Small Town Adventure - Bowling Green, Ohio

On a recent Friday morning, my husband called and said, "I have to be in Bowling Green, Ohio for a meeting Monday morning, do you want to come along?" Since his meeting was at 8:30 and Bowling Green is a good 3-1/2 hours from our house, he was planning to leave Sunday afternoon and stay overnight.

While he is asking me this question, I am lying on the couch on a bag of ice. I had tweaked a muscle in my back the day before, causing the whole right side of my body to feel like a pulled taut bungee cord. You would think my immediate answer would be, "I can't." But having been through this predicament before, generally a whole lot of ice and ibuprofen takes care of the problem in a couple of days. Since nothing was required of me but getting into the car on Sunday, I told him I would decide one way or the other Sunday morning.

Sunday morning while not perfect, I could sit with minimal discomfort. Googling Bowling Green, Ohio, an image search revealed: old buildings, a quaint-looking downtown, and some nature parks. Plenty to keep me busy on Monday.

At three o'clock Sunday afternoon, I climbed into the car, cranked the heated seat to high, and stretched out the best I could. Almost four hours later, we arrived at our hotel.

At dinner that night with one of my husband's coworkers and his wife, I posed the question - where would be some good places to go photograph? This can be a risky question to ask non-photographers. Chris suggested the Historical Center and Museum which was two stop signs down the road from our hotel. As soon as he said old buildings and cemetery, I knew that his suggestion could be taken seriously.

Shortly after eight o'clock Monday morning, I checked out of the hotel (Glen had already left with another colleague) and drove two stop signs down the road, crossed a country highway and found the Wood County Historical Center. Formerly, the Wood County Infirmary, i.e. county poor house. I was in heaven.

The Wood County Infirmary operated from 1869-1971. After 102 years of operation the Infirmary closed. It reopened in 1975 as a Museum. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

The Infirmary Cemetery is the final resting place of over 400 Wood County residents. Not everybody buried here lived in the Infirmary. Residents too poor to afford burial in a public cemetery were also buried here. The county paid for a simple pine box and grave marker noted with a number. They do have records of who is buried here, but none that indict which number belongs to which name.

Two parks that I also visited while in Bowling Green were: Wintergarden Park and Simpson Garden Community Center. Both beautiful parks, but it was too hot and too sunny for any good photos. I am hoping to be invited back to Bowling Green so I can explore further.

Mental Health Day

Even though our winter was mild by Michigan standards, and I like photographing the barrenness of winter landscapes, it is not a time of year that I am keen on bundling up in many layers and traveling icy, snow drifted roads for the sake of adventure. Our spring has not been much kinder, full of raindrops, gray skies, and arthritis aching dampness.

Last Friday, the sun and the temperature finally united to form a perfect spring day. Knowing my daughter was working in town that day, and that she could give the puppy and my dear Scout an occasional potty break and romp around the backyard, I set out for a day long adventure.

As I drove towards my yet-to-be determined destination, I could hear the voice in my head singing with delight. I hesitate to call the voice in my head my Muse because that makes me sound so Woo Woo, and I am not a Woo Woo kind of person, but calling it the voice in my head makes me sound mentally unstable, so I think I will embrace Muse. I realized while I was driving, that I had not been on a solo adventure since last October when I drove to Pennsylvania to meet my friend Andrea for a week. Six months is much too long between adventures for my Muse, and she had grown very quiet, barely a whisper on the rare occasion. I need to hear her loud and clear in order to stay on my creative path.

I had two destination possibilities in mind, both were off the same highway exit, it was just a matter of turning right or turning left. When I reached the exit, I chose right. Right was towards a town I had wanted to explore last summer, but summer ran out before I got there. It was a twenty mile drive from the highway to the town, I settled into the country drive, and kept my eyes open for possibilities. About halfway to my destination I saw it: a small, white clapboard outbuilding nestled into the tall pine trees in an old country cemetery. The building would be perfect for the first lesson in Susan Tuttle's new e-course, Mobile Art Mastery. As usual, I didn't react fast enough to turn onto the narrow cemetery lane, so I drove to the next gravel road, and did my first three-point turn of the day. Once parked on the cemetery lane, I got out my camera and tripod, and got lost in the moment.

Overjoyed with my first find of the day, I knew I had made the right turn. As I drove on towards my destination I saw a mileage estimate sign for upcoming towns. My destination was only seven miles away, but another town, one that I had never been too before was only twenty-seven miles away. Well what the heck, the day was still young and I had plenty of time. I drove through my destination town and on to unknown adventure.

