Mostly sunny — clouds came in the afternoon.  But the rain held off til dark.  Not so much volume shooting today.  Lots of road detours and bridge repairs.  Only one little heart-stopping event.

I was in Racine looking for a spot to get the dogs their last dose of Great Lake.  The HobNob is usually my spot but there was repainting going on there and the owner was present — running them down that steep slope would be a big no-no.  So, I went a bit further south and found a super skanky abandoned motel.  The cliff to the beach was very steep but there in the weeds, a handy set of metal stairs — like 100 steps but down to the water.  All good there, huge crashy waves that Grem wisely wanted no part of.  But Nik battled it out — ANYthing for the toy.

As I was leaving and about to pull onto the major highway (Sheridan Rd) into heavy traffic, Sparkle stalled out.  No power.  Wouldn’t restart.  So I was a real man and got one of my fuses out from the garage that couldn’t fix my problem a couple of weeks ago.  Popped the hood, found the right fuse, and, voila, Sparkle restarted.  I was a bit freaked out for the first few hours but no further problems.  So I know it will do me no good to go to a garage about this one.  No check engine light ever came on.  All I can do is keep-a-driving and in the back of my mind be prepared to coast in a safe direction if it happens again.  It’s been, what, a couple weeks now since this happened, and driving 12+ hours per day?

Let’s start the show with a little mcm (mid-century modern) bank in Waukesha.  The cool clock was right — we start as soon as the sun is workable — and this was maybe the 10th stop of the day.

 

The world’s most beautiful gas station photo ever — if not for about 10 cars and big-ass trucks.  In Durham:

 

In Caledonia.  Yes, I was so wanting to pose the kids with this Yogi at this Jellystone Park.  But there were horses in the background and I figured not a good idea after the Duck Debacle about a week ago.  I’ve never seen a sitting Yogi like this — surely modern, and I suspect inspired by the Ronald McDonald bench:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/2726479163/

 

In Sturtevant — this abandoned motel has been turned into a haunted house of sorts.  Or at least that was the most recent use.  I have read that the building might be torn down for expansion of the nearby interstate.

 

From Powers Lake.  I’ve never seen a post office use a recycled barn before:

 

Gloomy grey skies moving in — the Cheese Box in Lake Geneva:

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The remaining photos tonight from Lake Geneva:

A real tragedy here.  This Pizza Hut had the original Pete signs on the front of their building until recently.  Some destructive idiots ripped off his arms.  When I didn’t see the signs originally, I checked to see if they were moved inside.  Luckily, the owner was there and had them in his truck so I could get a photo.  He’s going to repair them and give them to a school in town.  The corporate headquarters wanted them gone anyway.  Here’s a vintage view of what these signs looked like — the Lake Geneva building pretty much looks the same, just repainted:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wafflewhiffer/1348464161/

Last one:

 

Really feeling the pain here of all the driving and lack of sleep.  Trying for an earlier bedtime tonight.  Tomorrow, more SE Wisconsin and a little mini trip across the border to Illinois.  Then upwards we go, with hundreds of stops towards Minnesota.  Thinking maybe Monday-ish in Minneapolis/St. Paul.