Madison WI & Wisconsin Dells/ Cedar Rapids IA

 Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. As of July 1, 2016, Madison's estimated population of 252,551 made it the second largest city in Wisconsin, after Milwaukee, and the 82nd largest in the United States.

Olbrich Botanical Gardens is located in Madison, Wisconsin. Named for its founder, Michael Olbrich, the gardens are owned and operated jointly by the City of Madison Parks and the non-profit Olbrich Botanical Society. The gardens were established in 1952.
Noteworthy additions to the gardens were the Bolz Conservatory in 1991, and a Thai pavilion or sala, a gift to the University of Wisconsin–Madison from the Thai Chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association and the government of Thailand through its king, Bhumibol Adulyadej. Opened in 2002, it is one of only four sala outside of Thailand and one of two in the United States (the other is located in Hawaii).

The Thai Garden contains the sala, which is joined to the gardens by a 155-foot (47 m) arched footbridge crossing Starkweather Creek. This garden has a shallow reflecting pool near the pavilion and is filled with small examples of Thai sculpture. The plants in this garden were carefully selected to give a tropical appearance to the garden in the summer, while choosing plants capable of surviving Wisconsin winters.

Something the brochure doesn't tell you.
The Thai Pavilion was actually one of the last things to land on 9/11 before all flights were stopped, it landed safely just minutes before shut down.

Wisconsin Dells is a city in south-central Wisconsin, with a population of 2,678 people as of the 2010 census. It straddles four counties: Adams, Columbia, Juneau, and Sauk.
The city takes its name from the Dells of the Wisconsin River, a scenic, glacially formed gorge that features striking sandstone formations along the banks of the Wisconsin River. Together with the nearby village of Lake Delton, the city forms an area known as "the Dells", a popular Midwestern tourist destination.

Because of the scenery provided by the dells of the Wisconsin River, Kilbourn City quickly became a popular travel destination in the Midwest. In 1856, Leroy Gates began taking tourists on boat tours of the Wisconsin Dells. These tours were given using wooden rowboats until 1873 when the first steamboat, the Modocawanda, was used. In 1875, early landscape photographer H. H. Bennett established a studio in the city and took many photos of the sandstone formations in the dells, including stereoscopic views. Prints of these photographs were distributed across the United States, further enhancing the status of Kilbourn City as a destination for sightseers. Taking advantage of this, Bennett began offering to take souvenir pictures of visitors to the dells, becoming one of the first to capitalize on the area's burgeoning tourist trade.

Witches Gulch: Not every slot canyon has to be made of red and gold sandstone. Witches Gulch in Wisconsin brings some emerald colors to the party. A wood boardwalk leads hikers into the moss-covered sandstone slot, which in some places is so narrow you can touch both sides of the canyon. Located in the tourist-heavy Wisconsin Dells, visitors can get here either by car or by boat. Witches Gulch was discovered in 1871 by H.H. Bennett, a photographer credited with making the dells popular among tourists.

Stand rock in the Dells shows the unique rock formations and colors seen in the Dells area.








Cedar Rapids  is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County.



Czech Village is located along 16th Avenue SW, which is south of the Cedar River. It is home to such Czech-related businesses as The Czech Cottage, Sykora Bakery, and White Lion Treasures. The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library is one of the major tourist attractions in Cedar Rapids, and the nearby Bohemian National Cemetery may also be of interest to visitors.

Sykora Czech bakery is a must visit kind of place when in the Czech Village.










The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library (NCSML) is a museum and library of Czech and Slovak history and culture located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the United States. Established in 1974, the museum and library moved to its present site in 1983. The museum and library was severely affected by the Iowa flood of 2008. In 2012, rebuilding and expansion efforts were completed and the NCSML reopened.
In 1974, several second and third-generation Czech Americans in the Cedar Rapids area founded the Czech Fine Arts Foundation to preserve their Czech heritage and culture. In 1978, the group's growing collection of artifacts and documents caused them to open a Czech Museum in a three-room house, where the museum attracted additional materials and volunteers. In 1981, the collections were moved to a new building on the museum's current site with the goal of permanent public display. In 1983, the group acquired a 2,200 square feet (200 m²) 19th-century immigrant home and moved it to its property, where it was restored and furnished in the style of the 1880s and 1890s.

