Boats – RDZ Photography

Lake Havasu City, Arizona – July 2022 – Why?

Architecture, History, Nature, Transportation, Water Features

As most people know the western United States is in the midst of a long term drought, where water is precious. In previous posts I have shown Lake Powell, at historic low levels. The same is true of Lake Mead, sitting behind the Hoover Dam.

Yet here in the middle of the desert is Lake Havasu, made possible by Parker Dam. It is constantly at 97%+ full. Why – because 100 year old water rights says parts of California get the water first, and Havasu is that reservoir.

What to do with that water – create an island out of what was once a peninsula, and use the 200 year old London Bridge to cross the channel.

Havasu City was created by an eccentric millionaire back in the 1960s who bought thousands of acres of desert along the reservoir, only to find that nobody wanted to come.

The city of London needed to replace the bridge since it was sinking into the Thames River, so they held an auction where, as legend has it, had 1 bidder – Robert McCulloch.

Once purchased, he had it disassembled after carefully labeling each block, shipped by boat 1/2 way around the world through the Panama Canal to the Port of Long Beach, then across the couple of hundred miles of desert to Havasu.

They then set to it building a bridge in the middle of the desert (water to come later). This photo is off the internet.

Legend also says that McCulloch thought he was buying Tower Bridge, but this has been debunked. Eventually he had his bridge, and it was a success – thousands of tourists came, and now Lake Havasu City is home to over 50,000 people, with probably 3 times as many here for the 4th of July weekend.

While you are there you can enjoy the sound of hundreds, if not thousands of people on boats and jet skis that have been towed hundreds of miles to this remote location by their giant trucks and SUVs, to cruise around and complain about the cost of gas.

The Colorado River leading up to Havasu is similar.

Another of the attractions of Havasu is a collection of replica lighthouses. There are 28 of the houses scattered around, many of them on private property (behind gates), so the only way to see them is by boat. We chose to drive to those we could get to.

The sun set on the roar of engines and the London Bridge.

As we left Havasu early the next morning we passed the solitude of a nature preserve. Ahhhh.

Celina, Ohio – July 2021 – Cars in the Lake

Festival, History, Transportation, Water Features

Each year the small town of Celina, Ohio has a festival celebrating their position on a large reservoir known as the Grand Lake St Marys. The highlight of the festival is a gathering of Amphicars.

These cars were built in Germany from 1960 until 1965 – specifically to be able to not only drive on land but become a boat in water.

The car owners come from all over the country to Celina to celebrate their eclectic, but very cool, little car/boats.

The highlight of the cars visit to Celina is known as the ‘Splash In’, where the drivers enter the water.

The queen was on hand to kick off the celebration – and go for a ride.

Then it was time for the others to enter the water….

Once they were in the lake they cruised around for a while…..

Eventually the queen(s) headed home….

As the sun set the boats came into the harbor to turn into cars again….

North Central Ohio – May 2021 – Wanderings on a Saturday

Architecture, History, Nature, Transportation, Water Features

A recent Saturday was spent wandering the back roads of North Central Ohio from Columbus all the way to Lake Erie.

First stop was in the small town of Mt Gilead, the county seat of Morrow County. The old county jail dates from 1850.

Next door is a soldiers monument.

Next stop – Galion, where we checked out the old train station and theater.

The Huron County Courthouse clocktower in Norwalk.

At last – the Lake Erie shoreline in the town of Huron. The lighthouse was built in 1939, reflecting the style of the period.

Sandusky is the center of the lakeshore for this area. Home to what is generally acknowledged as the best amusement park in the world (Cedar Point), Sandusky relies heavily on tourism.

Starting back south we made a stop in Castalia, at the fish hatchery. Unfortunately it was closed, but the nearby creek has a number of well feed fish, along with some birds looking for lunch.

We passed through Bellevue and had the photo op of a very long, slow moving freight train passing the Mad River Railroad Museum – providing a contrast of the size of locomotive from the past and today.

Time to cruise on home, amazingly following the same vintage car southbound that we were behind for about 20 miles going north earlier.

Central Ohio – October 2020 – Views From Above Part 4

Nature, Transportation, Water Features

This posting of drone views focuses on the fall foliage.

