Greenfield Village

We all went to see Greenfield Village.  It is located next to The Henry Ford and is a large indoor and outdoor historic park.  

Set for a day of touring.

We started the day with a trip around the village.  We all had cinders in our hair and on our clothes when it was over. It was great.  

These signs can tell the story much better than I can because of my CRS.

The Wright brothers family home.  Ohio may lay claim to being the birthplace of aviation but North Carolina was first in flight.

We found this out of state couple panhandling and generally harassing the tourists.

This is the railroad round house.  I didn't need to read the sign for this one, I recognized the shape.  

The machine shop.

Have I mentioned before that I love trains?

For every hour the engines run, they need an hour of maintenance.

This will get your attention for dinner.

We watched a demonstration of glass blowing.  The patience and skill these men have is impressive.

  

A 1900's carousel.

Ford was a good friend and great admirer of Thomas Edison.

Edisons office was on the first floor.

This was his lab located on the second floor.

As an electrician, this fascinates me.

Notice the attachment for the wires.

Here is the wiring running along ceilings and walls.  Original knob and tube wiring.

Modes of transportation in the park.

Again, as with The Ford, there was so much to see that these photos are only a small sample of what there is to enjoy.

I got in touch with an old high school buddy that lives in the area and he and his wife came over for a visit.  We hadn't seen each other in 51 years.

The next day we toured the Ford Rouge Factory.  F150's are assembled in this plant.  

This is the roof of the plant.  It' is truly a green plant.

Here is a view of the roof.  Those large structures are skylights to let natural light into the plant.

It was a great tour but since everything in the plant is proprietary, no photos were allowed.  We were allowed to take photos of the cars in the lobby, though.

Our last night together, we had a cookout.  We are headed to Kentucky to see The Ark, some are heading to Shipshewana and others are heading home.  

We had a great time with good friends and are planning a trip again next year.

Third Leg of the Rally

Six rigs continued on to our third stop and are camped at Greenfield Village RV Park.  In the mornings, we are treated to this view of our neighbors. 

 We spent our first day touring The Henry Ford, one of the best if not the best museum we've been in. 

John and Shirley met Shirley's daughter, Carolyn at the museum.  

This place is enormous and the most eclectic museum we have been in.  

This is President Reagan's limo that took him to the hospital after he was shot.

Here is the limo that took JFK to the hospital.

The limos went all the way back to Teddy Roosevelt who didn't like automobiles so this was his "limo" 

I love trains and the museum didn't disappoint.  

What a trip it would be to ride in this.  

As expected, the automobile section was amazing with a wide variety of cars.  I wouldn't mind owning this one.

This Duesenberg cost more than a Mercedes and Rolls Royce combined. 

Here are two more pictures.  I needed to  be selective or this blog would go on way too long.  

A blow-up demonstration of a Model T 

Next was the aircraft section.  

Vickie and Vicki wing walking

Telephones.

Vickie in the furniture section.

Who remembers this?  

Yes, that is a Hot Dog Bun Sofa

The farming section.

This Dymaxion House was designed by Buckminster Fuller to meet the post-World War Two housing demand.  It was made from aircraft aluminum from factories that were not producing aircraft anymore due to the wars end.  

It never went into production and only a few prototypes were built.  

The most impressive part of the museum to me was the enormous generators, motors and machinery on display.

Driving Miss Vicki

This is the chair that President Lincoln was sitting in when he was shot by John Wilkes Booth.

There is so much to see under one roof, we were only able to give you a taste of what we saw.  This place needs to be seen in person to comprehend the sheer size and scope of the displays.