Displays of the traditional clothing. This has got to be where I get my sewing skills from.


For hundreds of years Czechs and Slovaks were under the control of imperial and totalitarian regimes that often limited their political, cultural, religious and personal freedoms. In their search for freedom, some people resisted, many adapted and others chose to leave to find opportunity in a new country like America.

Czechoslovakia had survived the Holy Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and then in 1938, European leaders Hitler, Mussolini, Daladier and Chamberlain sign the Munich Agreement, allowing Nazi Germany to annex Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland in an effort to appease Hitler and prevent war. Soon after, World War II breaks out. Many thousands of Czechs are forced to leave their homes and give up their property without compensation.

Over 100,000 Jews from the Czechoslovakia are deported to concentration camps from 1938-41.

From 1945-47 Roughly 3 million ethnic Germans and Hungarians are forcibly deported from Czechoslovakia following the end of the war, known as Benes Decrees, the laws require them to give up their Czech citizenship and their property ( stolen property) without compensation. AKA go home you Nazi's!

On Jan. 1, 1993 Czechoslovakia peacefully split into two new democratic nations, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, the end of communism presented an opportunity for change,  it is known as "The Velvet Divorce.

Here is an example of the steamer ships that Czechoslovakians came over on.
Leaving home and moving to the United States was difficult for immigrants - emotionally and physically. While today most people come to the U.S. by airplane, from the 1860's to the 1950's the journey was done by steamship.
There were three types of accommodations on the ships that brought immigrants: first class, second class and steerage. Steerage was the least expensive way to travel, but passengers had little privacy or fresh food, and disease was an ever present threat. 

 The Chihuly collection:
Chihuly's grandfather John Chihuly was born in slovakia and immigrated to the U.S. in 1890.
As a young artist, Dale Chihuly was inspired by the architectural glass works of legendary Czech artists Stanisslav Libensky and Jaroslava Brychtova. In 1969 he went to Czechoslovakia to meet and learn from them, he spent to years under their wings.






Several of the pieces in this collection were so beautiful that pictures wouldn't do them justice.

I really enjoyed this part of our travels, I learned more about my heritage, got to remember happy parts of my childhood through tasty food and saw some amazing pieces of glass art.
I learned some new fun things, like, one of my favorite artists Mucha was Czech and singer sewing machines Czech! 
Wishing everyone a safe and peaceful week, until next time, be kind to one another.

Fargo ND/ Minneapolis MN

Fargo is the most populous city in the state of North Dakota, accounting for over 15% of the state population.

Fargo–Moorhead is a common name given to the metropolitan area comprising Fargo, North Dakota, Moorhead, Minnesota, and the surrounding communities...
Fun fact: the 1996 movie Fargo which only mentioned the town twice in the whole movie was NOT shot in or near Fargo, ND.

Moorhead is a city in Clay County, Minnesota, United States, and the largest city in northwest Minnesota. The population was 42,005 according to the 2015 United States Census estimates.
The Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center, commonly known as the Hjemkomst Center, is a museum in Moorhead, Minnesota. Hjemkomst Center first opened in 1985 and serves as a home to Hjemkomst Viking Ship, Hopperstad Stave Church replica, quarterly museum exhibits, and county archives.
Hjemkomst, which means "Homecoming" in Norwegian, is a replica Viking ship that is permanently housed in the center of the museum. The ship is a full-scale replica of the Gokstad Viking ship that was discovered in Norway in 1880. The idea for building Hjemkomst was that of Robert Asp (1923-1980), a guidance counselor at Moorhead Junior High School. Construction on Hjemkomst began in 1974 at the Leslie Welter Potato Warehouse in Hawley, Minnesota. The warehouse site was then transformed into the Hawley Shipyard during the construction. That same year, Asp became diagnosed with leukemia; however he still continued to build the ship; he had help from other volunteers.
In July 1980 the Hawley Shipyard was torn down for the removal and christening of the completed ship. Hjemkomst was shipped overnight to Duluth, Minnesota, on August 5, 1980. Asp held the rank as captain during the ship's maiden voyage throughout Lake Superior until his death four months later on December 27, 1980. In May 1982, Asp's three sons and daughter along with eight members of Hjemkomst crew decided to sail Hjemkomst to Norway, which was Asp's original dream. The ship departed New York City on June 8, 1982 and arrived in Bergen, Norway 19 July and on August 9, 1982 the ship arrived in Oslo.

