Midwest Road Trip – Monroe MI

The French Town & the River Raisin battlefield are located on the southern edge of what is now the town of Monroe MI.  Monroe  has a long & varied history which are noted on the historic markers sprinkled throughout the town.   The town’s most famous – or maybe infamous – citizen is George Armstrong Custer.  He gets his own statue & a park. Custer Statue

Custer Historic Plaque

I find it most interesting was isn’t said on the plaque.

Just north of Monroe proper sits the oldest known wood building in Michigan.  The Navarre-Anderson Trading Post was built in 1789 at Frenchtown &  was later moved to its present location on the bank of the River Raisin nearer Lake Erie.

Navarre-Anderson Trading Post

The building is of a French post & beam construction.  It also has more than a few bullets from the War of 1812 lodged within its walls.

Cut-a-Way Showing Wall Construction & Embedded Bullets

Other late 18th & early 19th century buildings are also located in the Navarre-Anderson Park.

Early 19th Century Barn

Navarre-Morris Cabin

This cabin was originally twice as long with  2 more windows & a 2nd chimney at the other gable end..   It was built ca 1810 & is constructed in the French brique entre poteaux manner.

Outdoor Clay Oven

There is an outdoor clay oven where colonial & federal era cooking demonstrations are done on summer weekends if it isn’t raining.  The Trading Post & cabin are also open with attired interpreters present.  The interpreters come rain or shine.  Unfortunately I was here on a weekday.  

Midwest Road Trip – River Raisin

On the road home I stopped at several more historic sites.  The first was the War of 1812 battlefield of the River Raisin near Monroe MI.  This National Park has a recently built visitor center.  It’s small but the exhibits are excellent & the staff very knowledgeable about both the battle & local history in general. 

  River Raisin

The river itself is normally quite shallow with a bottom of sand & large flat stone slabs.  It empties into Lake Erie a bit less than 4 miles from the village of Frenchtown where the battle was fought.  The river is easily forded except after severe rain storms & during ice breakup in the spring.

The battle itself occurred in two parts: an initial American victory & occupation of Frenchtown on January 18th followed by a surprise counterattack , defeat & total rout on January 22nd.  The American troops consist of 667 militia from Kentucky, about 100 local militia & 300 reinforcements consisting of more militia & the 17th US Infantry.     The Canadian troops consist about 600 British Regulars & Canadian militia as well as an similar number of Native Allies. 

The American troops suffer 387 killed & about 500 taken prisoner.  Only 33 are known to have escaped death or capture.  Many of the men taken prisoner were killed the day after the battle by the Canadian Native allies as revenge for the American militia Gen. William Henry Harrison’s depredations of Native people, crops & homes. 

American Militia Uniform – Museum Display

American Infantry Uniform – Museum Display

Almost all the Americans troops are in linen summer uniforms that they received when they started the campaign back in August.  The infantry soldiers have wool coats but their pants are linen.  None are known to have had overcoats or mittens.

Canadian Militia & Regulars – Museum Display

Canadian Native Allie – Museum Display

The Canadian troops were locals & attired for the season. 

  American Canon

Both sides had some artillery but the American troops pieces were small as was usual for a campaign through rough terrain. 

Canadian Field Canon

The British Regulars among the Canadian troops had more canon and they were substantially larger than the American pieces.

The park wasn’t all about the battle though.  There were Native & Habitant gardens as well as a medicinal herb garden in front of the Visitor’s Center.

  Native Three Sisters Garden

Habitant Vegetable Garden

There are also plans for a reconstruction of a Frenchtown home and the town palisade. 

Midwest Road Trip – Lake Odessa & Kentwood

Two & a half days of travel brought me to Kentwood for a visit with Marijo.  We talked, we laughed, we set up her new Win7 computer & retired her old WinXP one.  We cooked, we cleaned out her basement some, we went to her embroidery group, and we spent a day at the Grand Rapids Museum at its new-to-me home.   In short we had a grand & glorious time.

St. Herman of Alaska Church

We also went to church together at her parish over in Lake Odessa.  I finally got to meet the parishioners I’ve been hearing about for years & they got to meet me. 

St. Herman of Alaska – Interior

There was even an impromptu picnic on Monday evening at one of the parishioners homes.  It has been a very very long time since I’ve been to a cookout next to an orchard.  It short, a good time was had by all & the time to leave arrived way too soon.

Midwest Road Trip - Carey & Fostoria OH

My mother is buried next to my grandparents in the protestant cemetery just outside Carey Ohio.  I don’t get out this way often but when ever I go to Michigan I stop either going or coming. 

My Granddad, Grandma & Mother

   Family Graves & Shade Tree

Carey isn’t any bigger or smaller than its ever been.  There hasn’t been much in the way of new home construction but there is a nice new big Ace Hardware at the edge of town.  The town’s storefronts are mostly solid local entrepreneurial businesses.  The farmland starts right at the edge of town & was looking very healthy.

The main road was under construction & down to one lane each way so I took a county road to Fostoria.  This brought me past the county graveyard with its many military monuments.

Civil War & GAR

Ohio sent a great many lads to the Union Army during the Civil War so I wasn’t surprised to see this monument.

World War I

The brother to this statue stands along the bluff above Lake Michigan in my home town. 

Vietnam War

I haven’t been to the statue on the DC Mall that is shown here as an etching.

Monument to a Confederate Ohio Soldier

This one surprised me.  Its quite large, the largest military monument to just one person in the cemetery.  The Linhart family also furnished the Union Army/GAR monument.  I’d like to know more about the family history.

From here I drove Ypsilanti MI & a coffee stop visit with Peter & Marsha.  Then it was on to my Marijo’s condo in Kentwood MI.  It was good to be back in my home state & better still to visit with old friends.