As I neared my new destination, I began to look for a bathroom, the chai latte I had had an hour earlier started to make it's presence known. Then suddenly to my left, I saw a sign for the Leila Arboretum, I forgot about the bathroom. I drove along the tranquil blossom filled roads, but then the chai's presence returned, I looked for a restroom along the tranquil roads, but no such luck. I decided to drive towards the downtown find a bathroom, have an early lunch, and then return to the gardens.

After lunch I returned to the Arboretum. Grabbing my camera with macro lens from the back seat I set off down the paths filled with flowering trees. Being high noon, I knew the macro was my best option, I wasn't going to get full landscapes, but I could get close up shots of the blossoms under the shade of the trees. I spent an hour walking, photographing and exploring.

I knew this was a town I wanted to come back to and investigate more, so I left the rest of the town for another day.

On my way home, I had the option to return the way I had come, or to pick an alternate route. I chose the alternate. There was more stopping, walking and photographing as I traveled along, all the while my Muse singing songs of joy. It was the creative day that I needed, and something I need to do on a more regular basis, both for my sanity and for the voice of my Muse.

Instagram Meet Up

Photo Credit: Sleeping Bear Dunes NPS

Last Saturday, my daughter Mallory and I participated in our first Instagram Meet Up. I have been wanting to do one of these forever, so when the invitation popped up in my Instagram feed on Wednesday, I knew I had to go.

It didn't matter that the meet up was three hours away, what did matter was that the weather forecast called for 100% sunshine, even if the temperature was only going to be 37 degrees. I didn't have anything else I had to do that day, a rare thing for a Saturday. But most important, the meet up was happening in my favorite place on earth - Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

The appointed meeting place was the one room schoolhouse. Surprisingly, the schoolhouse is not owned by the National Park Service, it is still owned by the Glen Haven School District, so no inside tour.

We did get an inside tour of the Miller barn that was a short trip down the road. A lot of the wood needed for the restoration work on these old buildings is stored in a scattering of historic barns throughout the park.

From the barn we set off on a short hike to, as my daughter teased me "one of your favorite things". Mallory interned at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore a couple of summers ago, she knew where we were going, but wanted me to be surprised.

A small family cemetery located on the bluff overlooking Lake Michigan, too bad I am not a part of the Werner family, this is where I would like to be buried.

After the cemetery it was an uphill hike to a view from the top of a bluff. The day was crystal clear and we could see for miles.

Just an FYI, that is not Wisconsin in the background behind Mallory - that is North Manitou Island. Mallory and my husband have hiked/camped there on a few occasions and are planning a return trip.

It was a great day spent with my beautiful girl in my favorite place; throw in some history about the area and the Insta Meet was a success.

5 Random Friday Finds

Find No. 1

I am taking Vivienne McMaster's Double Exposure Love class this week. I found I am in creative heaven at the moment. Something fun and different to learn. Mainly we are using the Diana Photo App which is available for iPhone and Android. This photo is actually triple exposed.

The base layer is this photo, taken at Lake Leelanau:

Then this texture of a wooden door at the Northern Michigan Asylum in Traverse City is exposed over top of it:

I then added one of the filters  in the Diana App and saved it:

Which is quite pretty just by itself, but then I brought that back into Diana as the base layer and  added this photo of my daughter, Mallory sitting on the rocks at Presque Isle Park in Marquette, over top of the base layer:

I added another filter and saved it, which gave me the finished creation of the first image.

Find No. 2

I am still working on my #the100daysproject #100daysofleadinglines on Instagram. This is my favorite so far this week.

Find No. 3

I found a new collar waiting for Scout on the front step the other day, sent with love from Mallory.

Find No. 4

I have found texting to be so handy for many things including sending your daughter a recipe for a snack bread that she wants to make while she is away at school. The beauty of technology, it does have its pluses. 

Find No. 5

I found an unused railroad track next to the cemetery, which will be ideal for doing some self-portraiture work, definitely won't be any gawkers there.

Joining Kim for Friday Finds

The Abandoned Mill

It seems like my husband has been gone a lot lately for work, I try not to complain too much about. But when he told me he had to be gone Saturday morning to Kalamazoo to help deliver some cleaning equipment for work, I had had enough. I suggested that we go together and then while he was working I would take the car and do some exploring then come back and pick him up when he was done. We decided that would be a good idea.