The Hopperstad Stave Church Replica is a replica of a Norwegian stave church located on the grounds of the Hjemkomst Center. The church was built in 1998 by Guy Paulson and was constructed of cedar, redwood, and pine. It is a full-scale replica of the 12th Century Hopperstad Stave Church in Vik, Norway. The church serves as a reminder of the Scandinavian heritage in the Red River Valley.

Minneapolis: is the largest city in the state of Minnesota and 46th-largest in the United States, with an estimated population of 413,651. Minneapolis and Saint Paul anchor the second-largest economic center in the Midwest, after Chicago.


The American Swedish Institute (ASI) is a museum and cultural center in the Phillips West neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The organization is dedicated to the preservation and study of the historic role Sweden and Americans of Swedish heritage have played in US culture and history. The museum complex includes the Swan Turnblad Mansion, completed in 1910, and the adjoining Nelson Cultural Center, completed in 2012.

The American Swedish Institute is housed in a turn-of-the-20th-century mansion that was built for Swedish immigrants Swan and Christina Turnblad. Swan Turnblad immigrated with his family to the United States in 1868 at the age of eight. His parents made the decision to leave their farm in the famine-ridden area of Småland, Sweden. The family settled in a Swedish community called Vasa in southern Minnesota where they joined relatives who had settled in the area earlier.
Swan Turnblad was not content to continue in the family farming tradition. In 1879 Turnblad left Vasa for Minneapolis where he lived the quintessential rags-to-riches American success story. After he moved to Minneapolis, Turnblad worked at several Swedish language newspapers as a typesetter. His interest in the printing industry eventually led to his success as publisher of the Swedish language newspaper Svenska Amerikanska Posten. Within ten years he was the sole owner. Under his management, circulation of the weekly paper soared to over 40,000, a substantial increase from the 1,400 it initially claimed. This publication was likely the principal source of Turnblad's wealth.

The institute was really beautiful, they had original antique looms and lace making threaders that made my heart melt.

The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), formerly known as the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, is a fine art museum located in the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, on a campus that covers nearly 8 acres (32,000 m²), formerly Morrison Park.









 This museum had a wonderful collection of native american art as well as asian art, early english art collections, there were many different countries and periods represented but the asian art area was my favorite.

The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is an 11-acre (4.5 ha) park in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the United States. It is located near the Walker Art Center, which operates it in coordination with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. It reopened June 10, 2017 after a reconstruction that resulted with the Walker and Sculpture Garden being unified as one 19-acre campus. It is one of the largest urban sculpture gardens in the country, with 40 permanent art installations and several other temporary pieces that are moved in and out periodically.

There were a few pieces here that I actually remember being at the crystal bridges outdoor exhibit in Arkansas.

These were my favorites that I saw, there a tree filled all the way to the top with wind chimes too but I couldn't get a good enough picture.

The Minnesota State Fair is the state fair of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its slogan is "The Great Minnesota Get-Together." It is the largest state fair in the United States by average daily attendance. It is also the second-largest state fair in the United States by total attendance, trailing only the State Fair of Texas, which generally runs twice as long as the Minnesota State Fair.

