There were still sites to see other than Fly-In’s and airplanes this Saturday. Here are a few other pictures of the sites in between airports.
Interesting Lawn Art (Between Dowagiac & Niles, MI)
Dowagiac River Dam was scheduled to be removed 2018. But obviously NOT yet!
Downstream of the dam makes a great fishing spot for fishing or snagging. Typical fish in these waters include Steelhead, Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, brown trout, white suckers, and walleye. Even today there were several guys fly-fishing downstream.
This is the Berrien Springs bridge on old US 31 crossing the St. Joseph river. Up stream to the right is the Berrien Springs Hydroelectric Dam
The St. Joseph River, Berrien Springs side, looking across to Pardee Island.
Old dump site- as the storm waters flow past they uncover “possible” hidden treasures.
Glass and ceramic shards abound.
Even now the occasion intact cork sealed medicine bottle can be found laying around.
By the way, Its not often you drive around a small town and find an Army Tank as a lawn ornament.
This afternoon was bright and sunny day and well suited for a Walk About. This area was in Benton Harbor between the old ship canal, down an around the new pedestrian bridge, the turning basin by the Inn at Harbor shores and along N Riverview & Whitwam Dr, and Graham Ave. This area is not yet developed and parts along the river are a bit swampy. Lots of natural vegetation, insects, bugs and birds to keep one occupied. Hope you enjoy the solitude and scenery as much as I do.
Close up of bee’s working late
Working the last flowers of the season.
Fall migration of the butterflys.
Light colored butterfly’s in the bushes.
Sailing Program by the St. Joseph Junior Foundation (SJJF) based on the US Sailing training system. They have Youth , Adult, Intro to Keel Boats, and Monday Night Fun Races.
If it’s to rough to go on the big lake the St. Joseph river and turning basin are great spots to learn to sail.
This is in front of the Inn of Harbor Shores on the shore of the turning basin.
The rails always spark the wanderlust in me. Robert Louis Stevenson in Travels with a Donkey said, “I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.”
Trail Head Sing on Graham Ave.
Path way from the pedestrian bridge in Benton Harbor to the Harbor Shore Inn ship basin.
Looking inside at what’s really there.
Vegetation and Swamp Area
Fall Flower
Nope! I have no idea what this plant is! Do you?
Another interesting plant
Thistle Plant
Pedestrian bridge over the Paw Paw River.: Its 12-foot wide, 210-foot long span links the Harbor Village neighborhood and the existing public pathways to the opposite side of the river and establishes a path along the former Benton Harbor Ship Canal.
Spider Web: Many spiders build webs specifically to catch insects to eat. However, not all spiders catch their prey in webs, and some do not build webs at all. Spiders produce silk from their spinneret glands located at the tip of their abdomen. Each gland produces a thread for a special purpose – for example a trailed safety line, sticky silk for trapping prey or fine silk for wrapping it. Spiders use different gland types to produce different silks, and some spiders are capable of producing up to eight different silks during their lifetime.
Today was the Wolf’s Marine Open House and Annual Marine Flea Market which I always like to go to. But with that said, I am cautioned to seldom carry more than $20 cash with me because the desire to buy “stuff” at the Flea Market is over whelming. It seems like there is always something there you really need. And yes, I was weak!
I saw a reported functional Hummingbird 1159 without cables or transducer and a hummingbird coupling devise for just the exact amount in my pocket and I bought them.
Now several months ago I had given away my older but functional Humminbird 997 with transducer and tow fish away. It was set up to be portable and could be setup easily and used on anyone’s boat when going out to search for wrecks.
It had been a couple of years since it was getting any serious use as I was not actively using it and have never even owned a boat. But there is a dive buddy, Big John, who is years my junior, dives a lot, has several boats, and uses them. Bottom line is Big John will use the darn thing to search for wrecks.
Sorry, I digress! Back to my story.
The Humminbird was such a sweet deal I had to have it. Not even after I had it hidden in my car trunk, I mean put it away in a safe place for transport, I did not have buyers remorse! Honest!
Now having said all of that, I knew I was not really going to use it or even play around with it but I did knew someone who would want it, would use it or would experiment with it at least.
So I went over to his place of business and mentioned what I had seen for sale at the Flea Market and its remarkable low price. He said he had seen it already and was going over later to make an offer on it. I casually mentioned that I watched it being sold a little while before. He was more than a bit bummed out when I told him what the guy bought it for.
He was beside himself for losing the opportunity to have bought it himself. I let him rant for a few minutes and then casually mentioned that it was me that bought it and would he like to see the booty.
Bottom line is I sold it to him for what it cost me. I knew he would have bought it earlier had he even suspected anyone else would have picked it up. He will work with it and make it work and even if it is not like new, the parts and pieces are worth the $20 anyhow. It’s a win- win for everyone😊
Wolf’s Marine Dive Shop – EntryLooking from the front door into Wolf’s Dive Shop
Long rows of tables and a little bit of everything marine related.Just a sample of all the neat stuff for sale
Your busy, you have pressing issues, does it really help for you to take a few minutes and stop, even if just momentarily, to look, see and appreciate that which is around you?