The leaves seem to be changing fast, so it is a tough call to wait a week, or capture the mix of green, and the changed leaves. Clearly the tree lawn trees in this neighborhood are all the same, as they all have the same red leaves for the moment.

One of my personal favorite photos in a long time – Alum Creek State Park.

Another nearby view.

The trees are changing but with enough chemicals the golf courses will stay green until December.

Delaware Ohio State Park

The dam for the park. Whoever lives in the house in the foreground has the greatest confidence in the dam, and clearly is not a Johnstown, Pennsylvania native.

A return to Fairfield County covered bridges, and in the case below, an old canal lock.

This challenged my drone flying – a small space between the power lines, the trees, and the ravine.

Another tight spot for a bridge view – note how close the tree on the right is.

A neighborhood in Lancaster. The large house on the hill appears to be ruling over the smaller ones scattered across the photo like some old English estate.

Buckeye Lake, Ohio – October 2020 – Grounded!

Festival, Sciences, Transportation, Water Features

A recent trip to Buckeye Lake was planned as a day of sending the drone up for birds eye views, but the weather did not cooperate.

The fog was obscuring the tops of the trees, so that choice was unavailable. But the fog also provided an interesting touch to the ground level photos.

Virtual Travel – Michigan

Architecture, Art, Festival, History, Museum, Nature, Sciences, Sports, Transportation, Water Features

Welcome to Michigan.

Great Lakes

Michigan is known as the Great Lakes States, and the plethora of road map covers featuring them is evidence of the importance to the state.

Maps – 1947 – Lakeshore 1968 – Soo Locks 2000 – Lighthouses 2001 – Great Lakes Great Times 2010 – Fishtown in Leland 2012 – Unidentified Small Harbor

Bordering 4 of the 5 Great Lakes gives Michigan 3,288 miles of shoreline – more than any state other than Alaska. With that much shoreline, they have a large collection of lighthouses.

Below are two from the Lake Michigan area near Ludington.

Below photos are from various internet sources

Transportation in Michigan

Maps – 1951 – Unidentified Country Road 1974 – Modes of Transportation 1975 – Interstate 75 1993 – Boats and Cars 2005 – 100 Years of Michigan Transportation

For more than 100 years Michigan has been the automobile manufacturing capital of the world.

Detroit area map from 1951 – before freeways. Detroit, and other midwest cities, were the first cities in the world built with the car in mind.

Most of the main roads are multi-lane, with very wide median strips to enable ‘Michigan Lefts’.

In virtually the entire world there are left turn lanes, and protected by traffic light left turns. In Michigan where there is a boulevard, there are no left turns – rather you turn right, immediately jump over to the left laen, do a U turn, and go on your way.

This photo from the Woodward Dream Cruise shows the northbound traffic, with a U turn to return to Marshall Street Westbound . Also note the No Left Turn sign at the intersection itself.

Michigan has a long history of railroads throughout the state. While much of the passenger traffic is gone there are still some nicely restored stations throughout the state.

2018 09 03 675 Battle Creek MI Train Depot

In the small town of Hickory Corners is the Gilmore Car Museum. Built across a campus like a small town, they have a fantastic collection of American cars, plus numerous buildings that have either been moved there or built there to recreate the original.

Below are some examples, a diner moved from Connecticut, and the Cadillac dealership.

The Sinclair station is in a nearby town.

2018 09 03 52 Hickory Corners MI Gilmore Car Museum

2018 09 03 5 Hickory Corners MI Gilmore Car Museum

2018 09 03 481 Hickory Corners MI Gilmore Car Museum

2018 09 03 309 Hickory Corners MI Gilmore Car Museum

2018 09 03 251 Hickory Corners MI Gilmore Car Museum

2018 09 02 225 Cassopolis MI Restored Sinclair Station

Grosse Pointe is a wealthy suburb of Detroit. Each year they the Great Lakes Boating Festival at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club.