The state fairgrounds, adjoining the Saint Paul campus of the University of Minnesota, are in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, midway between the state's capital city of St. Paul and its largest city, Minneapolis, near the Como Park and Saint Anthony Park neighborhoods of Saint Paul.

Residents of the state and region come to the fair to be entertained, exhibit their best livestock, show off their abilities in a variety of fields including art and cooking, learn about new products and services, and enjoy many different types of food—often on a stick. The fair runs for twelve days from late August into early September, ending on Labor Day. The Minnesota State Fair was named the best state fair in the United States in 2015 by readers of USA Today.

To say that it is a spectacle is not doing it justice, there is a sea of people.
Attendance in 2017 was a record 1,997,320 people. The highest daily attendance in the history of the fair was 260,374 visitors on Saturday, September 3, 2016.
The Saturday we were there it rained most of the day so there were only about 194,000 people there, we made a lot of new friends.

Minnesota was a really fun and cool place, it had more than I expected to find there as well as a lot of culture, I would definitely go back sometime.
Until next time may your paths be clear, your skies be sunny and your futures bright.... and remember, be kind to one another.

Omaha, NE / Bablands, SD

Omaha (/ˈoʊməhɑː/ OH-mə-hah) is the largest city in the state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 10 miles (15 km) north of the mouth of the Platte River.

Notable modern Omaha inventions include: the bobby pin and the "pink hair curler", at Omaha's Tip Top; Butter Brickle Ice Cream and the Reuben sandwich, conceived by a chef at the then-Blackstone Hotel on 36th and Farnam Streets; cake mix, developed by Duncan Hines, then a division of Omaha's Nebraska Consolidated Mills, the forerunner to today's ConAgra Foods; center-pivot irrigation by the Omaha company now known as Valmont Corporation; Raisin Bran, developed by Omaha's Skinner Macaroni Co.; the ski lift, in 1936, by Omaha's Union Pacific Corp; the "Top 40" radio format, pioneered by Todd Storz, scion of Omaha's Storz Brewing Co., and head of Storz Broadcasting, which was the first in the U.S. to use the "Top 40" format at Omaha's KOWH Radio; and the TV dinner, developed by Omaha's Carl Swanson Co. There are a lot of notable things from Omaha but as a child going to visit here in the summers with my grandparents, it seemed very boring, I remember asking one of my uncles what there was to do in omaha and he told me "well you can drink or chew gum", he wasn't far off the mark, I chewed a lot of gum here.

Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium:
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is nationally renowned for its leadership in animal conservation and research. Evolving from the public Riverview Park Zoo established in 1894, today the zoo includes several notable exhibits. It features the largest cat complex in North America; "Kingdoms of the Night" is the world's largest nocturnal exhibit and indoor swamp; the Lied Jungle is one of the world's largest indoor rainforests, and the "Desert Dome" is one of the world's largest indoor deserts, as well as the largest glazed geodesic dome in the world. The zoo is Nebraska’s top paid attendance attraction and has welcomed more than 25 million visitors over the past 40 years.
I saw animals here that I've never seen before in my life and I've been to a lot of zoo's, it was really amazing and very big, give yourself 2 days.



Wall  "Town alongside the Badlands" is a town in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States.
The town is most famous for the Wall Drug Store, which opened as a small pharmacy in 1931 during the Depression, but eventually developed into a large roadside tourist attraction.

The small town drugstore made its first step towards fame when it was purchased by Ted Hustead in 1931. Hustead was a Nebraska native and pharmacist who was looking for a small town with a Catholic church in which to establish his business. He bought Wall Drug, located in a 231-person town in what he referred to as "the middle of nowhere," and strove to make a living. Business was very slow until his wife, Dorothy, thought of advertising free ice water to parched travelers heading to the newly opened Mount Rushmore monument 60 miles (97 km) to the west. From that time on business was brisk. Wall Drug grew into a cowboy-themed shopping mall/department store.
Wall Drug includes a western art museum, a chapel based on the one found at New Melleray Abbey near Dubuque, Iowa, and an 80-foot (24 m) apatosaurus (formerly brontosaurus) that can be seen right off Interstate 90. It was designed by Emmet Sullivan who also created the dinosaurs at Dinosaur Park in Rapid City and Dinosaur World in Arkansas.

