Archive by Author

2023 Road Trip-Part 14

20 Dec

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 14 – July 28:

After Breakfast this morning, I headed south on US-65 for about ½-hour to visit the Lost Valley Fish Hatchery located just north of Warsaw, MO.  This fish hatchery is part of a huge 969-acre state conservation project where a large variety of warm-water fish species are bred and raised to stock fish in the many Missouri rivers and lakes.  It was early, and no one was around to give me a tour of the facility or tell me about how it all worked, so I took this photo and was on my way to the next place of interest on my list for today. 

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

It was about an hour’s drive south on US-65 to where I found the Wommack Mill, also known as the Boegel & Hine Flower Mill, in Fair Grove, MO just north of Springfield.  This original 1883 sawmill was converted into a flower mill in 1926 with the addition of the two concrete storage silos and other structures.  The Fair Grove Historical Society is now in the process of a multi-year restoration of the mill to an operating flower mill using most of the original mill equipment, including the original buhr stones used by the Wommack family.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now I headed south out of Fair Grove on US-65 for about 20 miles to visit the Route 66 Car Museum located in Springfield, MO.  This museum displays an amazing collection of some 75+ beautifully restored vintage cars and trucks dating from as early as 1907 (Reo Runabout).  My favorite was their fire engine red 1936 Cord 810 Sportsman.  They also have a Batmobile used in the 1960s Batman series.  I never get tired of looking at vintage cars and trucks.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

While I was in Springfield, I wanted to visit the Pedalers Bicycle Museum just a few blocks from the car museum, but the traffic was terrible, and I couldn’t find a parking place anywhere around the square.  So, I just headed south, out of Springfield on US-65 about 45 miles toward Branson, MO.  I was not particularly interested in most of the famous attractions in Branson but did want to see what they had done for the Titanic attraction.  DiVoran and I had seen the traveling Titanic Artifact Exhibition in Orlando several years ago, and I wanted see Barnson’s version.  I was impressed with the half-ship replica of the Titanic but didn’t want to fight the crowds to see the artifacts again, so I took this photo and went on my way to the next museum.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

After I weaved my way out of the traffic jam around the Titanic attraction, I headed south out of Branson for 30 miles on US-65, across the border into Arkansas, to visit the Boone County Historical Museum in Harrison, AR but it was closed.  Continuing southeast another 40 miles on US-65 I visited the Buffalo River Historic Jail Museum located in Marshall, AR.  This museum is housed in the original old restored 1902 Searcy County Jail and invites visitors to experience the turn-of-the-century jail conditions for themselves with antique jail artifacts, photos, and memorabilia.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now I headed southeast again, for another 30 minutes on US-65, to Clinton, AR where US-65 turned south, and I stopped for a bathroom break.  Then it was another 40 miles south to visit the Faulkner County Courthouse in Conway, AR.  The first courthouse was  built on this site in 1870, in the railroad town, then known as Conway Station, and had the distinction of being the first courthouse in Faulkner County, AR.  The original building was replaced by the present building in 1936 and serves the city of Conway and the surrounding Faulkner County area.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Heading south out of Conway, it was only about a 30-minute drive south on I-40 to visit the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum located in the Riverfront Park area, adjacent to the Arkansas River, in North Littlerock, AR.  I had visited this museum once on another Road Trip, and this museum is usually the home of the USS Razorback (SS-394) Submarine and the USS Hoga (YT-146) Tugboat.  Today I didn’t see either one of these boats tied up to the dock, and assumed that they had been taken somewhere for a  maritime event or for maintenance.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

It was getting late by now, so I gave Greta (My Garmin) the address for the motel there in North Little Rock, and she took me right to it with no trouble.  After I got settled into my motel room, I heated up my leftover BBQ spareribs and sweet potato fries from Bandana’s BBQ Restaurant last night and enjoyed that delicious meal again.  I found a good movie on TV that I had seen before and watched that until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer and went to bed.

Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/man+sleeping+in+front+of+tv

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

Tags: , , , , ,

2023 Road Trip-Part 13 A

13 Dec

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 13 – July 27:  Continued:  

Not to be discouraged there in Kansas City, I tried the National WWII Museum, but it was also closed.  Not having the best day finding museums to visit today, am I?  So, I gave up on the Kansas City museums and headed south for about 30-minutes on I-35 to visit the Belton-Grandview Railroad Museum located in Belton, MO.  This small museum displays antique railroad artifacts and rolling stock dating from the early 1920s, and gives 5-mile (45-minute) weekend excursion rides in their restored 1923 Pullman car thru Old Towne Belton, MO and the surrounding area for passenger enjoyment.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now it was another 20-minutes south on I-35 to Harrisonville, MO where I picked up SR-7 for another 40 minutes southeast to visit the Henry County Museum in Clinton, MO.  This museum is situated in the old restored 1886 Anheuser-Busch building and displays antique artifacts, an original preserved 1856 Dog Trot Log House, a one-room schoolhouse, along with memorabilia related to the history of the city of Clinton and the surrounding Henry County area dating from the early 1800s.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Before leaving Clinton, I drove by the Clinton Railroad Depot and only was able to get a photo, as they were closed.  So, I gave up on museums for the day.  From Clinton I continued east on SR-7 for another 30-minutes to visit my friends Hank and Lois in Lincoln, MO.  Lois is DiVoran’s cousin, and they have kept in touch with each other over the years.  Hank is a big game hunter, and misses the Colorado mountains where they lived for years.  We had a very pleasant visit reminiscing about our many visits to see them and DiVoran’s grandparents in Canon City, CO over the years.  They showed me their garden where I ate a hand-full of some of the most delicious, falling-off-the-vine-ripe blackberries I have ever eaten.  They live not far from nearby Timber Line Lake where Hank spends a lot of his time fishing for Sunfish, Catfish, and Largemouth Bass.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

After that great visit, I said my goodbyes, and gave Greta (My Garmin) the address for my hotel for tonight in Sedalia, MO and we were on our way.  Greta took me to the hotel in Sedalia without any problem, and I got my things into my room.  I was impressed with the beautifully carpeted grand stairway in the lobby of the hotel that reminded me of the foyer of a turn-of-the-century Victorian mansion.   It was called the Truman Inn, and I never did find out why it had that name.  There were pictures of President Harry S. Truman in some of the downstairs rooms (and one on each side of the stairway).  It is my guess that President Truman stayed in this hotel at some point in time, and that the owner of the hotel (at that time) was so impressed with Truman that he named the hotel in honor of the President.  That’s a pretty wild guess on my part.  What do you think?

I asked the desk clerk about good restaurants in town.  He said, “If you like Bar-B-Q, you will like Bandana’s BBQ Restaurant over on Broadway Boulevard.”  So, I gave it a try.  I had their BBQ Spareribs plate with coleslaw and sweet potato fries.  It was a wonderful meal.  Yummmm!  There was enough left over for another meal tomorrow.  So, with a full tummy I went back to the hotel and looked for something to watch on TV.  Of course, I couldn’t find anything I liked, so I recorded the day’s activities, and went to bed.

Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/spareribs+sweet+potatoe+fries+coleslaw+Bandana’s+BBQ+Restaurant+sedalia+mo/

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

Tags: , , , ,

2023 Road Trip-Part 13

6 Dec

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 13 – July 27:

  After Breakfast this morning, as I was heading for the interstate, this unusual scene of an airplane caught my eye, and I had to stop to see what it was all about.  This CRAZY scene was at the Pizza Shack Restaurant there in Lamoni, and I just had to have a photo of it.  I’m not sure what this scene is supposed to reflect, as the Pizza Shack wasn’t open yet, and I couldn’t ask about it, but I would guess it has something to do with survivors of a plane crash.  What a Hoot!

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now I continued south about an hour on I-35, crossed the border into Missouri, to visit the Crossroads Quilting Museum in Cameron, MO.  However, I had plans to visit friends in Lincoln, MO this evening, so, I only stopped in Cameron for a bathroom break, passed up the Quilting Museum, and continued another 40 minutes south on I-35 to visit the Jesse James Birthplace & Museum located in Kearney, MO.  This museum is located on the 40-acre James farm where Jesse and his family lived in their original 1845 log cabin.  The museum chronicles the history of the James family with original family artifacts, miniature dioramas, and a 20-minute film depicting the life and times of outlaws Frank and Jesse James.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

A short walk, up the hill from the museum, I toured the original 1845 restored James home where decades of visitors have been allowed to walk thru the rooms of the house, guided by members of the James family, beginning as early as 1882, when Zerelda James (Jesse’s Mother) first opened her house to visitors for 50 cents per person.  Just a few yards from the James house is the original grave site of Jesse James (1847-1882).