2017 05 20 52 Grosse Pointe MI Great Lake Boat Festival

2017 05 20 48 Grosse Pointe MI Great Lake Boat Festival

2017 05 20 72 Grosse Pointe MI Great Lake Boat Festival

2017 05 20 60 Grosse Pointe MI Great Lake Boat Festival

Parks

Maps – 1965 – Douglass Houghton Waterfall 1980 – Au Sable River 1989, 2011, 2014 – Sleeping Bear Dunes 2009 – Roadside Parks 2013 – Pictured Rocks National Seashore Cruise 2016 – Isle Royal National Park

There are a number of National Park Service locations in the state.

Government State Michigan 2016_renamed_32458

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. It spans 35 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, and has dunes over 200′ high.

2008 08 17 98 Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park MI

2008 08 17 46 Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park MI

2008 08 17 16 Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park MI

2008 08 17 6 Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park MI

Tahquamenon Falls State Park is in the Upper Peninsula. There are two waterfalls in the park, with the upper falls dropping 48′, with a width of 200′ making this one of the highest volume waterfalls east of the Mississippi River. It’s nickname is Rootbeer Falls, due to it’s color.

Grand Marais is at the eastern end of Pictured Rocks National Seashore.

Pictured Rocks is one of the most dramatic locales in the east.

2015 09 05 212 Pictured Rocks National Park MI

2015 09 05 88 Pictured Rocks National Park MI

2015 09 05 126 Pictured Rocks National Park MI

2015 09 05 150 Pictured Rocks National Park MI

2015 09 05 196 Pictured Rocks National Park MI

Variety

1970 – Winter in Michigan 1976 – Bicentennial 2003, 2006, 2018 – Collages of Seasons and Regions

Frankenmuth is a faux German town. It is a huge tourist spot.

Grand Rapids is the second largest city in the state, far behind Detroit.

Meyer May House is a classic Frank Lloyd Wright design located in Grand Rapids.

Also in Grand Rapids is the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.

2008 08 19 116 Grand Rapids MI Meijer Gardens

2008 08 19 115 Grand Rapids MI Meijer Gardens

2008 08 19 163 Grand Rapids MI Meijer Gardens

Battle Creek had a forest of trees killed by the emerald ash borer disease. Rather than just clear cut them, they had a number of carvers come turn it into something special.

2018 09 03 666 Battle Creek MI Fantasy Forest

2018 09 03 665 Battle Creek MI Fantasy Forest

2018 09 03 655 Battle Creek MI Fantasy Forest

Marquette is the largest city in the Upper Peninsula. It is also home to Northern Michigan University. With the long, cold, snowy winters they have opted for a domed football stadium. This one is special as it is primarily wood.

The Upper Peninsula people (affectionately known as Yoopies) are a unique bunch, with a creative side.

Bridges

1971 – History of Bridges 1984, 1997, 2007, 2017 – Mackinac Bridge

The Mackinac Bridge is the most famous bridge in the state. It connects the Lower Peninsula to the Upper Peninsula.

Among the others in the state is the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, Canada

In Battle Creek they have a park where they take all the old obsolete county road bridges and used them in the hiking/biking trail.

2018 09 03 685 Battle Creek MI Bridges Park

2018 09 03 678 Battle Creek MI Bridges Park

2018 09 03 691 Battle Creek MI Bridges Park

Detroit – 1973, 1978, 2015

Tiger Stadium – Home of the Detroit Tigers from 1912 until 1999. It sat empty for 10 years before the city tour it down – but not without much fight from the community.

It was replaced by Comerica Park.

The Detroit Institute of Art has an amazing Diego Rivera mural depicting the industrial life of the city in the 1930s.

The Guardian Building in Detroit is one of the best art deco skyscrapers in existence.

2019 04 07 174 Detroit Guardian Building

2019 04 07 228 Detroit Guardian Building

2019 04 07 217 Detroit Guardian Building

The Fisher Building is another great art deco building.

Detroit is Motown.Unfortunately many of the auto factories have long closed like this massive former Packard factory.

2019 04 06 164 Detroit Vacant Packard Factory

2019 04 06 145 Detroit Vacant Packard Factory

2019 04 06 165 Detroit Vacant Packard Factory

The Woodward Dream Cruise is the largest classic car gathering in the world. It occurs each August in the suburbs just north of Detroit.