Midwest Road Trip – Ft Necessity

Fort Necessity is the site of Braddock’s Defeat during the French & Indian War.  I first visited it on a trip to the metro DC area when I was in barely 21.  I’ve been back a time or two but always when I was on my way somewhere else & only had time for a short visit.  This time I had time for a leisurely lunch & even more leisurely visit to the site & its museum.

Reconstructed Fort

The fort was built as a last ditch defensive effort.  The area is open meadow & did offer clear lines of fire but it also has a high water table.  So it gets sloppy muddy wet whenever it rains & of course it rained heavily when it was built & used.

Meadow at Ft. Necessity

This is what the area would have looked like at the time from the defensive embankment.  The small white rectangles near the tree line in the picture is the tree line location at the time of the battle.

 Swivel Cannon

I’d like one of these in working order for my yard.  :-)

Fort Interior

The shed in the center of the fort was built to shelter supplies & the wounded.  The NPS has set up a few props to give a sense of this to the space.

Park Volunteers

I was here on a Thursday so there were just 2 volunteers on site.  They have more on the weekends.  They don’t do a battle, just demonstration firing along with camp open fire cooking etc.   There is also a museum on site that was recently expanded. 

I didn’t stop anywhere else today & camped in an Ohio state park for the night.

1st  Camp with the Van Bed

I built a bed for my van before I left for this trip.  It worked out very well as did the Coleman 12 volt cooler.  The bike was a last minute addition & I really enjoyed riding it around the park camping area. 

Midwest Road Trip – C&O Canal near Hancock

When one is retired one doesn’t need to hurry to get somewhere.  So vacations gently unwind & I can stop at this or that historic location & wander around to my heart’s content.  So I’m on the way to Michigan today, traveling along US 40 in western Maryland & decided to stop at a C&O Canal Visitor Center near Hancock MD.

 C&O Canal Lock Keeper’s House

Unfortunately the National Park Service had closed the center at this location, but the canal & its locks was still worth the visit.

A Canal Lock Area

Most of the C&O Canal is maintained dry so it is possible to really see the design & construction details.  Most of the locks on the canal do not have the wooden lock parts in place. 

 Lock Entrance

The bridges are NPS additions to the lock areas for foot access.  Otherwise folks climb on the stone walls & this isn’t at all good for the walls.

Canal Bed Itself

The canal was originally stonework on both sides.  Once the canal was no longer in service much of the stonework was taken for other projects by the local populace. 

Old Stone House Location

Every lock area seems to have the remains of stone foundations & stone buildings that once were homes for the folks who maintained the canal, its locks & its sluiceways.  

Potomac River near the Lock & Canal

There is a small locally funded museum in Hancock that has nice exhibits on the area’s history.  I stopped there too.  The town itself it struggling to find prosperity. 

Camper Van Bed Unit

Two & a half years ago I traded my much loved GMC Canyon pickup for a Chevy 3/4 ton full windowed cargo van.  My intention was to convert this vehicle into a solo camper using home made modular units that would be easy to remove.  This way the van could be a camper or a cargo hauler as needed.

The bed module would be the largest module & thus needed to be the first one made.  All the other units would then be designed based on their intended use & their position in relation to the bed module. 

 Positioning the 4 Bed Frame Supports

I wanted the wheel well & gas filler housing to be inside the bed frame.  I first thought to build a 1x1 frame & sheath it with 1/4 inch plywood but this idea wasn’t sturdy enough for a removable unit.  Solid wood panels also proved to be less expensive.  The distance from the rear of the wheel well to the front of the gas filler housing was 2 inches longer than a standard length twin or cot mattress.  The cot mattress I’m using is 34 inches wide.  This is a common cot & single RV mattress size. 

 Bed Base Screwed & Glued Together

Here is the bed base cut to size, glued & screwed together, & in place in the van.  The 4 corner joints have a 1x1 clear pine pieces on their interior sides.  The screws go through the wood panel & into this 1x1.  All wood to wood surfaces are glued with Titebond Wood Glue.  I used small pilot holes for all of the screw locations.

Bed Base with Stabilizer Bar

I moved the base around some & found I needed to stabilize the bed’s outside edges.  I used a clear pine 1x2 braced on 1x2 upright supports glued & screwed onto the interior of the end panels.   The area between the wheel well & the gas filler housing is intended for storing van gear like jumper cables, windshield sun screen, wiper fluid etc.  The larger storage area in the foreground of the photo is for more general camping gear. 

 

Bed Module with Plywood Mattress Support in Place

Here is the basic module all assembled.  The overhang in the front will be cut down to 1 inch wider than the mattress once the fitting around the van body support pieces has been done.  The top will then be cut lengthwise,  piano hinges installed & support shocks fitted for access to the under bed storage.  I also need to cut 2 hand grips on the short ends to facilitate removing the module.  Then the whole thing will receive final sanding & an oil finish. 

Bed Module with Mattress

This is the bed module ready for its shake down run on a road trip to Michigan.  There will be a Coleman 12 volt cooler located between the bed unit & the driver’s seat. 

Camper Van Stage 1 with Bed & Gear

Coleman also makes these very neat LED lantern light sets.  There are 10 little green Coleman lanterns on the string & they’re powered by 3 AA batteries.  I’ve got a string of them clipped to the van framework & a 2nd set to attach outside the van at camp sites.  They put out enough light to easily read a book while sitting on the bed.  The bracket above the bed attached to the ceiling struts holds 4 fishing rods with or without reels attached.   The reels hang right at the rear end of the bed so I don’t tend to bump them sitting on the bed.