Presque Isle, MI
May 17-23, 2014
Saturday was uneventful, although we did run into construction on northbound I-75. Luckily, the traffic wasn't backed up despite it. On the southbound side, however, there was quite a bit of a back up due to construction. I started dreading our trip home.
We pulled up to my cousin's/aunt's house about mid-afternoon, unpacked the car, and then rested and visited a bit before making dinner. My aunt is too frail now to cook, so I did all the cooking for me, my husband Dan, and my aunt the week that we were there. Well, except for one day when we found out my cousin Nancy was making unstuffed cabbage. My aunt loves stuffed cabbage, and unstuffed too. So it was decided that my aunt and Dan would have some of Nancy's unstuffed cabbage for dinner. It wasn't Joyce-friendly, so I still ended up cooking something for myself that evening.
Sunday was a chilly day, though sunny. My aunt no longer attends church, but she does watch the Mass on television. I watched with her, and then my husband and I attended Mass at St. Casimir Catholic Church in Posen.
In the afternoon, we went walking in Thompson's Harbor State Park.
Saturday was uneventful, although we did run into construction on northbound I-75. Luckily, the traffic wasn't backed up despite it. On the southbound side, however, there was quite a bit of a back up due to construction. I started dreading our trip home.
We pulled up to my cousin's/aunt's house about mid-afternoon, unpacked the car, and then rested and visited a bit before making dinner. My aunt is too frail now to cook, so I did all the cooking for me, my husband Dan, and my aunt the week that we were there. Well, except for one day when we found out my cousin Nancy was making unstuffed cabbage. My aunt loves stuffed cabbage, and unstuffed too. So it was decided that my aunt and Dan would have some of Nancy's unstuffed cabbage for dinner. It wasn't Joyce-friendly, so I still ended up cooking something for myself that evening.
Sunday was a chilly day, though sunny. My aunt no longer attends church, but she does watch the Mass on television. I watched with her, and then my husband and I attended Mass at St. Casimir Catholic Church in Posen.
In the afternoon, we went walking in Thompson's Harbor State Park.
My cousin Rick said that everything was a month late up there, since they still had a significant amount of snow on the ground in April. As a result, we didn't see too many wildflowers blooming. These tiny white flowers were all we saw:
We saw quite a bit of tree damage along the trail. We also saw a significant amount of tree damage along the roads headed up north. This was definitely a harsh winter.
An obstacle along the trail.
Judging from the split in the tree trunk, looks like more winter storm damage.
We saw a fair amount of these growing on the trail itself.
I don't know if you can see the numbers in the picture, but when we started out, we decided to do the 1-2-5 triangular loop. We ended up taking a detour to 6: Thompson's Harbor. That's what's in the background behind the sign.
A sign about invasive species, including the sea lamprey, rusty crayfish, and the round goby. Also mentioned are the zebra mussel, quagga mussel, purple loosestrife, ruffe, and water flea.
"Lake Huron is the second-largest Great Lake and is an important component in the Great Lakes shipping industry. But many harmful aquatic nuisance species are surviving the journey from Europe to the Great Lakes in ship ballast water. These introduced species remain a major destructive force to the economy and environment of the Great Lakes and threaten the diversity and abundance of native species."
"Lake Huron has the longest shoreline of any of the Great Lakes, and you are looking at a rare site in Michigan; eight miles of undeveloped shoreline. Thompson's Harbor protects this resource from development and provides a safe haven for migrating waterfowl, as well as unfragmented habitat for the white-tailed deer, red fox, and coyote. The area also may be suitable for the merlin, a small falcon that nests on or near the Great Lakes shoreline."
"Lake Huron is the second-largest Great Lake and is an important component in the Great Lakes shipping industry. But many harmful aquatic nuisance species are surviving the journey from Europe to the Great Lakes in ship ballast water. These introduced species remain a major destructive force to the economy and environment of the Great Lakes and threaten the diversity and abundance of native species."
"Lake Huron has the longest shoreline of any of the Great Lakes, and you are looking at a rare site in Michigan; eight miles of undeveloped shoreline. Thompson's Harbor protects this resource from development and provides a safe haven for migrating waterfowl, as well as unfragmented habitat for the white-tailed deer, red fox, and coyote. The area also may be suitable for the merlin, a small falcon that nests on or near the Great Lakes shoreline."
We decided to sit a while here. It's quite peaceful... listening to the water lap the shore.
Dan reading the sign.
After a brief respite, it's back on the trail.
On Monday, we went to another of our favorite parks: Bay View Park in Alpena.
Looks like the Shipwreck Tour boat. Public tours didn't start until May 25th, so I thought maybe they were out with a school group.
As you can see, the lake was pretty choppy. It was quite a windy and chilly day despite the sunshine.
