Oshkosh (#19 Wisconsin)

Friday morning we were headed to Oshkosh and while we had enjoyed great weather all week, we were expecting a front and rain in the morning.  I had been double checking departure procedure, terrain, climb gradients and all the forecasts.  While it was going to stay warm on the surface, it would be below freezing higher up so icing was also on the table.  In the end there was nothing to do about it all but wait for the morning and see what developed.

The late weather had the rain moving through between 6 and 9 and for once it did just what it was supposed to do.  The clouds were supposed to get low as well and luckily other than some scud at around 500 feet, it actually was high overcast at departure time.  I had filed for 4000 because we had 30+ knot headwinds up high and I did not think the TAS advantage up high would pay off.

I got the plane ready and then called center to get our clearance.  He surprised me by giving me both the clearance and release with a generous void time.  We fired up, and started heading for the runway.  Our limiting factor was warming the oil but soon enough it was up to 100 F and we had the run up done with 2 minutes to spare.

On departure we soon climbed above the scud and headed off North to stay along lake Michigan’s shore.  We checked in with center and I set power.  We were trueing out around 175.  We can go faster down low but it is not that efficient.

As the flight progressed we were in and out of the clouds and we even lost the headwind and picked up a few knots on the tailwind.  Staying low was a good idea in the end.  It also kept us out of potential icing which likely started above 6000 but better to be safe.

Oshkosh was VFR but visibility was poor due to the Canadian smoke that had drifted South.  The controller offered the GPS approach but we requested the visual and picked up the field around 7 miles out. We lined up on 27 and though it was gusty, made a nice touchdown.  It’s not that busy this time of year, one controller was both tower and ground.

In a few weeks though, the place would be hopping.  One week a year it becomes one of the busiest airports in the world for the annual EAA convention. Some days it is the busiest but it is only open during daylight hours and they shut down 4 hours a day for an air show.  On an hourly basis it is the clear winner though.  This is one of the reasons we chose to come now.

We taxied in to Bassler, the FBO, and went in to register.  They had said they could drop us at the EAA museum and after that I had planned to Uber.  I inquired about a lift and the manager offered us the crew car for the night.  This made our logistics a lot easier.

We headed off and dropped our luggage at the hotel, just down from the FBO and then went to the museum.  I get in free as an EAA member but CC had to pay.  The museum person said that she could add CC to my membership for much less than her ticket, which she did and saved us $10.  We were on a roll. 

The Museum was very good.  Very different feel than the Wright Patterson one.  The focus is more on the history of flight and experimental aircraft.  The had many cool airplanes but the exhibit I enjoyed the most was the Voyager.

The voyager was the first plane to fly around the globe without refueling.  I remember the flight and knew it was a cramped but I had no real sense how tight it was.  They spent over 9 days in the tiny cabin.  I couldn’t see how the swapped places much less went to the bathroom.

After the museum we grabbed a sub and headed to see a glass museum that CC had found.  It had some really nice pieces and afterwards we took a walk in the adjacent park.  We tried to walk behind the museum around lake Winnebago but the flies were out, so we enjoyed the other park that was mostly fly free.  After that we took a break and grabbed dinner. We had another state to visit on Saturday.

The big lake they call Gitchi Gummi

When I started my quest to visit the lower 48, I identified a location in each state that I wanted to visit.  In some states it was really hard because there were many places I wanted to see.  Some others, I had the opposite problem, there was not much that jumped out at me.

My first thought on Michigan was not Mackinac Island though it was a close second.  As a child, I vividly remembered hearing Gordon Lightfoot recount the tale of the Edmund Fitzgerald. I was older when I learned the details of the ill fated voyage. Oh, if you are too young and have no idea what I am talking about, I’ll wait while you Google it and listen to the song.  Great, you’re back.

The Edmund Fitzgerald sunk about 12 miles from Whitefish point.  The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum sits on whitefish point by the light house.  The Great Lakes are deceivingly dangerous.  There does not seem to be a definitive list of wrecks but well over 1000 vessels have been lost.  The museum tells the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald and much much more.  They had a great exhibit on the coastal life savers and early rescue techniques with surf boats and rope rigs.