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

It took me a while to get back to I-35, and then another 15-minute drive to where I had planned to visit the Historic Liberty Jail Museum located in Liberty, MO.  I was surprised to find a large modern building at the address Greta (My Garmin) took me to.  Inside, I was informed that a church organization had bought the property and built a church on top of the Liberty Jail.  That was hard for me to understand, but it seems to be another case of one generation building on top of another.  I didn’t take the tour, as I would have had to wait for a group to arrive.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

From Liberty, it was only a short 15-minute drive to visit the Arabia Steamboat Museum located on Grand Boulevard, adjacent to the Missouri River, in Kansas City, MO.  This large museum is filled with one of the largest collections of Civil War era artifacts recovered from the remains of the steamboat Aribia that sank in 1856 on its way to Kansas City with over 200 tons of cargo on board (the Arabia was one of 400 steamboats to sink on the 2500-mile-long segment of the Missouri River between the 1820s and the 1870s).   The museum was overflowing with visitors today, and because of my time crunch, I decided to see this great attraction on another road trip.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Before leaving downtown Kansas City, I stopped at the WWI Memorial for a photo.  This is another museum I will have to visit on another road trip, as it was very busy with visitors today.  I passed up the Clendening Medicine Museum and the Boot Hill Museum (that I had visited on other road trips) so I could visit the TWA Museum and the Airline History Museum, both located adjacent to the Charles B. Willard Downtown Airport.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

I had tried to visit these two museums on a previous road trip, but they were both closed on the day I arrived.  So, I was really looking forward to visiting them on this trip.  Today there happened to be a lot of road construction all around the Charles B. Willard Downtown Airport and neither Greta (My Garmin) nor I could ever access the TWA Museum.  So, I gave up and we tried to find the Airline History Museum there in the same general area.  After a confused back and forth around the airport construction, I finally arrived at the Airline History Museum, only to find it permanently closed.  Bummer!

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

2023 Road Trip-Part 12

29 Nov

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 12 – July 26: 

 After Breakfast this morning, I headed east, out of Fort Dodge, on US-20 for about 35 miles, thru Webster City to visit the Hemken Auto Collection Museum located in Williams, IA.  I met the owner of the building out front, and she told me the museum had been closed and all the autos in the collection auctioned off two years ago.  She said several people, like me, had showed up to visit the museum, and that she had tried several times to remove the museum’s website from the internet, but with no luck. This is not the first time I have arrived at a museum’s location, only to find it permanently closed.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

After that disappointment, I headed south for about 30 minutes to visit the Farmhouse Museum located in the middle of the Iowa State University campus in Ames, IA.  According to their website, this small farmhouse was built in 1860, restored in 1976, and moved to its present location as a museum.  You would think this museum would be easy to find, but Greta (My Garmin) brought me to this building, which didn’t look anything like an 1860s farmhouse. I re-entered the website address, but she brought me right back to this building.  Okey, maybe next time I’m in the area we can find it.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

From Ames, I headed south 1-½ hours on I-35, skirting Des Moines, IA (I had visited the Des Moines museums on another road trip) to visit the John Wayne Birthplace & Museum located in Winterset, IA.  Being a John Wayne (The Duke) fan from an early age, it was worth the stop.  This museum follows the life and career of John Wayne (born in the small town of Winterset) with antique cowboy artifacts, life-size sculptures, memorabilia, and of course, a movie theater where you can watch one of Wayne’s 169 movies, while sitting comfortably in seats from the famous Hollywood Grauman’s Chinese Theater.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Photo Credit:Bill Lites