A favorite walking spot of ours. We passed quite a few people as we were walking along.
Lafarge Cement Company
Back in the park itself. We rarely walk here when we're in town. The path leads to a sidewalk within a neighborhood.
Ducks.
Reaching the end of the trail, we turned around and went back to our car and headed "home".
Tuesday was cloudy, windy, and cold. There was also a chance of rain, so we decided to head into Rogers City to visit a couple of museums. First stop was the Historical Museum. We get there and see a "Closed" sign. "Be back at 1:50 pm" it said. It was now 2:20 pm and it was still closed. Too bad. I was looking forward to seeing the exhibits. Next stop the Great Lakes Lore Maritime Museum. This was open. We were the only visitors there. After paying admission and signing the guest book, we got an introduction from the docent and we were left to look at the exhibits alone. Or so we thought. Every so often the docent would come up behind us and give us a tidbit of info about the exhibit we were looking at. When we got to the Memorial Room, she gave a wonderful presentation about the 4 shipwrecks highlighted (the 4 most recent on the Great Lakes). Normally, I find the subject of shipwrecks boring, but I was quite fascinated while listening to the presentation. Her father died while on the SS Cedarville when it went down in the Straits of Mackinac. All of the people that work there have a personal connection to the shipwrecks on the Great Lakes.
The next day we were treated to a rare sight, at least for us. Normally we're not here to see them since we're usually here later in the year, but orioles pass through Presque Isle this time of year. This time we were privileged to see one. It tried to eat out of my aunt's hummingbird feeder.
The next day we were treated to a rare sight, at least for us. Normally we're not here to see them since we're usually here later in the year, but orioles pass through Presque Isle this time of year. This time we were privileged to see one. It tried to eat out of my aunt's hummingbird feeder.
Later in the afternoon, we decided to go walking in another favorite park of ours. Normally we'd have a picnic first, but it was too cold for that.
This was the view from one of the overlooks
Going back along another trail, I spotted a bird in a tree. Didn't come out too well on camera.
Walking along the prairie, we come upon an obstacle. This one is easier to get around than the tree at Thompson's Harbor State Park.
You probably can't see it, but there is a little bird peeking out of the birdhouse.
On another trail leading back on the other side of the prairie, we spot another little bird, this time on top of the birdhouse.
Reminds me of Socorro, New Mexico. Minus the cacti.
A couple of swans in the lake.
On our way down what we thought was another trail. We were mistaken.
We found the correct path back to where we started.
Now to sit at a nicely secluded spot for a bit of a rest.
We walked the red path, with first detouring down the blue path. Dan's finger is where we found our mistaken path.
Last time we were here, this water tower was being rebuilt.
That evening we were treated to a beautiful sight.
We also had fun watching the hummingbirds.
Occasionally we'd see more than one on the feeder. But more often than not, when one would be eating he (or she) would chase any other hummingbird away, despite the fact that there is enough room for 4 birds to eat.
I couldn't tell if this was fog or mist settling over the lake. Either way, we couldn't see to the other shore. Kind of eerie.
The last day that we were there was another cold and windy day. We decided to go to the Besser Museum in Alpena. We've been here before, so I didn't think to take any new pictures. Most of the exhibits were the same, except for a room in the basement that now houses several wild animal specimens and a hands-on exhibit related to those animals. If you'd like to see some pictures from our previous trip, click here. Interestingly enough what fascinated me most about this trip to the museum was a display of artwork by local school children. Especially the collages. The children were given silhouettes of either a boy's head or a girl's head and then were told to paste in pictures of things they liked. I thought this was a great idea. But instead of just doing one as a child, it would be interesting to do one for every decade of a person's life. Those collages then could be compiled into a book to be passed down from generation to generation so that future generations can learn about the relatives that came before them.
After we were done looking at exhibits inside, Dan decided to check out the fossil park in the back. Next to the fossil park was a display about cement.
After we were done looking at exhibits inside, Dan decided to check out the fossil park in the back. Next to the fossil park was a display about cement.
"How is Cement Made?"
"At Lafarge Alpena Plant quarry, limestone is mined in three levels, known as 'benches'. One bench is 90-feet deep, another is 100-feet deep, and the third and final bench, which comprises the bottom of the quarry, is 175-feet below lake level. The quarry occupies one square mile."
"The process for mining limestone begins by drilling holes deep into the limestone, 85 feet (for the lower bench) to 100 feet deep. Approximately 14 to 25 holes are drilled for each blast. Each hole drilled is filled with about 1,700 to 2,000 pounds of explosives. On average 40,000 pounds of explosives are used per blast."
