Browsed by
Category: Main Blog

Clouds in my Coffee: An Apology to Minnesota

Clouds in my Coffee: An Apology to Minnesota

After spending so many days wandering through Michigan, I was kind of looking forward to leaving it behind.  Not because it wasn’t beautiful, it was wild and wonderful actually, but I still feel perhaps a bit too driven and want to keep moving.  I also wanted to get my oil and filter changed, and Duluth, Minnesota seemed like the next big town where it would be convenient to do that. It still took hours of driving to escape Michigan, and…

Read More Read More

Kat and the Art of FJ Cruiser Maintenance

Kat and the Art of FJ Cruiser Maintenance

I stopped in the town of Houghton last night and, before the clouds opened up, it looked like quite a nice place, with a large university, and one other claim to fame. That’s pretty important in the northcountry!  But since I had a nice flat place to park, and I had passed the 5,000 mile mark on my trip the day before, I thought it might be time to check on the health of my Baby Blue.  Toyotas are the…

Read More Read More

The Mitten and the U.P. (Alternatively: I’ve been driving for three days and I’m Still in Michigan?!?)

The Mitten and the U.P. (Alternatively: I’ve been driving for three days and I’m Still in Michigan?!?)

The title of this post will make a lot more sense if you look at a map of the state of Michigan.  The lower part is shaped a bit like a mitten with the thumb on the right, and the northern part is called the Upper Peninsula, The U.P. After my tour of the Ford Rouge Factory and leaving the Detroit area, I thought I’d check out the rest of Michigan.  I had always heard that the Upper Peninsula was pretty, and… well……

Read More Read More

Ford Rouge Factory, Dearborn, MI

Ford Rouge Factory, Dearborn, MI

It turns out that Detroit, Michigan is nothing like I thought it was.  I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting — maybe I thought that a place called the Motor City would be… I don’t know… greasier?  More blue collar? But I think the term Modern Industrial Complex applies much better, and with a Starbucks on every corner, major glass skyscrapers, and an excellent, if rather alarming, road system, I think any modern city dweller would be happy to…

Read More Read More

Days Like These

Days Like These

I always knew that there would be days like these.  A couple of days ago I found myself in heavy traffic outside of Cleveland, playing tag with 18 wheelers, and hardly able to keep my eyes open.  It was getting dangerous.  I pulled over at a truck stop and slept in the back for an hour or so, but that didn’t seem to help me much when I got back on the road. The next day was slightly better because…

Read More Read More