After that delightful trip down memory lane (being raised in my younger years in the southwest ‘Cowboy’ state of New Mexico), I turned east for about 25 minutes on SR-92 to visit the National Balloon Museum located in Indianola, IA.  This amazing museum displays all types of hot-air balloon artifacts and memorabilia related to the history of manned ballooning from its inception by the French balloonists Joseph-Michel & his brother Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier in 1783.  As an R/C model airplane flyer, I was fascinated to learn that there was such a thing as R/C model hot-air balloons, using propane to inflate the gas bags.  I am going to have to find a hot-air balloon club in my area and see how that works.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Leaving the Balloon Museum, I headed south on I-35 for 30 minutes to check out the Osceola Railroad Depot located in Osceola, IA but it was closed.  Before leaving Osceola, I stopped to visit the J.V. Banta House Museum.  This Queen Anne style house was built in 1902 for J.V. Banta and his wife Lillie, whose family lived in the house until 1983.  The house is now furnished with original early 1900s furnishings and allows the visitor to experience turn-of-the-century privileged living conditions.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now it was another 35 miles south on I-35 where I planned to visit the Lamoni Colosseum located in Lamoni, IA but it was closed.  However, the Amish Country Store there in Lamoni was open, and on the outside, looked like it could be a museum.  Inside, this huge store was filled with a large varity of hand-made Amish clothes, crafts, antique buggies, and farm equipment, that made me feel like I was in a time capsule.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Since I needed gas, I stopped in at one of the local gas stations to fill up and got the surprise.  The pump showed 87-octane Regular gas for $3.59 and 88-octane Premium gas for $3.44.  Go figure?  I didn’t ask any questions, I just filled my van’s tank with Premium, and saved 15 cents/gallon.  As I was filling my tank I saw a crop duster airplane, in the distance, spraying a field.  Then on my way to the motel, there in Lamoni, I passed a sign for the local airport, and drove out to see if the plane was there.  I found the lady pilot washing down her Embraer EMB 202 (I think that’s what she told me it was) and I asked her about her plane and how she liked her crop-dusting job.  She was very nice and willing to tell me all about her airplane and her job.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

At the motel I checked in, got my things in my room, and heated up my leftover Lasagna from last night, and enjoyed that meal again.  No TV worth watching tonight, so after recording the day’s activities, it was off to bed for me.

Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;mineral+city+restaurant+fort+dodge+iowa

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

Tags: , , , ,

2023 Road Trip-Part 11

22 Nov

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 11 – July 25:  

After Breakfast this morning, I headed south for 30 minutes on SR-29 where I had planned to visit the Historic Chippewa Village located in Montevideo, MN.  I pulled up in front of what I thought was the entrance to the Historic Chippewa Village, but I soon discovered it was the entrance to the Artigas Plaza there in downtown Montevideo.  I’m not sure why Greeta (My Garmin) took me to this address, but I was disappointed to miss that interesting re-creation of a late 1800s rural Minnesota community.  

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Of course, it was early, and this small town of Montevideo was not awake yet, and the streets were empty.  I drove around looking for the Historic Chippewa Village, but for some reason, neither Greta nor I could ever find it.  So, I headed just a few blocks down Main Street and stopped to see if the Montevideo Railroad Depot Museum was open.  Nope, it was not open yet.  I gave up on this town’s museums and gave Greta the address of the next museum on today’s list.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now it was only 15 miles southeast on US-59 where I visited the Fagan 

Fighters WWII Museum located adjacent to the Granite Falls Municipal Airport in Granite Falls, MN.  This museum is situated on several acres and includes three large hangers filled with 13+ beautifully restored WWII aircraft that all fly.  The museum also displays realistic WWII scenes of German & Japanese prison camps along with a flight Ready Room and Control Tower.  Rides “Into the Wild Blue Yonder” in several of their historic WWII aircraft can be purchased.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

After that great trip into aviation history’s past, I headed southeast another 50-minutes on SR-57/19, passing thru Redwood Falls to visit the Lower Sioux Agency located in Morton, MN and see what it was all about, but they were closed.  I got back to US-71 and headed south an hour or so, across the border into Iowa, to visit what I thought was the Okoboji Classic Car Museum located in Milford, IA.  This turned out to be a 65,000 sq. ft. display of some 70+_beautifully restored classic cars and trucks (most for sale) dating from a 1902 Nash.  A walk thru the display area (I would call it a museum) included a life-size diorama of a 1950s Main Street, a huge Arnolds Park scene mural, and several other large unique murals.  I especially liked their 1901 Fleming Motorcycle and their 1902 Nash Runabout.  If you check out the video on the internet, it will show you what words can’t describe.  I don’t believe I have ever seen a more impressive “Car Museum” in all my travels.  It was simply amazing!