The exhibits range from the gruesome, discussing the casualties to the inspiring tales of success as well as documenting the mundane life of the light keepers at the remote location.  They are the home of the Bell from the Edmund Fitzgerald which was raised in 1995 to build a memorial.  A new bell with the names of the 29 lost sailors was place on the wreck in its place.

Looking out over Lake Gitchi Gummi (Or more commonly called Lake Superior), you can easily see Canada,  The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is just a few miles farther over the horizon.  They were so close to safety yet so far.

After the museum, we head off to Tahquamenon Falls State Park for Waterfalls.  There are two sets, upper and lower.  We stopped at the lower first, donned our hiking boots and set out to do battle with nature.  What we found were nicely paved paths and boardwalks plus an aluminum bridge.  So much for having the boots but we did look cool.

The lower falls were a series of falls/rapids.  It required a bit of hiking to get all the views and we had a serious discussion about if they were really falls and not just big rapids.  We determined it was a mix but the weather was excellent and the trails well done so we didn’t make a big deal of it.

There is a trail between the upper and lower falls but it is miles long and closed.  We took the car and relocated to the upper falls.  This was a bona fide fall.  Quite impressive but with the copious amounts of water flowing it looked brown.  This apparently was from the tannins that leach from the cedar swamp at the start of the Tahquamenon River.

We then headed back to St. Ignace and Mackinaw City.  I was not sure what to expect of the roads in the Michigan UP but I didn't think they would be so desolate.  Lots of vegetation but few people.  Returning to St. Ignace we stopped for gas and we’re swarmed with clouds of Mosquitoes again, except they were not Mosquitos, they just look like them.  They look like them but don’t bite or sting.  The locals say you should relax and enjoy the protein.  We said yuck…  This was not our last encounter with the swarms of midge flies.

We drove both St. Ignace and Mackinaw City and we were glad we had chosen Petosky for our base of operations even though it was about 10 minutes further from the airport.  They had mostly run down accommodations and were a Northern version of Daytona Beach but less nice.  They also had swarms of Midge flies.  After scoping out the towns and patting ourselves on the back for great decision make, we headed South to see a Lumberjack show.

I had seen lumberjack competitions on TV but this was live.  The show consisted of 2 jacks in a competition.  They did not quite have the motivation the Nationals but they put on a fun show exhibiting their talents while the MC cracked corny jokes.  Other than us, the audience was mostly a school group and a group of retired vets in a travel club.  This is the beginning of the season and only their fourth show of the season.

The students were well behaved.  The other group was rowdy but fun.  After a long day of sightseeing it was time to head back to the hotel.  We walked less today, only a bit over 5 miles but drove about 300 miles.  

Thursday we had an easy day in Michigan.  We visited the next town over , Charlevoix, to see the farmers market.  While strolling the streets, I noticed a public works project and was horrified.  There is a Meme group on Facebook “looks like an OSHA violation but Ok” where people post picture of people violating the rules.  They were digging in loose earth and had a guy in the pit with no bracing.  He was one misstep from being buried alive.

After that we did some local shopping and then drove around town to see the mushroom houses.  These were designed by Earl Young and he wanted the houses to fit the surroundings.  We planned to walk around but the flies were thick again and we viewed from the car.

After that we visited a lavender farm.  It was just getting going for the season and nothing was in bloom.  We did get a lavender lemonade soda and the people were friendly.  We also got a nice walk out of it.

Our next stop was a local community college that has a great sculpture garden in the center of campus and we enjoyed strolling and admiring the art. We headed to the lakefront for a walk but again we’re thwarted by the flies so we strolled downtown instead.  After this it was off to dinner and packing up for our next state. 

UP as in Upper Peninsula (#20 Michigan)

After the Air Force museum we headed back to the airport.  Dayton is an air carrier airport so you would think that it would be busy.  The reality was that inbound we were number one and same with outbound.  This flight was pretty routine. We departed and only had a slight vector.  We were cleared to 9000 expeditiously and then we were on our way direct.  Other than a strong crosswind landing at Pellston Michigan, it was basically a straight line.

