Others were too far away to get good pictures. These are the ones that were close enough to get fairly decent pictures of.

Brolga:                                                                                                                              Eurasian:

Grey Crowned:                                                                                                                              Red Crowned:

I forgot what this crane was. Some pictures on the Internet say it is a grey crowned; others say it is a red crowned.

Sarus:                                                                                                                              Siberian:

 

Wattled:                                                                                                                              White-napped:

The Whopping Crane:

 

Zoo

A visit at the Brookfield Zoo with Sandee, Jerry, Mikaela, and Nina.

This is Mikaela feeding the stingrays:

Sandee with Mikaela on one side and Nina on the other.

Two butterflies at the butterfly exhibit:

Nina trying to get a butterfly to land on her hand:

And, of course, what trip to the zoo would be complete without checking out the prairie dogs. Oops, the Brookfield Zoo didn't have prairie dogs (for shame), so we got to see the next best thing: a wombat. Somehow, the pose looks strikingly familiar:

The Hummingbird Festival

The Camp Sagawau Environmental Education Center had a Hummingbird Festival the weekend I was visiting Sandee and family. It was very small, but quite educational.

Station 1: We were hummingbirds migrating from the Yucatan Peninsula. At each stop (station), there was a wheel we had to spin that determined whether we made it to our destination or fell upon hard times. We had to make sure we ate enough to make it to the next stop. They even handed out granola bars at the Yucatan station to start us on our way.

Hummingbirds fly 600 miles from the Yucatan Peninsula across the Gulf of Mexico. They need to eat double their weight in food every day. If we used energy like hummingbirds, the average human would have to eat 300 lbs of food per day to make this migration.

This is a hummingbird capturing cage

Station 2: Alabama. Sandee didn’t eat enough food and perished somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico. I barely ate enough to make it, but I did. Mikaela must have gorged herself in the Yucatan, because she made it to Alabama with energy to spare. The flight across the Gulf of Mexico to Alabama is 600 miles and takes a hummingbird 12-36 hours.

A hummingbird’s heart is 2.5% of its total body mass as compared to the human heart which is only 0.5% total body mass.

Station 3: Tennessee.  Mikaela and I both ate enough food to continue on our journey.

A hummingbird beats its wings 60-80 times per second or 3600-4800 times per minute. Let’s see you flap your arms that fast.

 

 Supplies needed for bird banding:

Station 4: Shawnee National Forest, Illinois. I hit a tree or something and broke a wing. I was found by a rehabber and stayed for care and recuperation. I was released three weeks later and continued on my journey. Mikaela ate enough to continue on to Sagawau.

Hummingbirds visit 1000-2000 flower blooms per day.

Station 5: Sagawau Environmental Education Center. Mikaela finished her journey, was caught, and banded so that we may track future migrations.

Mikaela made a hummingbird nest at one of the craft stations. Hummingbirds make their nests out of spiderwebs:

Male hummingbirds arrive well ahead of the females to claim their territories. Females usually lay 2 eggs, which take 12-14 days for incubation. Young birds leave the nest 18-20 days after they are hatched.

We got there a touch too late in the day to see them banding the hummingbirds. The only hummingbird I saw was lying in a woman’s outstretched palm after it was banded. She released it. I never saw another one.

Elkhart and Shipshewana

I went to the RV and MH (Motorhome) Museum in Elkhart, IN last year. I was so enthralled with it, I just had to go back again this year. Besides, I got to boondock in their parking lot for two nights while I toured Shipshewana. This is a short post with just a few pictures.

These two pictures are photos I took of photos. There is much glare that I couldn't get around. These are the two most unusual RV's ever made:

Is this Redneck or what??? A truck camper on a T-Bird -- pulling a boat, no less.

A Sikorsky Helecopter:

After touring the museum, I went to Shipshewana, an Amish town. This is one of their sidewalks that I thought was gorgeous:

On the way back to Elkhart from Shipshewana, I noticed a car show so the Van of  Discovery took a sudden turn into the parking lot. I only took pictures of one car because a car show is a car show is a car show. You usually see all the same kinds of autos ranging from Model-T's to brand new Corvettes. This is a two-seater BMW -- the original version of today's Smart Car. LOL!

Camp Perry

Camp Perry in Ohio is a training facility for the National Guard. It is also where the NRA holds an annual shooting competition for civilians, military, and police. Billy shot here many times to acquire his Distinguished Rifleman badge. I could have come here to compete in pistol shooting, but I never felt I was good enough. You have to at least be good enough to not make a fool of yourself.

East Bay

Just pictures taken around East Bay State Park in Port Clinton, OH.

I tried to get a picture of a water lily flower facing me, but all flowers and buds were facing what I thought was the rising sun. At 5:30 in the evening, they were still facing the same way, so the only conclusion I could come up with was that they were all facing the bay.

This is a great blue heron, but you can't see it too well.

Dunkirk Lighthouse

I just happened to be in the area during the Dunkirk Lighthouse Festival weekend. There was supposed to be food and arts and crafts and games, but when I got there on Sunday, nothing much was going on. I guess the big day was Saturday.

I took a tour of the lighthouse, instead. Dunkirk Lighthouse was built in 1875. The original lighthouse was built in 1827 (more later). The Fresnel Lens and lantern is its third, which was installed in 1857, and is still in use today, although it is now powered by electricity instead of coal or oil.

This was the original lighthouse during a winter storm. Because of erosion of the land, the lighthouse was moved. Also told was that the ice caused so much damage, that the only thing salvageable from the original lighthouse was the Fresnel Lens.

A view of Lake Erie from the top of the lighthouse:

This wooden banister was designed and made by one of the lighthouse keepers. He had six children who all lived in the house with him and his wife. The top was removable. Because the keepers worked at night, if the top was off the lighthouse, then it was a sign to the six children to be quiet as Dad was either working or sleeping.

Also at the lighthouse was a museum of military items. There was one room for every branch of the military: Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. This wedding dress was made from parachute material used in WWII. It was worn by four sisters for each of their weddings. One of the husbands is still alive as are all four sisters.

The Table of the Lost (or Missing) Soldier.

The white table cloth shows the Soldier’s purity of intentions.
The single rose represents blood shed in sacrifice to insure freedom, and also of the Families’ faith.
The ribbon is placed for the thousands who demand a proper accounting of missing comrades.
The slice of lemon symbolizes the missing Soldier’s bitter fate.
The salt represents the tears shed.
The single glass cannot toast.
The empty chair reminds all who look on the table that the Soldier is not here.
The candle is a light of hope that it will illuminate the Soldier’s way home.