Does stopping to see and feel your surrounding calm the restless and bothered soul? Does it mean that you should take a moment and be grateful? To take a moment and relax. Take time for yourself- if even for just for those few moments.
Everyone already knows the expression “stop and smell the roses” is not simply about flowers, but rather about how to fill your life with a deeper appreciation of the world around us. It reminds you to slow down and notice the little things that make life worthwhile. Despite a busy life, it is important to know how to be present in the moment; otherwise those moments will pass you by.
Be present in the moment with the people around you. It’s easier now to multi-task with modern technology, but it often lessens the experience of “being in the moment.” Take the everyday experiences more memorable by sharing them with someone.
By paying more attention to the moment, you experience more about the world around you. Burnout happens because you are constantly reacting to stimuli. When you unconsciously take a moment, it lessens the reactivity of the mind. Those brief moments reshape your thoughts which will often enable you to have a better sense of how to achieve your goals in daily life.
So, take that deep breath and look around you. While there are things that you wish could be better, be grateful for the things that you have, and the beauty of living. You only have one life to live, and it is yours.
Not sure what this is but I found it to be pretty and interesting.
This certainly looks different when get up “real” close 🙂Not sure what these are but worth a look.Pretty PurpleLooks like it has eyes: Who is looking at whom?It may be just a yellow flower, but when was the last time you took time to “really” look at and appreciate the simple life of a flower?
Sept 6 -Today we started our “Walk About” in the air checking out the shore line erosion caused by wave action and bluff erosion cause by rain & wind. Thought these sample photos might give you an appreciation of the issue. Also included a view of the Harbor Shores Jack Nicklaus Golf Course -Benton Harbor, MI and surrounding beach areas.
Cardiac hill climb – If i got down the stairs I would need a helicopter to get back up!A sample of the bluff erosion North of St. Joseph, MI. Shore line pilings and rip/ rap do help minimize shore line erosion, especially of the bluffs. But at a cost!When the bluffs start to go, they go quickly!Summer mostly over. Here we see Jean Klock Beach which boarders the Harbor Shores Jack Nicklaus Golf Course in Benton Harbor, MIThe greens of Harbor Shores–Jack Nicklaus Golf Course -Benton Harbor, MIToday Silver Beach Parking is not at a premium.Just about to enter the downwind approach to runway 28 at Benton Harbor Regional Airport. Below is main street in down town Benton Harbor, MI.
The Hesston Steam Museum is an outdoor museum operated by the Laporte County Historical Steam Society in Hesston Indiana. It started out on 22 acres but has expanded and now occupies 155 acres.
The grounds includes a fully functional steam driven saw mill, the first electrical plant from the courthouse in LaPorte County, IN, a Browning steam powered crane and several older steam locomotives.
Its railroad has four different gauge railroad tracks (7 ½”, 14”, 24” and 36”) for the various sized locomotives along with numerous other pieces of steam powered and vintage farm equipment.
If you think you might enjoy stepping back in time for an afternoon, I encourage you to check out the Hesston Steam Museum. I think you’ll like it!
Trains of ALL sizes67 Ton ShayEngine No. 2Into the woods…Challenger EngineChecking the coal bunkerA little more modern
For the longest time I had been thinking of going to the Hesston Steam Museum in Indiana but never got around to it. Well this labor-day weekend was different in that a friend of mine knew I had never been, called me up and scheduled a day for us to go for a look-see.
Now the Hesston Steam Museum is an outdoor museum operated by the Laporte County Historical Steam Society in Hesston , Indiana. It started out on 22 acres and now occupies 155 acres.
Some of the interesting items to see in working operation includes a steam powered sawmill, the first electric plant powered by steam to provide electric power (60 KW DC current) to the LaPorte County, IN courthouse, a Browning locomotive steam crane, and added several first steam locomotives.
Hesston now has four different gauge railroad tracks beginning with 7 ½” “real small” scale tracks & engines, 14” Miniature Railroad with 1/4 scale locomotives, and a 24” & 36” narrow gauge rails handling full size locomotives like the 1929, 67-ton Shay logging locomotive. As a side note to the trains, their rides are way longer than I would have imagined!! They go through the woods, over bridges, and through fields. It makes you feel like you are on a real train ride!
If this were not enough to go and see, they also have numerous other pieces of steam traction engines, sometimes referred to as a steam tractor, vintage farm equipment and a fully functional rustic blacksmith shop.
Add in Doc’s Soda Fountain, the market building, and concession stands, and you pretty much had everything you could want. And yep, I’ll be going back there again!