Wall Drug earns much of its fame from its self-promotion. Billboards advertising the establishment can be seen for hundreds of miles throughout South Dakota and the neighboring states. In addition, many visitors of Wall Drug have erected signs throughout the world announcing the miles to Wall Drug from famous locations.
Most of Wall Drug's advertisement billboards can be found on an approximately 650-mile-long (1,050 km) stretch of Interstate 90 from Minnesota to Billings, Montana.
  

Badlands National Park is a national park in southwestern South Dakota that protects 242,756 acres (379.306 sq mi; 98,240 ha) of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles, and spires blended with the largest undisturbed mixed grass prairie in the United States. The park is managed by the National Park Service.

For 11,000 years, Native Americans have used this area for their hunting grounds. Long before the Lakota were the little-studied paleo-Indians, followed by the Arikara people. Their descendants live today in North Dakota as a part of the Three Affiliated Tribes. Archaeological records combined with oral traditions indicate that these people camped in secluded valleys where fresh water and game were available year round. Eroding out of the stream banks today are the rocks and charcoal of their campfires, as well as the arrowheads and tools they used to butcher bison, rabbits, and other game. From the top of the Badlands Wall, they could scan the area for enemies and wandering herds. If hunting was good, they might hang on into winter, before retracing their way to their villages along the Missouri River. By one hundred and fifty years ago, the Great Sioux Nation consisting of seven bands including the Oglala Lakota, had displaced the other tribes from the northern prairie.

Aspects of American homesteading began before the end of the American Civil War; however, it did not affect the Badlands until the 20th century. Then, many hopeful farmers traveled to South Dakota from Europe or the eastern United States to try to seek out a living in the area. The standard size for a homestead was 160 acres (65 ha). Being in a semi-arid, wind-swept environment, this proved far too small of a holding to support a family. In 1916, in the western Dakotas, the size of a homestead was increased to 640 acres (260 ha). Cattle grazed the land, and crops such as winter wheat and hay were cut annually. However, the Great Dust Bowl events of the 1930s, combined with waves of grasshoppers, proved too much for most of the settlers of the Badlands. Houses, which had been built out of sod blocks and heated by buffalo chips, were abandoned. Those who remained today ranch and raise wheat.

The Prairie dog has made a permanent home here at the badlands, you can see hundreds of there burrows. These guys may not be welcome everywhere else but here they help regrow the black-footed ferret population, the most endangered land mammal in North America. They live in the old abandoned prairie dog homes as well as eating them.

Some kind of rocky mountain big horn sheep crossing the road.
They were being baaahhhd.

Big horned Sheep, just having some lunch, trying not to be bothered by the paparazzi.


Lots of animals, Lots of fun, the badlands were beautiful I'm really glad we came, so much color and life.
Until we meet again, be kind to one another.

Springfeild, IL

Springfield: is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County.
 Present-day Springfield was settled by European Americans in the late 1810s, around the time Illinois became a state. The most famous historic resident was Abraham Lincoln, who lived in Springfield from 1837 until 1861, when he went to the White House as President. Major tourist attractions include multiple sites connected with Lincoln including his presidential library and museum, his home from 1837 to 1861, his tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery, and the historical town of New Salem, within a short drive from the city.


Union Station, built in 1897 is now the President Lincoln Visitor Center, close to the Museum and Library.



