We visited Longaberger Company today the makers of the Longaberger Baskets. That's Ed with our friends John and Marge. We got to see the basket weavers making baskets and I had one of my small baskets signed by Gary Longaberger. No, I didn't make one myself since I have 6 of them in the motorhome and really don't have room for any more.

Here is one of the basket makers at work making a small basket. 

We are in Westerville, OH

We are at the Tree Haven Campground in Westerville, OH, just north of Columbus. Our friends John & Marge have been here for the past couple of months and we decided to drop in to say hi and visit the area for a few days. We will leave for Van Wert on Sunday 8/28.

8/22/05. We got our windshield replaced and it is 5:00pm. Too late to travel today, so the glass company said we could stay the night in their parking lot. Well, this is our view! It was a very quiet night. The neighbors did not complain about the trailer trash next door! Life if Good! 

We are in Elkhart, IN and I saw this limo with a dog in it....what do you think when you see this pic??? 

Friday 8/19/05...Here we are starting to cross the Mackinaw Bridge. 5 miles long. We had thunderstorms with high winds. The bridge had high wind advisories and motorhomes had a speed limit of 20 mph. At the time we crossed, it wasn't raining and the wind died down. Thank you GOD! 

Soo Locks

We visited the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, MI yesterday. It was very interesting and fun watching 3 ships pass through the locks. There are 4 locks total, but only 2 are in service at this time. The older two locks are only 23 feet deep and not deep enough for the freight traffic of today. I took some pictures of a tour boat going through the MacArthur Lock which is the closest lock for viewing. You can visit the locks by webcam at the following web page: www.crrel.usace.army.mil/ierd/webcam/soo/ Today we spent the day just chilling in St. Ignace. We had to try the local "pasties". We kept seeing these signs on the highway "Best Homemade Pasties" and couldn't resist stopping in and finding out what they are. Next time you see us ask us how we liked our pasties! Life is good. Hugs, Sandy & Ed

This is a picture of the west end of the Soo Locks. The lock in the foreground is the MacArthur Lock. It was constructed in 1943, is 800 feet long, 80 feet wide and 31 feet deep.  

A Soo Lock tour boat enters the MacArthur Lock, one of the 2 working locks at the Soo Locks. The boat is entering the lock from the east (Lake Huron side) and the water level is 21 feet lower than the Lake Superior side. 

And the Soo Locks Tour boat is ready to leave the locks. 

Mackinac Island

Today we spent 6 hours on Mackinac Island, MI. WOW, Automobiles are banned so all transportation on the island is either by bicycle or horses. There are about 100 freight and passenger carriages pulled by over 400 horses. You have to watch where you walk. Ha-Ha. We saw so many historical houses and businesses, Fort Mackinac, the Post Cemetery, Arch Rock, the Grand Hotel and many more sights. Of course I HAD to buy the famous Mackinac fudge. YUM! I took 130 pictures but can only share a few. If you ever get the chance to come here, it would be well worth your time and money. Tomorrow we will visit the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie and watch the freighters navigate the locks from Lake Huron to Lake Superior. Life is Good! Hugs, Sandy, Ed & Max

Our trip to Mackinac Island was aboard the Star Line Hydro-Jet Ferry. Notice the tail of water. Also in the picture are 2 of the lighthouses close to the island...one on the right and one on the left. 

These beautiful old homes greeted us as we arrived for our visit on Mackinac Island. 

If you get to the point that you can't stand your job anymore, just remember this man. Remember there are only horses and bicycles on this island and someone has to do this job! 

This is one of the 2 horse drawn carriages we rode on during our tour of the island. Only bicycles and horses are allowed on the island. NO cars. 

Just a shot of the downtown area.  

Fort Mackinac on the right. The 3 houses to it's left are from the left: Governor's house, Captain's house and Major's house. 

The Grand Hotel. Ed had to see this hotel since he saw the movie, "Somewhere in Time". It has 385 rooms and the inside is quite "Grand"! 

This picture of the Grand Hotel was taken from our carriage tour of the island. 

This was taken from the porch of the Grand Hotel. 

I saw this private house and had to take a picture. There are so many houses like this one on the island. 

Arch Rock, the most dazzling example of Mackinac Islands breccia limestone formation...formed 4000 yrs ago. 

Today we visited the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, WI. Ed is standing in front of the worlds largest Musky, ( 143 1/2 ft, 4 1/2 ftory tall)...you can even walk inside it! Inside the Hall of Fame we found mounted fish of all kinds, very old trolling outboard motors, fishing tackle, etc. Ed thought it was great. I went along for company. 

Today we traveled into Wisconsin. We passed through the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St Paul and over the Mississippi river. We are staying at the River Road Campground in Hayward, WI. Ed wanted to check out the famous Moccasin Bar that has the World Record Musky Fish on display. 67 1/2 # and 60 1/4" long.  

Wisconsin....We came for the CHEESE!  

Wisconsin, land of lakes. I took this pic at Shell Lake. Thought this fish was funny. 

This farm in WI has a huge herd of buffalos. I saw the herd and tried to get my camera out and aimed, but was only able to catch these at the edge.

This is our view from the R & R Campground here in Mitchell, SD. Tomorrow morning we will bid this lovely view good-bye and travel east. I (Sandy) will be very happy about this! The campground is very nice except for the noise from the I-90 freeway and exit 322. Tomorrow we will be in Minnesota. Life is good. God Bless America! Hugs, Sandy & Ed