Blog Archives

Late July - Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (and a few RV’s)

7/31/2021

A disassembled Model T in The Henry Ford Museum

Shortly after installing our new chairs, our time in Elkhart came to an end and we headed north to Dearborn, MI to spend a week touring The Henry Ford Museum, making our home at the Wayne County Fairgrounds. We finished the month by staying a few days at a small campground near Findlay in NW Ohio, almost literally in the middle of nowhere, but we still found new things to explore. And, on July 20th, we were finally given permission to announce that our Group Cabin project at Pocahontas had been selected as one of the Lowes 100 Hometown projects. This terrific honor comes with funding that can make a big difference, but it also made us aware that we needed to make tracks back to Pocahontas earlier than October. We have a lot of work to do to ensure we make the most of the grant. And if you're on the fence about whether to join us, hop off. We can surely use more volunteers.

A trip through the history of camping in RV's.

RV/MH Hall of Fame

With all of the RV manufacturers and suppliers located within such close proximity to Elkhart, it is no surprise that there would be a move to preserve the history of this industry nearby. Initially, we were willing to pass this attraction by, but were encouraged by others to take a look. On a rainy day shortly before we left Elkhart, we did just that. It was an interesting trip through time as the industry followed the nation’s increasing desire to travel through America’s wild places in increasing comfort. We created a short video to share it with you.

Taking a ride in a Model T "Utility Vehicle"

The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation

We took the less-traveled US 12 for most of our trip from Elkhart IN to Dearborn MI, our next destination. Passing through several scenic towns, we stumbled across Randy’s BBQ, which had some great brisket “burnt” ends that hit the spot. Our destination was the Wayne County Fairgrounds, one of the few options near Dearborn that would allow us to tour The Henry Ford Museum, and that had openings on the weekend. We were given one of the few shaded pull-thru spots, and we set up camp for the week of our visit.

The Henry Ford Museum is not just named for Henry Ford, it is literally his creation. He began collecting buildings and artifacts for Greenfield Village, an historic village that is at the heart of the museum’s property, almost 100 years ago. The Museum of American Innovation was actually constructed around one of the 9 huge generators that powered the Highland Park facility. We spent 5 different days touring the museum, the village and the nearby Ford Rouge River plant where F150s are made. It was a lot of fun and very interesting. They also had the best frozen custard we found in the area. (And you know we keep looking.) If you have some time, you can tour Greenfield Village with us and the Museum of American Innovation and Ford Rouge, each in their own video. Enjoy!

Sunset over Arrowhead Lake

Ohio – Arrowhead Lake Campground

From Michigan, we turned south to make our way gradually to Virginia. We still had several weeks before we needed to get back, so our progress would be slow. No need to spend too much time in Virginia’s summer heat and humidity. So, our next stop was only a couple of hours due south, still in Northwest Ohio in the middle of farm country. One of the gems we discovered during our stay was a local historic museum in Lima OH, called the Allen County Museum. This small town had assembled an extensive collection of its history – including one of the last steam locomotives manufactured in town – and had managed to display and interpret the collection in an engaging way. Explore along with us at the Allen County Museum in this video.

2 Comments

Early July - Seeing Michiana

7/16/2021

3 Comments

Dave at Shipshewana Flea Market

Arriving in Indiana just before 4th of July weekend, we had at least a week before we would need to pick up our new chairs. So, once we were unstuck, we took some time to explore the area around Bixler Lake in Kendallville and then around Elkhart – surrounded by the largest concentration of RV manufacturers in the country. Only a few miles from the Michigan-Indiana border, the locals call this area Michiana for obvious reasons.

Sunset over Bixler Lake

Bixler Lake Campground – Kendallville IN

Bixler Lake Campground is in Kendallville’s town park, and the trails leading out from the campground offered us opportunities to explore the lake and its entire perimeter. We also discovered that a short walk east of the park led to the Mid-America Windmill Museum. This museum was inspired by the local history of windmill manufacturing. In its heyday there was a concentration of over 70 manufacturers located with 80 miles of Kendallville, including the local Flint and Walling Co which still exists today (although its business has shifted to pumps).

