Detroit, But No Further

Local Visitor Pontiac Lake

We departed Niagara Falls, NY with a couple weeks to fill before the Penn Woods Jeep Jamboree in Bradford, PA.  Our thought was to swing through Michigan, up and over the Upper Peninsula, and back down through Wisconsin to fill the time.  We had no idea that a small town in Pennsylvania was experiencing flash floods and we would be called to help.

We located a nice stopping point at Camp Perry, Ohio on our way to Michigan.  They have a military campground there and I have always wanted to visit Camp Perry the home of competition rifle shooting.  The campground was empty, as the rifle matches do not start until July.  They have very nice accommodations there, but are significantly higher priced than most military campgrounds.  We stayed a couple days so I could look over the training facilities and the rifle ranges that go out to 1,000 yards.  That will separate the folks who think they can shoot from those that really can shoot!

Next, we targeted (pun intended) Pontiac Lake State Recreation Area north of Detroit to spend several days.  Our goal here was to drive down and visit the Ford factory in Dearborn from this location.  The campground only has 30 amp electric, so we went into conservation mode once again.  Other than that, it is a nice park.  

I read on-line that The Henry Ford is a large complex with much more than an automobile factory.  They have Greenfield Village that provides a walk back in America’s past with live demonstrations by artisans showing how things were made and the inventions that helped make them.  Then there is The Henry Ford museum that encompasses almost every aspect of innovation, invention and creative ways to solve issues throughout our history.  

I thought it would be heavily slated toward Ford, but found it to be the best collection of innovative ideas from all cultural aspects.  It was so impressive, we had to come back a second day to see it all.  

The Montgomery, AL bus that Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat

Americana…I had a root-beer float!

Hand Turned Rifling Lathe

Early American RVs

We did take the Ford Rogue Factory tour and learned how Henry Ford developed the area from his first automobile to the state of the art facility it is today.  We saw the workers building Ford F-150 trucks where they produce 800 every 10 hours and run two 10-hour shifts per day.  It was fascinating to watch.

During our stay here, we received an email seeking volunteers from the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief coordinator asking for volunteers to help flash flood victims in Clearfield, PA.  Pattie and I prayed about it and felt God calling us to serve.  So, we changed plans and are preparing to depart for Clearfield.  There is a lot more in Michigan to see than we could have seen in a week.  We will schedule more time for this state during a future trip.

Thanks for keepingupwiththejonesrv!