More detailed account of our Sept. 2025 trip - Part 1 (10/9/2025)

Looking over the railing we watched the lighthouse slowly drifting by. Quick a selfie. Soon, the vastness of the open space. Lake Michigan. The boat slowly started swaying and rocking on the waves of the lake. Not badly, but it was perceptible, especially when you watch the horizon. Just a pleasurable experience.

We are standing on the front deck of the Ferry “The Badger.” Built in 1953 as train ferry to shuttle trains between Ludington, Michigan and Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Now it only ferries vehicles across the lake. We are six days into our fall trip. A trip that will eventually take 16 days. It is taking us, somewhat on a whim, on a drive around Lake Michigan, or so we thought. This was partially prompted by the fact that Wisconsin was the only state in the lower 48 (for the non-US residents, these are the US states excluding Hawaii and Alaska) that I had not set foot in, and partially to try something new this year. We had yet to go camping in our van. I miss it. But, we did not want to do another cross-country drive to Los Angeles this year.

The initial plan was to drive up the eastern coast of Lake Michigan and down the west coast. As we all know, all good plans have the option to change; we wanted to stay away from driving in heavy city traffic. All said and done, we decided to drive to Ludington and take the car ferry across to Manitowoc. We would then eventually drive north along the shore of Lake Michigan and cross back over on the Mackinac bridge (a 5-mile long very tall bridge). Both were somewhat anxiety evoking to my wife. Honestly, both were very pleasurable crossings, and absolutely no anxiety was needed (more later).

You are required to travel a few days when you live in Virginia and want to catch the ferry across Lake Michigan. The first two days were spent at the Shenandoah River State Park, where we hiked and visited the Shanandoah National Park. We hiked 2 miles on the Appalachian Trail which gave us some gorgeous vistas of the Shenandoah valley.

After crossing 5 state boundaries (in order: Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, back to West Virginia and then finally Ohio) we ended up at a camping near Lisbon, Ohio. It was a nice ride, but the camping was so, so. The camping included a good education on how some people live. The manager (or camp host) was a gal who lived with her husband and two kids in a nice large trailer. They had moved to the area from Montana for his job at a nearby refinery. It seemed that the couple just moved from job to job. Follow the money. Then she would pick up some odd jobs here and there, while home schooling the kids. However, this year their oldest had wanted to go to a real (public) school. The next morning a school bus dutifully stopped in front of the camping to pick her up.

We visited friends near Ann Arbor the next night and in the morning, we continued our trip to Ludington. I had screwed up and booked the ferry a day earlier than intended. It meant postponing our planned trip to Holland, Michigan to our return trip. Once in Ludington we visited a microbrewery in town and to the delight of our dogs spent a night in a motel room. In the brewery our dogs provided a rich source of interaction with the folks around us. I do not remember any earth-shaking interactions with folks in Ludington. The beer was decent, but the pizza was strange and fair.

Getting on the ferry and the ferry ride itself was a different story. It was rich with human interactions. Folks with dogs get singled out and their vehicles are boarded last. We had fun walking the dogs before boarding and interacting with fellow dog owners. On board you kept running into the same folks and mid-voyage you were escorted down below to check on the pouches. We really got to know one couple with whom we discussed their vehicle set-up (Ford F-150 pickup with a hybrid package and a camper shell), in particular because we learned that they drove to Alaska in 2024. They also gave us the name of one of their favorite camping spots on the UP (upper peninsula) of Michigan.

The ferry ride was absolutely fun and relaxing. The ferry (the Badger) is an old coal-fired steamship that was built in 1953. Naturally, that fact created a bond between me and the boat, since I was born the same year. The boat served as a railroad ferry, and you can still see the railroad tracks on the boat’s vehicle deck. The ride was 4 hours and the waters on the lake were relatively calm. The boat has two restaurants/snack bars, gift shop, museum and of course the famous Badger Bingo.

The Badger

Breakfast in Manchester, MI

Lighthouse selfie

Boarding the Badger (see the old train tracks?)

James River (12/1/2014)

I posted a small write up on the James River approximately 9 months ago (click here if you like to see that one).  However, here I go again.  It was such a beautiful day on Monday that I had to go for a walk that took me again along the James river in Richmond.  It was great to meditate on the old railroad bridge that juts out over part of the river and think about the force of that water and about where all those drops of water have been.  You can think about where the drop was introduced into the watershed, or even become more philosophical about it and wonder where those molecules have been in the past.  Were they in a drop of sweat that was beading up on the forehead of Leonardo da Vinci or where have those molecules been in the past.  I have mused about things like this before in a blog I did that I called George Washington's shovel.  But water is an amazing thing; without it life is not possible.  Moreover, the way it freezes is important.  If it froze like any other substance would when it cools down, life would be impossible.

We teach that of all the water in the world only 6% is available to us.  All the other water is locked up in ways that we cannot get to it.  Of the 5.85% is in the oceans, leaving only 0.15% usable/fresh water.  Of this fresh water two thirds of it is locked up in glaciers and the remaining is either groundwater or fresh water.  In other words 0.05% of the water on earth is available to us for consumption.  I guess this is why I am always a bit upset when I watch people water their lawns, and especially so when they do it with valuable drinking water.  It is such a waste in my eyes.

Anyway, this another picture of the James.  One of these days I am going to create an extensive post on the river; showing pictures of it's origin (headwaters) to it's outfall into the Bay.  The picture below shows the jumble of the various bridges that go across the river: the road bridge and the I-95 bridge in the far back; the old pilings of a railroad bridge to Petersburg within the back a railroad bridge to Danvville and on the side the main track from Lynchburg.  A virtual spaghetti bowl of bridges and ruins of bridges.  What amazes me that they were able to build them on the spot where the river goes over the fall line.  Just looking at the force f the water amazes me.

Richmond (9/16/2014)

This week I am teaching in Richmond; kind of like a home game, with the exception that it was away from the office in the Science Museum.  I always enjoy teaching there, the place is vibrant with school children and other people who are at least mildly interested in the sciences.  Moreover, I was teaching in the "science room" where the walls have all kinds of details on the geology of Virginia.  I find this very appropriate given I am teaching courses in Erosion and Sediment Control and Stormwater.  It really is great to be out of the office and to be teaching.

The science museum is in the old train station, and when I lived in Cincinnati, that exactly where that science museum was as well.  They are majestic buildings and while it is a shame that these buildings are no longer used for trains, or train traffic has so declined and only one or two trains stop there every day, it is great to see them re-purposed rather that being torn down.  Still, it is a pity that this country is so car oriented and anti public transport.  I really love the U.S., but there are things I would want to improve.  I had a long discussion over lunch today with my fellow teacher, and yes we need to keep history and tradition in mind, but that does not mean we cannot improve where we see some inadequacies.  This photo is somewhat symbolic for this, there is a globe in front of the museum; somewhat symbolic of what I mean.  We are part of a greater world and should not be isolationistic in our thoughts and actions.