Abraham Lincoln: Born in Hodgenville, Kentucky, Lincoln grew up on the western frontier in Kentucky and Indiana. Largely self-educated, he became a lawyer in Illinois, a Whig Party leader, and was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives, in which he served for eight years. Elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1846, Lincoln promoted rapid modernization of the economy through banks, tariffs, and railroads. Because he had originally agreed not to run for a second term in Congress, and because his opposition to the Mexican–American War was unpopular among Illinois voters, Lincoln returned to Springfield and resumed his successful law practice. Reentering politics in 1854, he became a leader in building the new Republican Party, which had a statewide majority in Illinois. In 1858, while taking part in a series of highly publicized debates with his opponent and rival, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, Lincoln spoke out against the expansion of slavery, but lost the U.S. Senate race to Douglas.

President Lincoln's devotion to anti-slavery, Equal rights and freedom for all changed the face of our nation, he is still one of the most quotable and honorable presidents we have ever had.

 "A house divided against itself cannot stand."

"Whatever you are, be a good one"
 
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."

"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today."

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum documents the life of the 16th U.S. President, Abraham Lincoln, and the course of the American Civil War. Combining traditional scholarship with 21st-century showmanship techniques, the museum ranks as one of the most visited presidential libraries. Its library, in addition to housing an extensive collection on Lincoln, also houses the collection of the Illinois State Historical Library, founded by the state in 1889. The library and museum is located in the state capital of Springfield, Illinois, and is overseen by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, an agency of state government. It is not affiliated with the U.S. National Archives and its system of Presidential Libraries.






Lincoln Home National Historic Site preserves the Springfield, Illinois home and a historic district where Abraham Lincoln lived from 1844 to 1861, before becoming the 16th President of the United States.

In 1837, Lincoln moved to Springfield from New Salem at the start of his law career. He met his wife, Mary Todd, at her sister's home in Springfield and married there in 1842.
They met at a dance and he was taken with her, being that she was a very educated and outspoken women, Lincoln was shy and when he finally got the courage to ask her to dance, he told he, " miss Todd I want to dance with you badly", after which she told her friends, " its true, Mr. Lincoln dances, badly...
They were married a short time later.

The historic-site house, purchased by Lincoln and his wife in 1844, was the only home that Lincoln ever owned. Their children, four sons, were born there and one, Eddie died there. Located at the corner of Eighth and Jackson Streets, the house contains twelve rooms spread over two floors. During the time he lived here, Lincoln was elected to the House of Representatives in 1846, and elected President in 1860.
Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln donated the family home to the State of Illinois in 1887 under the condition that it would forever be well maintained and open to the public at no charge. This came as a result of tenants who would charge those who wanted to visit Lincoln's home and that many tenants tended to leave the home in disrepair. The home and Lincoln Tomb, also in Springfield, were designated National Historic Landmarks on December 19, 1960, and automatically listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. The home and adjacent district became a National Historic Site on August 18, 1971  and is owned and administered by the National Park Service. It is one of two National Park Service properties in Illinois.

Along with the Lincoln Home, several other structures within the four-block area are also preserved. All the homes have been restored to their appearance during the time Lincoln lived in the neighborhood. Two of these structures, the Dean House and the Arnold House, are open to visitors and house exhibits on the life and times of Lincoln and his neighbors. In total, the buildings included in the park occupy 12 acres.

Before the other homes around the block were acquired several had been torn down and there were business's in there place, across form the Lincoln home sat a Piggly Wiggly, I like to think Lincoln would have gotten a kick outta this, the store was demolished and the original structure was rebuilt from archived plans.

My favorite story from this trip was Mary Todd Lincoln telling people about Mr. Lincolns terrible habit, which was finding stray cat's, bringing them home for the evening and feeding them, he remarked that they were always gone by the morning.

Neat town, interesting history which I barely touched on, a must see.
until next time be kind to one another.

Niagra Falls, NY/ Niagra Falls,Ont. (Holland, Mi also)

Niagara Falls  is the collective name for three waterfalls that straddle the international border between Canada and the United States; more specifically, between the province of Ontario and the state of New York. They form the southern end of the Niagara Gorge.
From largest to smallest, the three waterfalls are the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls. The Horseshoe Falls lies on the border of the United States and Canada with the American Falls entirely on the American side, separated by Goat Island. The smaller Bridal Veil Falls are also on the American side, separated from the other waterfalls by Luna Island. The international boundary line was originally drawn through Horseshoe Falls in 1819, but the boundary has long been in dispute due to natural erosion and construction.