2016 08 20 48 Detroit Piquette Avenue Model T Factory

2016 08 20 3 Detroit Piquette Avenue Model T Factory

2016 08 20 180 Detroit Woodward Dream Cruise

2016 08 20 176 Detroit Woodward Dream Cruise

2016 08 20 139 Detroit Woodward Dream Cruise

2016 08 20 119 Detroit Woodward Dream Cruise

Detroit is home to one of the most important New Car Shows as well.

2016 01 13 Detroit International Auto Show 20

2016 01 13 Detroit International Auto Show 115

2016 01 13 Detroit International Auto Show 98

2016 01 13 Detroit International Auto Show 93

2016 01 13 Detroit International Auto Show 88

2016 01 13 Detroit International Auto Show 84

2016 01 13 Detroit International Auto Show 61

2016 01 13 Detroit International Auto Show 55

Henry Ford spent much of his fortune on building Greenfield Village. He moved actual buildings in (like the Wright Brothers Bicycle Shop) to build the town.

1987 – Mackinac Island

This entire island became Michigan’s first state park in the late 1800s.

Main Street (from Wikipedia)

Hotel

1996 – State Capitol

Lansing is Michigan’s state capital.

State Flag

State Seal

State Wildflower – Dwarf Lake Iris

State Children’s Book – Legend of Sleeping Bear

Virtual Travel – Louisiana

Architecture, Festival, History, Museum, Nature, Transportation, Water Features

Bonjour de la Louisiana. Our trip today takes us to the bayou.

1977 – Bogue Chitto River. This river is 65 miles north of New Orleans in a park with more than 1,000 acres.

1979 – Bayou. Much of southern Louisiana is made up of bayous and swamps.

2005

The residents of these parts are very proud of their alligators.

The bayous have a unique beauty.

1981 – Acadia. This area of Louisiana has the strongest French culture. In Louisiana the counties are known as parishes. Some of the parishes in this area are over 25% French speaking (although not a French someone from Paris or Montreal would likely easily understand).

We passed through this area in 2019, making a stop at the Tabasco Factory on Avery Island.

Acadia is rice growing country.

In New Ibiera is the Conrad Rice Mill, America’s oldest.

1984 – Mississippi River. The river is the economic driver for Louisiana.

Bridges in New Orleans.

Many overseas freighters come up the river to New Orleans to dock and offload.

The tourist sternwheeler leaves for a tour.

Upriver at the crossing from Vicksburg, Mississippi to the town of Delta, Louisiana.

1986 – 1992 – 2001 – Music

New Orleans is music, food and partying.

1990 – Flowers

With the warm weather and abundant rain, Louisiana has amazing flora and fauna.

1998 – State Capitol. While New Orleans is the center of the world for all things Louisiana, Baton Rouge is the capital.

2002 & 2007 – Food

Louisiana is known for food, primarily (photos from Wikipedia)

Crawfish

Po-boys

And Beignets

2003 – Louisiana Purchase (historic New Orleans)

New Orleans was the center of the French owned territory in the new world. The Cabildo is beside St Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter.

The French Quarter is representative of the city at that time (except for all the dive bars).

2018 – Birds

Avery Island, Louisiana has a very impressive bird sanctuary.

Virtual Travel – Illinois

Architecture, Art, Festival, History, Museum, Nature, Sports, Transportation

Today’s stop – Illinois

1959 – With the Interstate’s recently been started, Illinois was proud to show one of their’s on the cover. At this time the only freeways in the state were in the Chicago area.

The Tri-State Tollway was one of the first completed. It was one of the first to built service plaza over the traffic lanes.

Hinsdale Oasis today

1961 – Cook County (Chicago) Motor Vehicle Office. From 1900 until 1960 Cook County had the largest population of any county in the United States. It has since been passed by Los Angeles, County, but remains 2nd most populated to this day.

By 1961 freeways had been built through Chicago to downtown from every direction. This view is the Northwest/AKA – Kennedy Expressway. Amazingly there are reversible express lanes in the middle.

This view from 2012 looks much the same.

1968 – Celebrating Illinois’ Sesquicentennial, 150 years of statehood. Who better than Abraham Lincoln for the cover.

