Very Last of the Travels for the Year

About 80 miles north of the state capital, on the west side of I-39, resides the Hancock Agricultural Research Station. Run by the University of Wisconsin, it is a 412-acre research farm where trials of potatoes, field corn, sweet corn, soybeans, snap beans, carrots, cucumbers and switchgrass are run.

I drive down this highway quite a bit, probably a few times a year. The vegetable part of this station isn’t what I have always found fascinating. It’s the beautiful flower garden you can see from the interstate.

I’ve always wanted to stop, and finally that day in October, when Hubby and I were taking a drive, I made him pull over. 

The spot I was captivated by is actually the A. R. Albert and Villetta Hawley-Albert Horticultural Garden. This garden has been here since 1993 and was named, in part, after A. R. Albert who had been the superintendent of the Hancock Station from 1922 to 1947. And that was all the information I was able to gather off the internet. 

The only other thing I got is pictures. 

 

 The beginning of October was a little late to catch anything in full-bloom. 

Still saw lots of pretty stuff though. 

 

 Not so late in the season that they had drained the ponds. 

 I love this grass. I've been wanting some in my yard for a long time.

 My favorite all-time picture. How cool, huh? 

 Hubby's giving me the "have you taken enough pictures yet?" look. 

So that's it folks. I have finally gotten through all those road trips and day trips I took earlier this fall. Well, actually, there is one more, but - it's a story for another time. 

We're heading into winter! Come back this Thursday, when I start my Christmas series.

More random exploring

August 18, 2009, Tuesday

We checked out of the Ramada Inn in Hancock, Michigan, at 8:15 this morning. While driving around earlier we had passed signs for Lake Shore Drive, so thought we would check it out this morning. The weather today is quite a change from yesterday. Monday the weather was so warm and sunny; today is overcast to the point of nearly drizzling. And cold too.

Along Lake Shore Drive, there is a charming little park, with an attached campground. On the park grounds there is this fantastic play area called chutes and ladders. Just like the old board game, you can climb up different ladders or stairways of various lengths, and then slide down a slide - a chute - of assorted sizes. It was awesome, too wet and damp to explore now, but some day we will have to come back, with a kid in tow to trial it.

I found yet another waterfall that I wanted to explore. Wyandotte Waterfalls is just adorable, but with the dry summer we have had, it was not really a waterfall at all, not even a trickle, more like a drip-drop. It is in a very cool setting though, all damp and mossy and full of rocks and fallen trees. It reminded me of something from the “Lord of the Rings”.

We took a chance on returning to Old Victoria, and there was no one else there except the volunteers. What a relief. The one gal we talked to said they offer a tour for five dollars a person, to hear all about who lived in what house and what their lifestyle was like. After having gone to a hundred, ok at least seven, other old restored villages and hearing the dialogue on them all, I didn’t need to hear it again. I just wanted to take pictures.

So we wandered around and I took lots of pictures. We still left a $5 donation in the box by the gate. The gal in the office had told us about some places to stop up the road, so we did that. We climbed to the top of the old tailings piles and had quite a view all the way to Lake Superior. We also found lots more rocks to take home.

I do feel guilty picking up rocks everywhere I go. Is it like stealing? And will these places ever run out of rocks? And the big question, what in the world makes rocks so fascinating? Himey, bless his heart, picked up this honking huge one just for me. He never fails to amaze me.

Chutes and Ladders play area in Houghton's RV Park.

Wyandotte Waterfalls

Old building at Old Victoria

Keweenaw County, Michigan, 2009

This time we are going to one of my favorite places in the world, and having been to Kenya and Peru and a lot of the United States, it seems hard to believe that I only have to drive three hours to get there, but it is true. I have been to Houghton/Hancock and the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan’s UP many, many times, with both Mom and Dad as well as with Pat. There is this one wayside that is just engrained in my brain. Something about it just – it is magical. And there is Fort Wilkins and McLain State Park and some waterfalls and just plain Lake Superior alone would do it for me.

I cannot believe that in 12 years I have not brought Himey up here. Life just goes by too fast and we think we have to spend our downtime going somewhere new and far away. But like I said already, why not just drive 200 miles and be in a place where you know you will be happy, content, at peace with your soul. Sorry to be sappy but it is true. This is where my soul lies.

Ha, ha, with the purchase of my old new used laptop, in 2009, I wrote the remaining travel journal entries as they happened. Which means the next few weeks, until I am all up to speed in 2011, my blog entries are pretty much already written. And before you know it, I will be off to better and bigger things in this blog. Please stay tuned for lots of change.