The falls have served as a power source since the 1700's, using the canal to power a sawmill and then later using hydraulic power with the canal to power a gristmill, tannery and later electricity.

The mighty falls has attracted many people for generations, including daredevils, 22 people have gone over the horseshoe falls and of that 22 only 7 have perished, others have gone to the falls to jump off for other reasons,  an estimated 5,000 bodies were found at the foot of the falls between 1850 and 2011, and an estimated 40 people are killed each year when they are swept over the falls—most of which are suicides. Other figures suggest that the number of suicides is between 20 and 30, many of which are not publicized by officials. The majority of jumps take place from the Canadian Falls, which account for between 55% and 70% of suicides.
Survival rate for the daredevil attempts over the falls is approximately 75%.

It is true that the view is better from the Canadian side, mostly due to the mist and how it hovers close to the falls, which from the New York side obstructs the view.



All in all a truly amazing site to see.

Holland was settled in 1847 by Dutch Calvinist separatists, under the leadership of Dr. Albertus van Raalte.  Dire economic conditions in the Netherlands compelled them to emigrate, while their desire for religious freedom led them to unite and settle together as a group.

Van Raalte and his colony settled on land in the midst of the Ottawa (Odawa) people's Old Wing Mission Colony near the Black River where it streamed to Black Lake (now Lake Macatawa) which, in turn, led to Lake Michigan. Joint occupation by the two communities was not a marriage made in heaven. Eventually, the Dutch settlers purchased the land from the natives, who moved north in an effort to preserve their way of life and culture.
In 1848, Michigan suffered from a smallpox epidemic. In consideration of the massive influx settlers into the Ottawa County area, Chief Peter Waukazoo and Reverend George Smith decided to move the community as well as the Holland-area  Ottawa Mission from Holland up to Northport (on the Leelanau Peninsula) via on boats and canoes.

Holland was known as the "City of Churches." There are 170 churches in the greater Holland area, many of which are with the Reformed Church in America and Christian Reformed Church in North America denominations. The city is the home to the church that started the trend of the "What Would Jesus Do?" bracelets in 1989.  In 1987, a 23-year-old City Council member Phil Tanis was elected mayor of Holland, becoming its youngest mayor while he was still a Hope College student.

The city is perhaps best known for its Dutch heritage, which serves not only as a part of the city's cultural identity, but the local economy as well: the Tulip Time Festival in May and various Dutch-themed attractions augment the nearby Lake Michigan shoreline in attracting thousands of tourists annually.







De Zwaan, an original 250-year-old Dutch windmill, is situated on Windmill Island, a municipal park. Its height is 125 feet (38 m) with 40-foot (12 m) sails.

De Zwaan was first was erected in Krommenie, Netherlands in 1761. In 1889, it was moved to Vinkel, Netherlands and reconstructed there.
When Holland, Michigan residents Willard Wichers and Carter Brown were looking for a way to pay homage to the city's Dutch heritage, they began a project to bring a Dutch windmill to the United States. However, many of these monumental structures had suffered serious damage in World War II. As a result, the Dutch government had placed a ban on the sale of windmills outside the Netherlands. Wichers and his group were able to gain an exemption by selecting a heavily damaged mill known as De Zwaan. De Zwaan was at the center of a controversy, with three local agencies unable to determine the future of the damaged windmill. The Dutch government decided to sell it to Wichers for $2800, making De Zwaan the last windmill to leave the Netherlands.
It is still a working windmill today helping to produce local flour and corn meal.

We really had a good time on these trips, it was one of the first times myself and my husbands heritages were the same being that we are both part dutch, so it was a nice connection to the culture.
Have a blessed week and remember, be kind to one another.