Kalamazoo is about an hour southeast of where we live. I always seem to be northbound so I don't get this direction often, this was the perfect excuse to do just that.  I forgot my wonderful Michigan Recreational Atlas at home which has detailed topographic maps of each county. I love this atlas. I have always plotted out my back roads adventures using it. And I guess this adventure is the start of a revival of the back roads adventures I did last year. I have missed them and I am at a place where I am ready to do them again.  Now seems such an impractical time with winter right around the corner, but we will get out as much as we can before the snow flies.

Without my atlas, I was relying completely on my Google Maps app to get me back to Glen at the appointed hour. I decided to pick a main road and start driving south. At first I was disappointed that there weren't many barns along this road, but then I saw this building and that made me happy.

Although Boat Storage made me laugh since there was no water in sight. Never the less I loved the dull sheen of the building and the magnificent lettering of BOAT STORAGE.

Inspired by my first find I continued on, driving in large squares so that I would find my starting point back each time and not get completely lost.

I drove into the town of Vicksburg and noticed an Art Sale going on at this building...

Honestly the building interested me more than the art sale. I even drove into the parking lot snapped this photo with my phone then got back in my car and drove off looking for more unique buildings.

In one of my large driving squares I spotted a cemetery.

Being the cemetery geek that I am this caused me to slow down and then I saw this...

Thankfully there was a wide shoulder to the road here so I pulled over, got out and set off to explore...

Since this was the day after Halloween there was a bit of a creepy feeling to the place, and who puts a school next to a cemetery?!

Leaving the cemetery and old school house behind, I circled back into Vicksburg again. This time gathering up my courage and curiosity, I stopped at the Art Sale at the Nursery Building. And oh boy am I glad I did.

As I walked into the building the first thing I noticed were lovely hand crafted pottery pieces. I love pottery! Then I noticed free hot spiced apple cider, free cookies and donut holes. Oh yum! I was starving and there had definitely been no Starbucks anywhere in Vicksburg. Hot cider and chocolate chip cookie in hand I began to wander, admiring all the beautiful pottery pieces. Then I noticed one lone photographer amongst the booths, naturally I gravitated that way. The first thing I noticed as I approached his booth were three matted and framed photographs of gloriously decaying wood doors.

I struck up a conversation with Dave, a hobby photographer who has been photographing for over twenty years. I asked how the transition from film to digital went for him. He still prefers film but is practical about needing to be digital. Then I asked him about those doors. He said they were taken at the abandoned paper mill just on the other side of town. "Oh really", I said. "Is this place easily accessible?" "Oh sure it is, just go through town and take a left, you will see it." After more conversation and admiring his work, we exchanged business cards and then I was excited to get out of there and go find this mill.

Sure enough, through town, a left turn and there is was. The front was unimpressive being a combination of bad 1960's and 1970's additions, but because I had seen those photographs I knew there was more. I was expecting NO TRESPASSING signs and fence barriers but there were none of those things, just some large cement pieces so you couldn't drive around the mill. I parked in a nearby parking lot, geared up, and set off.

There was an intentionally set fire here in August of 2012 that heavily damaged portions of the mill. A suspect was caught and tried for arson but found not guilty.

Here is an early photo of the mill...

Vicksburg's Lee Paper Company was originally built to fill a need for a rag-content paper mill in the Kalamazoo Valley paper producing region. Vicksburg was selected because it had a good supply of clean water, two railroads and was centrally located to possible paper markets.

When construction was completed in 1905, production was 35,000 pounds of paper per day. There were 205 employees whose wages ran from 20 cents per hour to 32-1/2 cents an hour. Girls earned 10 cents an hour sometimes working 50-60 hours a week.

Textiles in the form of worn-out clothing and other rags formed the material for rag-content paper. Women sorted the rags, removed buttons and foreign objects in the Rag Room. The cloth was shredded, cooked and processed into fine-quality writing papers.

In 1996 the mill was purchased by Fox River Paper Company, who then announced it's closing by March of 2001. The fate of its beautiful buildings, among the oldest manufacturing structures in the area, is unknown.

The windows and doors that peaked my interest in the first place...

Along with a few other fluttery feeling finds...

I am in a Facebook Group called The Monochrome Explorers so I converted this one to monochrome to post in the group...

Such a sad loss for the area in both jobs and the loss of history. I am so thankful the buildings are still standing today so I could photograph them, but for how much longer remains to be seen. I am thankful too that I followed my curiosity and ventured into that Art Sale and met Dave.

*Historical information taken from the Vicksburg, MI History page, click here to see more vintage photos from the mill.