1970 – View of the loop downtown Chicago.

1973, 1975 & 1978 – They must have fired the photographer.

1976 – A tribute to the Native Americans and pioneers. The first European explorers in the region were Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, which explains the number of French names for towns.

The Native American tribes included the Miami, Winnebago, Fox, Sacs, and of course – the Illinois.

Cahokia Mounds State Histori Site is the location of a pre-Columbian Native American city that they estimate once had 40,000 residents in the year 1100.

They were, as most tribes in this area, mound builders.

1979 – Transportation in Illinois. While Chicago was a center of the early automotive manufacturing by the 1920s much had gone out of business and moved to Detroit.

Today there are 3 automobile manufacturing facilities in Illinois. The most important is the Chicago Ford Assembly Plant.

This factory is the oldest continually operated factory for Ford.

1983 – Frank Lloyd Wright.

Frank Lloyd Wright had a studio in Oak Park, and design a plethora of fantastic homes and buildings throughout Chicago, and the world.

1985 – People’s of the Past.

1987 – Festivals. Chicago has some of the country’s best festivals.

Chicago Festival

1989 – Another year, another Lincoln map.

World’s largest Lincoln statue. 72′ high, hanging out in a campground.

1989 – The hill country of Southern Illinois

1991 – Illinois & Michigan Canal. This canal linked the Illinois River to Lake Michigan, thus providing the first interior route from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.

When it was in use mules or horses pulled the barges along the canal. (Photo – Chicago Public Library)

Today you can rent a longboat and spend a vacation on the canal. (photo – iandmcanal,org)

1993 – Celebrating Craftmaking.

1995 – History of Illinois Roads. When the first European settlers began to arrive in larger numbers they made their way inland via ‘traces’. These roads generally followed the Native American paths that had been used for hundreds of years.

1995 – Showing the Regions of Illinois.

1997 – Another Lincoln Statue. There are over 200 Lincoln statues in the United States.

This one is in New Salem, Illinois.

New Salem State Historic Site is a reconstructed town that Lincoln lived in from 1831 to 1837. It was from here he was first elected to public office. (Photo from Wikipedia)

Once again in the late 90s and early 2000s a state has chosen to have nondescript scenes on their maps.

2005 – War Memorials throughout Illinois.

2007 & 2011 – Again celebrating the regions of Illinois.

Chicago is easily the most visited part of the state. The architecture here is second to none.

Some highlights

2009 – Lincoln Presidential Library 2015 – Lincoln (again)

Located in Springfield it is an impressive building in a state full of Lincoln tributes.

2013 – Modes of Transportation

O’Hare Airport in Chicago in 1956 (photo from Airways Magazine). For you airport code trivia fans, most have seen baggage routing tags with ORD for this airport.

It was originally a small airport for a factory known as Orchard Place, and gained that code then. ORchardD.

Today

2015 – Mississippi River Bridge. It can easily be forgotten that there the Mississippi River runs the entire western boundary of Illinois. This bridge connects St Louis with southern Illinois.

2017 – Our last stop is at a Lincoln Cabin made out of …. Lincoln Logs.

Tigre, Argentina – February 2020 – Prowling Around Town

Architecture, Art, Nature, Transportation

A Saturday in Tigre…

Murals of the town.

An old car that is not a Ford Falcon (a rarity in Argentina). A classic Peugeot.

The bamboo store.

You can’t spend any time in Tigre without being along a river.

The tourists are coming back from a night on the islands.

A small market of local crafts.

The river is lined with restaurants in the park.

Jet airplanes in the yard? It is the Argentina Naval Museum.

We looked for, but did not find, the Mate Museum – but did see a giant teapot.

And with that it is time to go back to the stylish train station and head out of town.

Buenos Aires – January 2020 – The Costa Norte

Architecture, Nature, Transportation

Back on the Rio De La Plata for a late afternoon cruise – this time towards the city of Buenos Aires. The city and suburbs runs for about 40 miles along the coast of the river, mostly lined with mid rise apartment buildings.

The shore itself has a number of parks and other features that add to the scenery. The highlights include the soccer stadium for River Plate, and the airport Jorge Newberry.