Quilt Show and Upper Peninsula

Just a quick note that the quilt show was two days of concentrated concern about who was where doing what - the life of a volunteer co-ordinator; on the other hand, I had a co-coordinator, and she brought along her husband. The three of us made a great team - spelling each other for breaks, filling in where needed, chatting with each other and anyone else who came along. It was a lot of fun. There were SO many wonderful quilts in the show that it was hard to pick ONE for "Viewer's Choice." I picked this one because every time I walked past it, I felt really happy.

I helped with the teardown of the show, and I was one of the people who hauled stuff to the guild's storage unit after that. I was SO tired by the time I staggered home Sunday evening!

We left on our trip the morning after the show. Our first stop was the dentist so that Hubby Dearest could keep his appointment. (We had figured this was easier than rescheduling.) While we were there, I realized I had forgotten to pack a camera; if we had gone back for it, we would have added at least 45 minutes to our trip. So, we had to rely on cameras built into the phones. Such is modern technology!! Once we got on the road, Hubby asked, "Where did you pack the maps and atlas?" Hmm.... I'd spent the previous week thinking quilt show thoughts, not trip thoughts..... I had printed off maps of areas right around places we wanted to see - do I get points for that? This was where I pointed out that gas stations sell maps, and that would be our back-up plan. It worked very well.

We stopped at Fort Michilimackinac before we got on The Bridge. If you are asking "which bridge" at this point, then you are not from Michigan. Centuries from now, when the auto industry is a distant memory, the people of the state of Michigan will continue to carry in our marrow pride in our single greatest accomplishment - the Mackinac Bridge. The Bridge spans five miles of the turbulent strait where Lakes Huron and Michigan meet. It connects the upper and lower peninsulas of our state together with a ribbon of iron and concrete. It is a marvel to behold, and when we finished touring the fort, I stood out on a promontory and heard the final words from the movie "A Very Long Engagement" echoing in my head, "le regarde et le regarde et le regarde" (waaaay too many years since my one semester of French, so I'm guessing at the spelling there) - "she gazed upon [it] and gazed upon [it] and gazed upon [it]" - what a wonderful moment! Then, of course, we had to drive over it, and my terror of bridges kicked in.

We went to Sault Ste. Marie where we watched ships being raised and lowered. (Lake Superior is about 20 feet higher than Lake Huron, and the locks are easier to navigate than the rapids in the middle of the St. Mary River.) Here is a picture I took of a boat in transit.

It was really interesting and fun to see the process - especially the ore carriers that were over a thousand feet long - you could see them rising up or sinking down. We ended up sitting on a park bench with sodas and books watching boats come and go. (Mr. and Mrs. Excitement, we are.)

We went to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum and then to Houghton in the Keweenaw Peninsula. We spent a couple of days there happily looking at Lake Superior:

and going down into old copper mines that have been opened for tourists:

and learning cool facts:

(A "stope" is an inclined area within the mine from which rock was extracted - think of a hillside and put it underground.)

We also indulged my fiber fever, but that will be a post for another day. I will leave you with this sign that was on a store near our motel. It amused me mainly because I didn't see the "1/2" at first, so my mind was reeling at the possibilities.