Mid-America Windmill Museum's "Garden" of windmills

Approaching from the park, you hear the museum before you see it. The sound of metal gears wailing as blades spin slowly in the light wind is distinctive. We entered the museum’s “garden” of about 50 different outdoor windmills before entering the museum building for our audio tour. We started the tour with several of the more fragile specimens inside a re-assembled 1889 barn. We learned how windmills evolved to grind grain, pump water, generate electricity or directly power machinery. And how they spread across the country with the railroad, providing water for the engines along the way. Designs evolved to include mechanisms to protect them from too much wind, having a counterweight that turned the blades out of the wind when the force would overpower them.

Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site on Sylvan Lake

Taking a drive to explore further, we stumbled across the Stratton-Porter State Historic site, preserving the lakeside home and gardens of a renowned local writer. The nearby town of Ligonier had decorated its downtown with murals telling stories of its history. But one unique feature wasn’t mentioned in any brochure – the tornado sirens. At noon on Saturday, the deafening noise starts in Kendallville and lasts for several minutes. But we were lucky enough to be in Rome City, trying out some local ice cream, when we realized theirs went off at 1pm (or a few minutes after) and this time we were much closer. Glad these were only tests.

On July 4th, we had a front row seat for the town’s fireworks, which were shot off from the beach 100 yards away. We sat on the picnic table and enjoyed the display along with the rest of the campground.

Our home for 2 weeks

Elkhart Campground

After a (thankfully) uneventful departure from Bixler Lake, we pulled into Elkhart Campground an hour and a half later. We would be here for a couple of weeks, so we appreciated having full hook-ups in our pull-thru site. Since the Keystone plant was still closed until the following Monday, we continued to take time to explore the area.

Along the Elkhart Heritage Trail

We decided to use the Elkhart Heritage Trail, complete with audio narration as a guide. This was a little tricky to “stay with the program” and navigate with Google, but Cathy managed to get us from place to place. In the process, we stumbled across the Nappanee “Embrace the Pace” days, which afforded us a free lunch as we toured their museum. Nappanee is noted for the invention of Hoosier cabinets, the predecessor of today’s kitchen cabinets.

Further down the trail was the Bonneyville Mill Park, complete with a working grain mill.

Krider Garden in Middlebury, had been relocated from the 1939 Chicago Worlds Fair and waspreserved even after the Krider nursery closed. (Our tour of the gardens was cut short by a sudden downpour.)

In Wakarusa, we had to stop at the dime store to sample some of their oversized Wakarusa jelly beans.

And at the Shipshewanna Flea Market, we wandered the aisles of vendors, making a few small purchases, which included a fried pie and a soft pretzel. This is Amish/Mennonite country after all.

But this is also RV Country, and you can’t travel far without realizing it. Jayco, Keystone, Lippert, Thor, Dometic. The names on the buildings are like a catalog from Camping World. Over 80% of RV manufacturers are located in this area. That meant that this is a great place to look for RV parts. And that meant Bontrager’s, located a few miles north in White Pigeon MI. We drove up on a Sunday afternoon, and almost literally got lost among the aisles and aisles of RV accessories and parts – large and small.

So, of course, we also had to take a tour. Jayco was one of the few offering scheduled tours. We were taken through their plant and given an incredible close-up of the assembly process under way. This was not a “behind the glass” tour. We walked through the manufacturing line. They were building Class C motor homes. The Ford chassis’ were backed into place with the extended frame already mounted. Fitting the wheels into a cradle that allowed the vehicle to move sideways, it traveled down the assembly line, being pushed along to each workstation.

This picture is of a model of an assembly line showing the roofs being installed. No pictures were allowed inside Jayco.

The fixtures and wiring were attached to the underside of the floor and then it was flipped rightside up to be placed on the chassis. The linoleum laid down. The interior fixtures put in place. Then the walls were attached. The roof, the front cab. The appliances, steps. Finishing touches. Quality inspections. It was a blur of activity. This one line produced 21 units each day. But the entire company produces over 200 a day. And this is just one company of many.