Trains of ALL sizes – small, medium and large 🙂 Love the cow catcherA little more modernEvery Body RidesJust the right size for kidsChecking the coal bunkerChallenger EngineModern enginesteaming around the bendInto the woods…Engine No. 267 Ton Shay1940’s Engine from europeJust the right size for budding engineersThis engine is in the barnFlying Dutchman Switch EngineActive switch engineLoved these smaller rail carsHand propelled rail carsWorking Blacksmith ShopMini-trains in the barnKid Train
A pow wow is a social gathering held by many different Native American communities. A modern pow wow is a specific type of event for Native American people to meet and dance, sing, socialize, and honor their cultures.
Pow wows may be private or public. There is generally a dancing competition, with many different types of traditional dances, music and regalia, often with significant prize money awarded. Pow wows vary in length from a one-day event, to major pow wows called for a special occasion which can be up to one weeklong.
You may have missed it but the 33rd Annual Kee-Boon-Mein-Kaa Pow Wow was held over the Labor Day Weekend at the Rodgers Lake Campus in Dowagiac, Michigan.
This event is considered a traditional pow wow. The Band’s long-running Kee-Boon-Mein-Kaa Pow Wow during Labor Day weekend is a contest pow wow, where dancers compete before judges in different categories. A traditional pow wow is a lower-key event focused on bringing the community together.
The 10th Annual Oshke Kno Kewéwen Traditional Pow Wow was also held at the Rodgers Lake Campus on May 25-26.
Oshke-Kno-Kewéwen in the Potawatomi language refers to a new eagle staff, which is much like a national flag. The Pokagon Band veterans constructed two eagle staffs, which hold dozens of eagle feathers, each representing a tribal family. This pow wow honors the staffs and the hundreds of Pokagon veterans and past tribal leaders represented on it.
Part family reunion, part traditional ceremony, the Oshke Kno Kewewen Traditional Pow Wow is a time for native people to celebrate their identity and to visit and share with their friends in the greater community and for traditional drum groups to sing their songs, for tribal dancers to perform their steps, and for craftsmen and women to display their handiwork.
There was no entry fee and it was open to the general public. If you have never been to the “Kee-Boon-Mein-Kaa Pow Wow” put the Labor Day event on your “list of things to do” I think you will find it very enjoyable and educational. Here are a few Faces of the Nations.
I was wandering about getting things done on a typical Saturday when I drove past a sign saying “train rides today” at the old Eden Springs Park. Since I had been meaning to drop by to see what remained of the old park for years, that sign was the trigger that said today was the day to stop. My not having the gift of gab or oratory expertise,I take stock in the old saying that pictures are worth the provable thousand words so I will let them speak for me.
In 1908, the House of David opened Eden Springs that over the years had a zoo, amphitheater, beer garden, hotel, restaurant, bowling alley, and a mile-long miniature railroad that wound its way around the park, through a corridor of trees, and across two train trestles that span the valley where the amphitheater once stood.
It was closed down in the 70s and became an overgrown patch of woods with crumbling buildings, and though there’s not much more to see now, a lot of progress has been made since the train started running again in 2011.
The land was cleared of brush, one of the depots was renovated and painted, and of course the remaining mini steam engines have been fixed up to run on about a quarter mile of restored track.
In the depo there are binders of photographs that show the park in its heydays and provides you a reference of “What it was” as you tour the grounds.
Eden Springs Engine Shop & House
Path to the trainsCabins along the pathEden Springs Park TerminalTrain House – BarnStation House -Train Boarding AreaTicket Booth – $3.00 Train RidesMy “Ticket to Ride”The long iron trailTrain station coming upKids at the parkHodges Hand CartHe raced the train an won (they need a big one for “adults” in my opinion)Never too young to walk the railsView of the park in the long agoPark view todayTerrased wallWooden Walkway- not available to walk across though.On the misc paths – looking toward the terminal and train barn.
And here are a few train pictures not normally available to see!
Engine No.7Engine No. 614Engine No. 444Engine controls for No. 00
It was a very nice day, meaning no rain and lots of sun, for me to travel over to Berrien Springs to see the August Youth Fair sights. Now the reason I even mention rain is that the last time I went to the fair you needed to have wader’s on or at lease calf high mud boots. This trip, not so much. The flip side of not having mud is that parking was a bear and you doubled your daily step quota just going from the REMOTE parking to the fair ground proper.
As usual I like to look at the horses and riders, take quick tour of the animal’s barns, and the commercial buildings then hit the midway to gawk at the people, ride riders and of course food vendors. I think the food requirements are corn dogs, elephant ears, and something to wash them down with.
Too much to talk about so I’ll use pictures since they are supposed to be worth a thousand words anyway. Here is a quick walking tour thru the grounds and a collection of Faces of the Fair. Remember, the Fair is for Kids, young and old 🙂.
Enter the fair Grounds
You have go to have Fair Food!
Horses & Cowgirls- How can you ever go wrong with this combination!
I think we’re having fun!Kids of the Fair!Aren’t you glad you got on this ride 🙂The race is on!I’am having a scream of a good time!Can you spot who is having a grand time AND who isn’t?
Don’t have to be Superman to enjoy the thrill rides!