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

After that amazing visit, it was only about 15 miles south on US-71 to check out the Parker Museum in Spenser, IA.  This museum is situated in the 1916 house that was first inhabited by Roy Webb and his family.  The museum displays artifacts and memorabilia of the lifestyle of rural Iowa at the turn of the century.  The James E. Parker family owned and lived in the house from 1928 to 1969, and most of the period furnishings in the museum today date from the early 1900s and were donated by surviving members of the Parker family.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Heading east out of Spencer on US-18, it took almost an hour to get to the Camp Algona POW Museum located in Algona, IA but they were closed.  As I was leaving town, I saw an interesting-looking building and stopped to take a photo of it.  I am always looking for unusual looking structures, and this one turned out to be the Methodist-Episcopal Church there in Algona.  I had never heard of that branch of the Methodist Church, so I Googled it and discovered that the building was built in 1885 and was known as the Methodist-Episcopal Church of Algona.  It is now known as the First United Methodist Church of Algona.   Well, I learn something new every day on these road trips.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

It was another 45-minutes south on US-169 to visit The Fort Museum & Frontier Village located just across the Des Moines River from Fort Dodge, IA.  The museum and fort are a replica of the Fort Dodge (originally Fort Clarke) military outpost built in 1850, and displays an authentic log cabin and 12 other mid-1850s structures to describe to visitors the history of how the pioneers to this area lived, worked, and traded with the early Indian tribes in this western part of (what was then known as) the Wisconsin Territory.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

By now I was ready to call it a day, and gave Greta (My Garmin) the address for this evening’s motel, there in Fort Dodge, and she took me right to it.  After I got my things into my room, I asked the desk clerk for good places to eat close by, and he recommended the Mineral City Restaurant.  I ordered their home-made Lasagna, and it was delicious.  After that wonderful meal, I took my leftovers back to the motel, and recorded my activities for the day.  No TV, just a good night’s rest.

Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;mineral+city+restaurant+fort+dodge+iowa

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

Tags: , ,

2023 Road Trip-Part 10

15 Nov

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 10 – July 24:

After Breakfast this morning, when I tried to flush the toilet, in my “Hotel” room, the handle wouldn’t move.  I had to remove the lid from the tank and lift the float bar to activate the flush.  I told the desk clerk about the problem, and that the bedside lamp (bulb) fixture was laying loose in the socket (wires exposed) but he didn’t seem to be concerned about either problem.  Boy, was I ever glad to get out of that “Hotel.”  I headed south out of Winnipeg for a couple of hours, mostly thru featureless Canadian countryside on Canada #75.  At Emerson, I crossed the border into North Dakota, USA. Customs at this border crossing was a breeze, thank goodness.

Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/Border+crossing/Welcome+to+the+USA

It was another 1-1/2 hours south on I-29 to my first stop this morning, which was to be the Grand Forks Historical Museum located in Grand Forks, ND but they were closed.  After a potty break, I didn’t even stop to consider checking out the River City Speedway, there in Grand Forks, as I was sure there was nothing going on there this early on a Monday morning.  It was another hour south on I-29 to where I visited the Fargo Air Museum located adjacent to the Hector International Airport in Fargo, ND.  This large one-hanger museum displays 12+ (mostly) flyable aircraft, including their beautifully restored C-47 Skytrain “Duggy” along with other WWII artifacts and memorabilia.  I was impressed with their ½ -scale flying model of a German FW-190A Shrike.  I would loved to have seen it fly.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

From Fargo, it only took Greta (My Garmin) ½ -hour to find the World’s Largest Catfish (Wahpeton’s Wahpper) located in the local Kidder Recreation Area Park in Wahpeton, ND.   At 52-feet long and weighing in at 5000 lbs. I’d have to say that is “The Largest Catfish I’ve ever seen!”  Since I didn’t have time to stop and go fishing, there in the Red River that was close, I just took this photo (I wanted someone to be in the photo for prospective, but there was nobody handy) and was on my way, crossing the Red River, to find my next museum.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now, I crossed the border into Minnesota, and headed southeast for another hour on SR-9 to visit the Stevens County Historical Museum located in Morris, MN.  This small museum is situated in the original 1905 Carnegie Library building and displays artifacts and memorabilia describing the early history of the city of Morris and the surrounding Stevens County, dating from the early 1900s.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Continuing southeast another ½-hour on SR-9, I tried to visit the Swift County History Museum located in Benson, MN but they were closed.  