On Wednesday, we took a tour at Keystone of the Cougar Fifth Wheel plant. As the only 2 on the tour, we had an up close and personal view of this plant as well. With production closed for the day, we were allowed to get close to the units in progress. We could see what was behind the panels and under the floor of our unit, and ask questions that we had about our unit. For example, how to work the dimmer switch. (You laugh.) Apparently, we weren’t the only ones who couldn’t figure it out. You just have to press once to turn the lights on and then press and hold for the lights to dim and then brighten again. Who knew? It’s like solving a puzzle. It was very interesting. Of course, we had another reason for visiting Keystone, but more about that later.

We never expected to have company while we were here, but got surprised by a note from Donna Burkett that she and Loren would be passing through. We met them the next day at the RV, as they made their way home from PA. It was so good to see them, and we made a pitch for a winter trip to Jacksonville to visit the folks at Faith.

Sailboat on Lake Michigan off Indiana Dunes National park

Indiana Dunes National Park
One Saturday, we drove to the shore of Lake Michigan to visit the Indiana Dunes National Park. This area has been a National Park for only a few years, preserving a diversity of ecosystems that was created by its location at the terminus of the huge glaciers that created the great lakes. The moving ice pushed along flora from far north in Canada and deposited it here along with the soil that became the huge dunes in the park.

We started our exploration by taking a hike between 2 homesteads that were preserved in the park – the Bailly Homestead and Chellberg Farm.

Had to come to Indiana to see the "Florida House"

Then we drove to the lakeshore to see the “Century of Progress” homes moved here from the Chicago World’s Fair in 1939. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get access to see the dunes. There was no parking available at any of the access points we tried. Next time, we come on a weekday, preferably one that doesn’t have beach weather.

We stopped in New Buffalo just over the Michigan line for some ice cream as we made our way back to Elkhart. But as we drove through the rural countryside, we started looking for U-pick blueberries. And we found one at Lehman’s Orchards. Since it was nice Saturday, we weren’t the only ones there either. We managed to pick a quart of raspberries and another of blueberries. However, after tasting the blueberries and discovering the price was much less than originally quoted, we were kicking ourselves for not picking more.

New chairs loaded into back of the truck

What about those chairs?
Anyone who asked us why we were going to Indiana got the same answer, “We’re going to pick up chairs.” When the inevitable follow-up question came, a lengthy story followed, which we’ll share with you. When we purchased our new Cougar RV, one of the big selling points was the comfortable theater seats. However, it wasn’t just the fact that they were comfortable and reclined. During last year’s Cabin Work Week, Mary and Angie had sung the praises of their Cougar’s chairs that provided heat and massage after a long day of work. The brochures spread on the table when we entered the RV proudly announced this as a feature of all 2020 Cougar fifth wheels. However, when we had the chance to try them out, we couldn’t find any power and definitely no buttons to turn on heat or massage.

Dave installing new chair

Apparently, our RV was a very early 2020 that had been built before the heat and massage feature was standard. Dave and his contact at Keystone recognized the confusion in messaging, and while we had the chairs the unit was supposed to have, Keystone was willing to make it right. To show our good faith, Dave offered to come pick them up at the Keystone plant in Goshen IN, so their would be no shipping costs.

Dave enjoying the new chair

Working out the details of our pickup with customer service, we determined how we could pick up the boxes containing the new chairs. The Keystone employees helped us load them into the truck, and a fellow camper helped us unload them. Luckily the rain held off, and we were able to unbox them and bring them into the RV. But what about the existing chairs? We managed to sell them within a couple of hours of posting them. The buyer picked them up (traveling 4 hours one way to pick them up) and we spent about an hour installing the new chairs after he left. We’ve tried out the massage feature, but the heat will have to wait a few months.

Parting Shot

We celebrated Dave’s mom’s 90th birthday on the 16th, but unfortunately we didn’t get a piece of birthday cake. We heard it was very good. Cathy created a video to celebrate.

3 Comments