I was a bit surprised by the lower UP (upper peninsula).  Ohio had been flat tan square farmland. and crossing into Michigan, it was more of the same.  To be fair my impression of Michigan was tainted by visiting Detroit.  The lower UP is a lush hilly green. It is dotted with lakes and has a quaint feel.  The weather was also great, I don’t think I would like it as much with feet of snow though.

So what's with the lower upper peninsula? Michigan is non contiguous. The top of what most people think if Michigan is a peninsula with lake Michigan on the West and Lake Huron on the right. Above this is a second peninsula connected by a bridge that borders lake Superior as well as the other two. So you end up with an Upper Peninsula and a lower upper peninsula, confusing...

We arrived to Cadillac (I had reserved the mid size) which was ironic because this was the best car rental deal of the trip.  We headed down to Petosky which is on the shore of Lake Michigan.  We had booked the Courtyard and scored with a room that had a nice view, including the lake.  It’s a cool little town and it has a river running through it.  We took a nice walk before dinner and enjoyed the greenway trails.  We even saw some deer.  They were a bit skittish of humans but we stood still and they walked by us while chewing on the vegetation.  Now I know what happens to the flowers we plant.

Weather permitting, we planned to visit Mackinac island in the morning.  The wind was looking like it might be an issue but I studied the charts, airport information and then got some sleep.  The morning was grey but the winds were going to be favorable earlier in the day.  The runway is 3500’ which has some margin but I didn’t want to have a 20 knot direct crosswind on arrival with the shorter length.

We drove to the airport and prepped the plane.  It’s a short flight, 21 miles.  Basically climb to 1500 AGL and pull the power way back, prepare to land.  We joined the left downwind for 26 and were soon on the ground.  Parking is pretty steep at $25 just to land and another $25 for each overnight.  It does cap at $125 for each week.

Mackinac island is special because they have no cars.  This is apparently the big draw.  First off let me say it is a lie.  There are a few vehicles, we saw them.  They are for emergency services, landscaping and things like the electric company. Instead of cars they use horse drawn trucks or carriages for most things.  This all sounds quaint until you walk down the road with piles of manure.  It was cool and with the breeze, not too smelly but I imagine July is less pleasant. You can walk or call a horse cab.  As we had been eating well for the trip so far, we decided to walk.

Our first stop was skull cave which is a neat name but pretty underwhelming.  I thought it had some bloody past but it is just a feature left over from freezing water.

The next sight was Arch Rock.  It was pretty cool but it was surrounded by clouds of mosquitoes (I later learned these were not mosquitos but rather midge flies).  I think they were thick enough to paint on my radar.

After the Arch, we walked down to town.  It is cute but, it is basically a bunch of touristy stores.  CC had been told that they had the best fudge in the world and we should get some.  Every 3rd business was a sweets shop but they were mostly repeats of the same store.  We saw at least 5 copies of one outlet.  As for keeping the modern world out, they are losing that battle, there is a Starbucks on Mainstreet.

When planning the trip, I had thought it might be fun to overnight on the island but the accommodations looked only so-so.  Also they were extremely expensive.  In the end we both agreed it was good that we skipped the overnight.  The small town we chose was much nicer, has more to do and less bugs.

To be fair we did skip the local fort and some other recommended sights.  I can’t say we saw it all but we saw enough.  We strolled back to the airport after main street and we’re soon airborne and headed back to civilization.  If you take the ferry you can pay extra to see the Mackinac Bridge.  I included this for CC at no extra charge.

Back at Pellston they had saved our space but another plane blocked the easy taxi approach.  They radioed that they would push me back if needed.  The twin while bigger gives you some advantage when turning.  I angled in, being careful to keep my left wing well clear of the fence and then used the left engine to spin around.  

I got lined up and was only about a foot forward of the perfect alignment.  The line guy said good enough so chocks went in and we were done.  On the way back to the hotel we stopped at DQ for blizzards.  Had to replace all the calories we just walked off.