It was getting late in the day, and I was ‘Road Weary,’ so I gave Greta (My Garmin) the address of the motel for this evening, and we headed off to find it.  It took us a while, but we finally found the motel over in Ortonville, MN.  After I got settled in my room at the motel, I warmed up my leftover Fish & Onion Rings from Smitty’s and enjoyed that wonderful meal again.  The meal didn’t look quite as good tonight as it did last night at Smitty’s, but believe me, it was delicious.  Once I was finished with dinner, I looked for something of interest on the TV, but wasn’t able to find anything that would keep me awake.  So, I recorded my day’s activities and went to bed.

https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/Fish+Onion+Rings+Smitty’s+Restaurant+&+Lounge+Winnipeg

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

Tags: , , , ,

2023 Road Trip-Part 9

1 Nov

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 9 – July 23:

Remember Doug, who visited the Valiant Air Command Museum earlier this year, and told me to contact him when I arrived in Winnipeg for a tour of the city?  Well, he never returned my calls when I called him to let him know I was in Winnipeg.  So, I headed out after breakfast this morning, to visit the museums I had planned to visit on my own.  It was Sunday, and I wasn’t sure how many museums would be open, but I had to try.  My first stop was the Royal Canadian Mint, with its very unique building design, but they were closed.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

As I was heading for the next museum, I saw the GWWD Railway Station and stopped to take a photo.  At the time, I had no idea what GWWD stood for, but the word “Railway Station” on the end of the building let me know it had something to do with trains.  Later, I Googled it and found out it was the Greater Winnipeg Water District railway station that was built in 1935 as part of the freshwater aqueduct system to supply fresh water to the surrounding cities of Winnipeg and St.  Boniface

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

My next stop was to visit the St. Boniface Cathedral, located adjacent to the Verendrye Park in the St. Boniface area.  The original log chapel on this site was built by the Rev. Norbert Provencher in 1818 and served the St. Boniface community until 1832 when a larger building (cathedral) replaced it.  A fire destroyed that cathedral in 1860 and a second cathedral was built in 1868.  That cathedral was expanded in 1906, but another fire in 1968 destroyed most of that structure.  In 1972 a new cathedral was built behind the facade of the much larger and more beautiful 1906 cathedral, leaving what we see in the photo below.  You can just barely see the top of the 1972 cathedral roof at the bottom of the opening of the 1906 cathedral front window opening (once the beautiful stained-glass window of the 1906 cathedral).

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Just a few miles away I tried to visit the Electrical Museum, but it was closed.  Now I headed for the Canadian Aviation Museum (one of the main destinations for this road trip) located adjacent to the Winnipeg International Airport.  This museum’s new facility has only been open since 2021 and displays 30+ beautifully restored static (mostly early Canadian) aircraft, including a full-size Vickers VC2 Viscount.  Most of the museum’s aircraft date from the early 1900s to the 1980s.  The majority of these airplanes were used by bush pilots during the ever-expanding development of the Ontario/Manitoba wilderness.  The museum also has several WWII era aircraft that have been restored to flying condition and are parked on the tarmac outside the museum.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

As I was heading for the next museum, I passed the Manitoba Legislative Building and stopped to take a photo of that impressive structure (I am always on the lookout for any unusual or impressive building structures to photograph).  It was closed today, so I just continued on my way to visit the Manitoba Museum, which was crowded with weekend visitors today.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

The Manitoba Museum is an impressive multi-level, multi-purpose museum that chronicles the history of man and his surrounding natural habitat, in the Manitoba region, dating from the early ice age to the present.  The museum also has a planetarium and a science gallery with hands-on interactive learning stations that all ages can enjoy.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

——To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

Tags: , , , , , , ,

2023 Road Trip-Part 8A

25 Oct

A Slice of Lites

Bill Lites

Day 8 – July 22: Continued: 

 For my first stop after crossing the border and arriving in Ontario, Canada I had planned to visit the Fort Frances Museum located just a few blocks from the border in Fort Frances, but it was closed today.  So, I didn’t waste any time, heading northwest a couple of hours on Canada #71 to try to make up some of the time I lost at the border crossing.  I stopped in Nestor Falls long enough to take a photo of the float plane base.  I would have loved to have been able to just climb aboard one of those planes and fly to Winnipeg, to save all that driving time ahead of me.  Dream on Bill.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

At Kenora I turned west onto the Transcontinental Canadian Highway (MB-1W) and drove for hours thru mostly flat open uninhabited plains toward Winnipeg.  It wasn’t long before I began to worry about having enough gas to make it to the next gas station.  I had never seen the gas gage get this low since I’d bought the car, and I didn’t know how many miles I could go after the “Low Fuel” Warning Light came on.  I prayed for a gas station, and thank the Lord, I found a gas station before I had to start walking ($4.58/gal).  I don’t think I could have made it the next 40 or 50 miles to Winnipeg without that stop.