"After a blast, limestone is loaded into the haul trucks with the loader. It takes approximately 4 scoops to fill the haul truck. A loader can hold the weight of approximately 5 elephants, or 25 tons. The haul trucks bring the limestone to a primary crusher. The gyratory crushes the rock to about an 8-inch diameter."
"A conveyor then brings the limestone to a secondary crusher that further reduces the rock to about a 3-inch diameter. From the secondary crusher, the limestone travels on a 1,000-foot conveyor to the limestone stockpiles. Over 3,000 feet of conveyor is utilized from the primary crusher to limestone storage."
"The mixing of the ingredients begins in the raw grind. In the raw grind process, the limestone is fed to roller presses; then to the raw mill where it is combined with alumina, iron ore tailings, and silica sand. Steel balls in the raw grind mill crush and mix the material into a fine powder."
"The fine-powdered raw mix (the consistency of flour) is then injected into the kiln. The Lafarge Alpena Plant has 5 kilns, 3 that are approximately 460-feet long, and 2 that are approximately 500-feet long. The kilns are fueled by coal, petroleum coke, along with other alternative fuels. The kilns heat the mix to approximately 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit and require 9 inches of brick on the inside to protect the steel shells from heat damage. The chemical reaction in the kiln is called calcination, a process whereby carbon and water are liberated and the remaining constituents combine to form clinker. Clinker is a nodule that is formed in the kiln during the combustion (heating) process and when cooled, can be ground into Portland cement in the finish mill system."
"Clinker is stored in a specialized barn that is about the size of four football fields and can hold 400,000 tons of clinker. In the finish grind, gypsum is added to the clinker and sent to a roller press and then a ball mill. There the clinker is ground into Portland cement, which is then transferred to storage silos and eventually shipped by trucks, rail cars, and vessels (boats)."
"At Lafarge Alpena Plant quarry, limestone is mined in three levels, known as 'benches'. One bench is 90-feet deep, another is 100-feet deep, and the third and final bench, which comprises the bottom of the quarry, is 175-feet below lake level. The quarry occupies one square mile."
"The process for mining limestone begins by drilling holes deep into the limestone, 85 feet (for the lower bench) to 100 feet deep. Approximately 14 to 25 holes are drilled for each blast. Each hole drilled is filled with about 1,700 to 2,000 pounds of explosives. On average 40,000 pounds of explosives are used per blast."
"After a blast, limestone is loaded into the haul trucks with the loader. It takes approximately 4 scoops to fill the haul truck. A loader can hold the weight of approximately 5 elephants, or 25 tons. The haul trucks bring the limestone to a primary crusher. The gyratory crushes the rock to about an 8-inch diameter."
"A conveyor then brings the limestone to a secondary crusher that further reduces the rock to about a 3-inch diameter. From the secondary crusher, the limestone travels on a 1,000-foot conveyor to the limestone stockpiles. Over 3,000 feet of conveyor is utilized from the primary crusher to limestone storage."
"The mixing of the ingredients begins in the raw grind. In the raw grind process, the limestone is fed to roller presses; then to the raw mill where it is combined with alumina, iron ore tailings, and silica sand. Steel balls in the raw grind mill crush and mix the material into a fine powder."
"The fine-powdered raw mix (the consistency of flour) is then injected into the kiln. The Lafarge Alpena Plant has 5 kilns, 3 that are approximately 460-feet long, and 2 that are approximately 500-feet long. The kilns are fueled by coal, petroleum coke, along with other alternative fuels. The kilns heat the mix to approximately 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit and require 9 inches of brick on the inside to protect the steel shells from heat damage. The chemical reaction in the kiln is called calcination, a process whereby carbon and water are liberated and the remaining constituents combine to form clinker. Clinker is a nodule that is formed in the kiln during the combustion (heating) process and when cooled, can be ground into Portland cement in the finish mill system."
"Clinker is stored in a specialized barn that is about the size of four football fields and can hold 400,000 tons of clinker. In the finish grind, gypsum is added to the clinker and sent to a roller press and then a ball mill. There the clinker is ground into Portland cement, which is then transferred to storage silos and eventually shipped by trucks, rail cars, and vessels (boats)."
"Why Cement Matters to You"
"Cement is the principal ingredient in concrete, which is second only to water as the most consumed substance on Earth. If divided evenly across the world, that would amount to one ton of concrete per human, per year. That's almost seven billion tons of concrete!!! From roads to runways, retaining walls to railroad ties, concrete is an indelible part of our lives. Cement is the foundation of western civilization, with its use dating back two millennia to the great Roman baths built about 27 B.C., the Coliseum, and the huge Basilica of Constantine. The Cement industry has fueled the economy of Northeast Michigan for over a century: creating jobs, supporting the local tax base, and providing for important charities such as the Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan. Alpena cement is of superior quality and has been asked for by name for use in several significant projects, including: Trump Tower in Chicago, University of Michigan football stadium in Ann Arbor, Ford Field in Detroit (home of the Lions), Comerica Park in Detroit (home of the Tigers), Detroit Metro Airport runway, Alpena Regional Airport runway."
