Dow Gardens and other stops

The Pines - the Dow house

The Dow Gardens were developed in 1899 by Herbert Dow, founder of the Dow Chemical Company.  They include beautiful massed plantings, a necklace of ponds, and collections of flowering crabapples, roses, viburnums, and rhododendrons.  Alden B. Dow, son of Herbert, added many architectural elements to the gardens.  He believed, as did his father, that the entire beauty of the garden should never be revealed in a single glance.

Additional attractions include the Children's Garden, a maze, and a rockery of dwarf evergreens near the entrance.  The 110 acres now welcome more than 200,000 guests per year.

There are paved paths, mulch lined pathways, or you can just walk on the grass to explore.  I definitely got in my 10,000 steps and I didn't cover half.  What a privilege it was for the Dow family to have all this as their "back yard."

The Whiting Forest alone is 54 acres, including a 13,600 square foot playground, a four-zoned orchard, and the nation's longest Canopy Walk (40 feet high).

The "sculptures" throughout the garden are Origami exhibits, made from metal painted white.  They capture the delicate nature of the paper art form in museum quality metals.  Displayed within beautiful garden settings are examples of what can be folded from a single piece of paper.

There is no way I can show you all the flowers or the beauty of the place, but it is definitely worth spending some time to see for yourself.

Even the streets leading up to Dow Gardens are lined with flowers!

 I made a stop in St. Louis, the "middle of the mitten."

This tiny bridge is at a storage facility. It goes to a small island the shape of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. 

 Sitting outside the Frankenmuth Cheese Haus is a giant mouse chewing his way through a yellow wedge of cheese.  That's just one of the sights to see in Frankenmuth, a quaint little tourist town built around a Bavarian theme, complete with horse-drawn carriages.  After you get out of the tourist part, it is just a regular town.

It is also the home of Bronner's Christmas Wonderland.  This Christmas store is so big, they give you a store directory and map!  Along with everything Christmas, there is a "Season's Eatings" snack area, video presentations and, each night at dusk until midnight, Bronner's 1/2 mile Christmas Lane glows with thousands of twinkling lights and intriguing outdoor displays.  They even have a silent night chapel and many life-sized Nativities.  It's quite a place.

While I was driving around today, near Breckenridge, there was a street named Crapo Road.  I looked down the street, and it was a dirt road, but it looked well maintained and I have certainly driven down much worse and they were not named Crapo Road, they just were!

I drove a few more pieces of the Lake Huron Circle Tour, but never caught sight of any water.

Last night I had a really cool treat.  I went out to the car and there were fireflies all over.  At first, I thought I was seeing things, but then they all started to flash and it was magical.  The lady camped next to me was not as excited, but I imagine it was something like how I react when people get really excited about fireworks and I've seen them every night for most of my life.  Anyway, the fireflies were very fun.

I don't understand why Michigan is doing so poorly economically.  They have plants making cars, cereal, and chemicals, two lakes, a great college, and good tourism.  It's got so much going for it ... except for the rotten weather. 😉

My son sent me an article listing the best campsite in every state, and for Michigan, it is Holland State Park.  So tomorrow I am driving across the state to spend the night in Holland.  I could only get one night in the park, but I'll check it out and take pictures.... and then I drive back across again to Port Huron to cross into Ontario, stopping in Lansing to visit with a friend.  We shared a hospital room in the maternity ward in 1974. 

I also have to come back to Bay City one more time; the brace that supports my holding tanks broke and Winnebago is sending the replacement part.  The mechanic would have driven the 108 miles to me, but since he was nice enough to get my warranty to pay for the replacement as a defective part, I thought the least  I could do was drive to him.