Image Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images:empty-fuel-tank-gauge

It was getting late by the time I arrived at the house in Winnipeg where I had reserved a room for the two nights I planned to be there.  I knocked on the front door, but no one answered.   I knocked louder but no one answered.  I walked around to the back door and knocked loud, but no one answered.  I called the number I had on my “Confirmed” reservation and was told by the operator that the number had been disconnected.  I called the travel group I had reserved the room with  and told them my situation.  They tried to call the number and got the same results.  They logged a “Trouble Ticket” and put me in contact with their reservations desk.  When I tried to make a reservation with my normal hotel chain, I was told there were no rooms available with any of their 12-group hotels in town.  How could that be?  He said a big conference was going on in town, and all the major hotels were full.

Image Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images:frustrated+man

He checked his records and said the New Lodge Hotel had a room for the two nights.  So, sight-unseen, I reserved the room and was given the address.   I didn’t like the general look of the area when Greta (my Garmin) told me I had arrived at my destination.  The 7-11 type store a hundred yards from the hotel looked run-down and was surrounded with all types of run-down looking people.  The lobby of the hotel was gloomy and smelled of cigarette smoke.  I checked in, got my things, and rode the elevator (littered with empty coffee cups and soda cans) to the third floor.  When the elevator doors opened, I was hit by a very strong cigarette smell.  Walking down the poorly lit hallway, I found my room and, as I looked around at the sparseness of the room, I was wondering just what I had gotten myself into.

Image Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;dingley+hotel+room

I was surprised that the (no-smoking) room really didn’t reek of the cigarette smoke I had expected.  I went back down to the lobby and ask the desk clerk about restaurants in the area, and he said, “There’s a KFC across the street.”  Well, that wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but it was late and that would have to do tonight.  I had their 3-piece chicken dinner ($10.96) with mashed potatoes and gravy and cold slaw.  With a full tummy, I headed back to the hotel, and my room, for what turned out to be a restless night’s sleep (lots of hollering and banging of doors until way into the night).

Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/KFC+3-piece+chicken+dinner+with+mashed+potatoels+gravy+and+coleslaw

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

Tags: , , , ,

2023 Road Trip-Part 8

18 Oct

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 8 – July 22:

This morning after breakfast, I headed back across the John A. Blatnik Bridge into Superior, WI to visit the Richard I. Bong Museum which was one of the main reasons for this trip.  Richard Bong was the highest scoring U.S. Army Air Force fighter pilot in the Pacific Theater during WWII.  I had followed his exploits and wanted to visit his museum for years.  This small museum is filled with artifacts and memorabilia following the history of Bong and his fellow fighter pilots as they fought the mighty Japanese war machine in the pacific.  Their beautifully restored P-38, representing Bong’s personal airplane, is the centerpiece of the museum.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Before leaving Superior, I wanted to visit The Old Firehouse & Police Museum situated in the old 1898 restored Fire Hall #1, which had used five horse-drawn fire fighting rigs, and I’m sure would have had a lot of beautifully restored antique fire fighting artifacts and memorabilia, but it didn’t open until noon today.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

A few blocks from the Old Firehouse Museum, I tried to visit the World of Accordions, but they didn’t open until 3:00 today, so, I gave up on the museums there in Superior and headed north, back across the John A. Blatnik Bridge, into Duluth to visit the Historic Union Depot.  This huge structure, built in 1898, is actually the second railroad station to be built on the site, replacing the 1st old 1869 wooden depot.  The building (known as the St. Louis County Depot) now houses the Superior Railroad Museum, the Duluth Art Institute, and the St. Louis County Historical Society Museum, as well as being the departure point for the North Shore Scenic Railroad 1-hour & 6-hour train rides along the Lake Superior shoreline.  The station provided railroad passenger service to and from the Duluth and Superior areas until passenger service was terminated in 1985.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Heading northwest out of Duluth on US-53, I drove for hours thru the beautiful Superior National Forest, stopping in Virginia, MN and Gheen, MN (we have good friends named Gheen) for potty breaks and to rest my bottom, before finally arriving at the Koochiching County Historical Museum located in International Falls, MN.  This 2-gallery museum displays exhibits and artifacts covering the 10,000 years of local native American history and culture, the early fur traders, and settlers to the area, which includes the development of the lumber and natural resources industries.  The second gallery is devoted to the life and career of the 1930s football legend & Football Hall of Fame inductee, Bronko Nagurski who was born and raised in International Falls.