After we got back home and had a nice dinner we were treated to a show by this hummingbird. Now, usually hummingbirds will chase other hummingbirds away from the feeder when they want to eat, but then not bother when they are satisfied. This hummingbird, however, decided to camp out on top of the shepherd's hook and not let any other hummingbirds eat (or even get close). He would dive bomb any other hummingbirds that would come near. As far as he was concerned, this was HIS feeder and HIS feeder only!! This kept up all evening until it got dark. Then he was back at it in the morning. Meanwhile, the other hummingbirds got the message and decided that they had to hang out at my cousin's feeder on the porch. There must've been a dozen hummingbirds eating at his feeder, sometimes two or three deep feeding at the "flowers" on it.
"Cement is the principal ingredient in concrete, which is second only to water as the most consumed substance on Earth. If divided evenly across the world, that would amount to one ton of concrete per human, per year. That's almost seven billion tons of concrete!!! From roads to runways, retaining walls to railroad ties, concrete is an indelible part of our lives. Cement is the foundation of western civilization, with its use dating back two millennia to the great Roman baths built about 27 B.C., the Coliseum, and the huge Basilica of Constantine. The Cement industry has fueled the economy of Northeast Michigan for over a century: creating jobs, supporting the local tax base, and providing for important charities such as the Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan. Alpena cement is of superior quality and has been asked for by name for use in several significant projects, including: Trump Tower in Chicago, University of Michigan football stadium in Ann Arbor, Ford Field in Detroit (home of the Lions), Comerica Park in Detroit (home of the Tigers), Detroit Metro Airport runway, Alpena Regional Airport runway."
After we got back home and had a nice dinner we were treated to a show by this hummingbird. Now, usually hummingbirds will chase other hummingbirds away from the feeder when they want to eat, but then not bother when they are satisfied. This hummingbird, however, decided to camp out on top of the shepherd's hook and not let any other hummingbirds eat (or even get close). He would dive bomb any other hummingbirds that would come near. As far as he was concerned, this was HIS feeder and HIS feeder only!! This kept up all evening until it got dark. Then he was back at it in the morning. Meanwhile, the other hummingbirds got the message and decided that they had to hang out at my cousin's feeder on the porch. There must've been a dozen hummingbirds eating at his feeder, sometimes two or three deep feeding at the "flowers" on it.
Friday morning we packed up, said our good-byes, and headed back home. Luckily the construction (with huge backups) that we saw going up north, was nonexistent when we were traveling the same stretch south. Construction barrels were up along the shoulder, work suspended probably for the holiday weekend. On our way south, we saw several large campers headed north. When we were headed up north it was too cold to have a picnic outdoors at our usual picnic spot, but today it was warm enough that we did get to have a picnic lunch outside of the Bay City rest area. I had an enjoyable time watching a father play with his three sons in the grassy area, running back and forth, probably trying to work out their nervous energy for the long trip to wherever they were going. Back on the road, our next stop was at the vet to pick up our cat. Then, home to unpack, do laundry, get a snack, and rest after the long ride home.
The next day, it was time to get some yard work done and to admire the flowers that had bloomed in time for our homecoming.
These irises didn't bloom for a couple of years, so I had Dan dig them up last year so that I could separate the bulbs and transplant them in more hospitable conditions. Am I glad I did! I counted 7 plants (out of about 15) this year that had buds. This was the first to bloom. Love their heavenly, grape kool-aid smell!!
The next day, it was time to get some yard work done and to admire the flowers that had bloomed in time for our homecoming.
These irises didn't bloom for a couple of years, so I had Dan dig them up last year so that I could separate the bulbs and transplant them in more hospitable conditions. Am I glad I did! I counted 7 plants (out of about 15) this year that had buds. This was the first to bloom. Love their heavenly, grape kool-aid smell!!
I was thrilled to see flowers on this azalea. Last year it only had a few leaves and no blooms. I fertilized it periodically, and this year, it bloomed! Yea!
Since I was still technically on vacation, I decided to start a crochet project that I've been meaning to get to for months. A Kindle case. I finished it a week later. It didn't turn out quite like I had envisioned, but I did learn a new stitch and I now have a washable case for my Kindle.
By Tuesday it was back to the same old routine, but with a little surprise when I went to check on my plants in the morning. A frog on my butterfly bush.
Created by Joyce P. Simkin
Last updated in HTML June 4, 2014
Last updated in Weebly July 21, 2015
Last updated in HTML June 4, 2014
Last updated in Weebly July 21, 2015