Photo Credit: https://www.exploreminnesota.com/profile/koochiching-county-historical-society-museums/

I was a little apprehensive about crossing the border into Canada, as the van I had purchased in Wisconsin only had a “Temporary Tag” and I wasn’t sure how that would play with the Border Officials.  However, the temporary tag was not the problem at the border crossing.  There was construction going on at the crossing lanes and only two of the four lanes were open to cars.  It took me 1-½ hours to crawl along the approximately ¼-mile line of cars waiting to cross.  What a MESS and big waste of time that was!   Once it was my turn to show my Passport and temporary Wisconsin Auto Registration, my papers were checked, and I was passed right on with no problems.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

Tags: , , , , , , ,

2023 Road Trip-Part 7

11 Oct

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 7 – July 21: This morning after an early breakfast, I headed north in my rented pickup truck, for 6 miles to meet Glenn at the Chrysler Dealership in Wausau, WI.  I wanted to see what kind of used vans he had available.  Glenn met me at the door and already had a red 2013 Chrysler Town & Country van out front for me to inspect.  We took it for a test drive, and I was satisfied that this van would suit my needs.  We settled in his office to do the necessary paperwork and he told me they had just recently received the van in a trade and had processed it thru their service shop with everything for resale, except it had not yet been detailed.  Since that would usually take about two days (for the carpets to dry) he would take $600 off the price for that not being done.  I was okay with that!

Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/chrysler+town+%26+countryntry+touring

I told Glenn that Clayton (the mechanic) had told me he might be interested in buying my 2006 Dodge van if I decided to sell it.  I told him I wanted to add that money as a down payment on the 2013 van.    I called Clayton and we struck a deal for him to buy my van.  Then I said, “Okay Clayton, now you have my van, and you have the money for my van, how do I get the money to Glenn for my down payment? “  He said, “Let me talk to Glenn.”  He told Glenn, “I’m out hunting this weekend, but you know I’m good for it (friends for 25 years), I’ll bring the money to your office Monday morning.”  Well, Glenn was okay with that (I was amazed!) and he said, “Well that settles that, you are good to go.  All we need to do now is run this by the financial office.”  

image Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/auto+sale+with+dealer

That done, Glenn said, “The final paperwork will take a while to put together, so why don’t you return your rental truck and then we’ll drive this van up to Clayton’s shop and I’ll help you transfer everything from your 2006 van to this 2013 van so you will be ready to continue your road trip as soon as possible.”  That worked for me.  He followed me the 8 miles to the Mosinee Airport, where I returned the pickup truck to the National Car Rental office.  When the agent handed me the receipt, he said, “I don’t understand this, but you only owe $2.53 for your rental.”  I was shocked!  And I said, “How can that be?”  He said, “I don’t know, but that is what it says here on your receipt.”  I told him I wanted a paper receipt showing the balance of the $750 I had paid for the week’s truck rental had been credited back to my credit card account.  He did that, and I was happy with that.  All I could say was, “Thank you Lord, for the miracles you work in our lives every day!”

Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/national-car-rental

We drove the van over to Clayton’s Auto Repair shop there in Mosinee, and the transfer of my things, that would have taken me 2-3 hours, only took about 30 minutes with Glenn’s help.  That was a huge thing for him to do for me!  That done, I left my key and vehicle registration to the 2006 van in Clayton’s drop box with a note promising to send the van title to him as soon as I returned to Florida.  Another example of small-town trust on Clayton’s part.  By the time we got back to the dealership in Wausau, all the paperwork was ready for my signature.  That didn’t take long.  I thanked everyone for helping me through one of the most intense 24-hours I could remember.  I said my goodbyes and was on my way north on I-39 in new wheels by 1:00 pm.

Image Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/leaving+in+car+on+trip

In order to arrive at this evening’s destination without losing my room reservation, I had to pass up the Chippewa Falls Museum, the Thorp Telephone Museum, the Wisconsin Logging Museum, and the Wisconsin Canoe Museum.  I’ll just have to visit them on another one of my road trips.  It was late by the time I arrived in Superior, WI and all the museums were closed.  I drove across the John A. Blatnik Bridge into Duluth, MN and Greta (my Garmin) took me to the motel there.  After I checked into the motel, I asked the desk clerk for a good place to eat, and he said he liked the Buffalo House Restaurant not far from the motel.  I found it and had their Seafood Enchiladas plate (Never had that dish before) and they were wonderful.  After that delicious meal, it was back to the motel, and right to bed for me.  As you might imagine, I was a tired puppy and the bed felt great.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

Tags: , , , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →