I polished off the Northwest part of Wisconsin today and got us into Minnesota in the late afternoon.  Too bad that as soon as we got here, the weather went from spectacular to dark grey and obviously a huge storm coming.  I took Sparkle in for another oil change.  Then I took the dogs off to a legit dog park in Otter Lake to hopefully take some wind out of their sails for a mega day of shooting tomorrow.  Supposed to be gorgeous here in St. Paul / Minneapolis where we’ll be for at least a couple of days.

No bad news or annoyances to report.  No problems with Dee or Sparkle.  I’m proud to say that I made it through the entire state of Wisconsin with no speeding tickets (just that one verbal warning).  The dogs are getting lots of water time.  Loads of lakes and rivers in this area and easy access to them thanks to all the well-marked “canoe launches”.  A few short steps from the parking lot and you’re in gorgeous, pristine water.  Sure beats some of the questionable spots that I take my guys with factories and sewage treatment buildings looming in the background.  Nobody gets sick though so I must be a decent judge of water quality or they’ve just become immune.

It was close to 90 today and I’m being stingy with the A/C.  Trying to use it only when it’s truly miserable (dogs’ tongues come out).  Sparkle’s working hard enough.  And I don’t want anything else breaking in this home stretch of the trip.

Let’s start with a few photos from Chetek.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Walgreen Agency plastic sign before — only the red and white neon signs like this one:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/4452419045/

The Chetek Cafe has one in front of the building:

and one on the side:

Lots of nice signs in Rice Lake.  There’s also this pawn shop gorilla .  I’d love to know his story (what business put him there and why):

A couple of signs from Rice Lake:

This one at Stump Lake Liquor:

On to Hayward.  I’m glad West’s Hayward Dairy kept this old sign:

Even though they have a new one in front.  Bordering on tacky:

They also have a very nice giant cone.  And, no, I didn’t get to have ice cream here — it was before noon, not that hot, and I’d just had a yogurt.  One of my staples on these trips — easy to eat behind the wheel — and almost ice cream anyway.

A couple of signs from Spooner:

From Cumberland:

From Hudson.  Very few signs with guns out there.  I’m always looking for more of them.  I’ve never seen one with a scope before:

So for those of you that are curious about how these trips are put together….  This is what a “State Stack” looks like.  This is what’s left of the trip — 4 chunks for Minnesota and a chunk for the SW corner of Wisconsin.  I’ll probably only get through half of this stuff in the remaining 10 days (technically, 12 days but I’ll be interstate-ing back to NY for probably two of those days).  Within this stack, roughly the same size pile that I already worked through for MI & WI, are four binder-clipped chunks.  Roughly all the same size with splits usually for logical quadrants of the state — or sometimes big cities with suburbs will get an entire chunk.  The list in the front of all the destinations is usually about 20 pages or so.  Clipped behind that — the maps for each place or maps with clumps of places.  Each chunk usually takes about four days — depending on traffic, weather, etc.

More about all this process at the “How to Plan a Roadtrip” page here at this blog (see links on the right side).

Anyway, to celebrate the completion of the Wisconsin, I fueled up and grabbed a snack.  These Freedom gas stations have all kinds of produce and healthy stuff — but I went with just about the lowest of the low — seasoned potato wedges.  Practically no nutritional value but a fun road food.   Hey, they’re not fried!  Oh, and that 500 label — don’t know what that is (freshness dating?) — I think this box was about a buck.  And since I’ve never had Faygo soda — I chose the brightest of the bunch:  Diet Orange.  Far better than expected but I won’t be giving up my DC (Diet Coke).

Hopefully, lots of sunny Twin Cities photos for you tomorrow night.  Early to bed!

If all goes according to plan, today was the last full day in Wisconsin.  Moving on to Minnesota tomorrow.  I thought we’d never get there!  My stops were a bit further apart — had to resort to radio and coffee to make it through the long stretches.  No problems whatsoever with camera, van or dogs.  Lots of irritating road detours.   Weather — absolutely gorgeous all day.

Let’s start where we left off last night — in Wisconsin Rapids — with a day shot of the Kelly’s bottle:

I was anxious to shoot one of the remaining two Chip’s:
http://www.agilitynut.com/eateries/aframechips.html
I posted a couple of photos of the one in Merrill at Flickr tonight.
When I arrived at this one in Wisconsin Rapids, there had just been a fire minutes beforehand.  Luckily, the meat delivery person (truck rear right) was making a delivery and smelled smoke and called the fire dept.  Must have been electrical since the place was not open at 9am when I was there.  I didn’t see any damage so hopefully reopening won’t be a problem.

The building still in fine shape — peering through the doors, I didn’t see any damage to the interior:

Seems to be the original sign:

A close-up of the character at the bottom of the sign:

There were statues of this guy — here’s an example from SC (not sure if he’s still there):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/434519599/

And another one that’s been altered from NC:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/1632242434/

From Stevens Point — the Blue Top Supper Club and Motel:

Also in Stevens Point:

I knew that shape looked familiar and checked for it at my site — sure enough — it’s an adapted Chevrolet OK used car sign:

An irresistible contemporary sign from Mosinee:

Although this building in Mosinee sure looked 1960s/1970s to me, the woman I spoke with inside swore it was built in the 1990s.  It’s always housed a combo visitors center and retail space.  It was a meat market before it was Subway.  The visitors center has now moved out and that part of the building is vacant.

From Wausau — the Ponderosa Motel.  I got mightily screamed at by the owner for the 2 seconds that I pulled in to take this photo.  Sheesh!

Just south of Merrill.  I don’t normally pay close attention to painted barn signs.   Faded remnants of Mail Pouch and the like – sweet but not normally the sort of thing I shoot.  But this caught my eye.  Do you see it?

A close-up?  Do you see it yet?

Sure enough — that’s a painted Chip’s sign over a previous King Midas Flour sign:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/latitudes/95388209/
http://home.swipnet.se/roland/kingmidas.html 

I have never heard of Chip’s painted barn signs before!  I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the only one.  I asked the farmer on his tractor about it.  He said it was painted there shortly after they opened the Merrill location.  He said when he retires, no immediate plans but I’m guessing the guy is in his 70s, he’s going to tear the barn down.  “When I get too old to mow hay.”

Moving on to Abbotsford:

From Spencer — this one has me puzzled.  So, if you add more romance to your life, the lights will be off and you’ll save energy and money.  Am I understanding this correctly?  Or maybe they just mean candlelight instead of sex?  Or deliberately ambiguous?

And last one for the night from Eau Claire.  I just love the name and the graphic.  I’d much rather stay at an Antlers Motel than a Red Roof or Motel 6.  But these types of places normally don’t allow dogs.  And I’m a little fussy about new & clean when it comes to accommodations.  I hope some of you are braver and not so picky so that places like this will survive.

Tomorrow — should be in Minnesota by mid-afternoon.  Lots of Minneapolis/St. Paul stuff and then focusing on the upper half of MN.  More than likely, run out of time midway through the state.  Only about a week and a half left.

All good here:  no problems with van, camera, dogs AND it was gorgeous weather.  Banged through small cities and big ones.  Thoroughly exhausted and could barely get Flickr up last night.  Now doing the blog at 5am.  Should be a more rural day today and a slower pace.

Let’s start in Portage — this is from Craig’s Popcorn Corner:

 

In Poynette – the Curd and Whey Cheese House:

 

 

From Madison – at Mr. Robert’s Bar & Grill:

 

 

Also in Madison — I assume this sign was re-texted for this business:

One more from Madison — a hard to shoot rooftop sign.  The restaurant opened in 1954 and I assume this sign is from then:

At a small electric car dealership in Stoughton.  I love this little van.  Not that it would be very practical for me for long roadtrips.   Poking around on-line — I think they’re made in England.  There’s also a pickup and a few other versions and a car with similar styling.

 

Also from Stoughton.  Apparently a “tied house” — a bar tied to selling a particular brand of beer.  Some examples in Milwaukee:
http://cpd.typepad.com/photos/mke_tied_houses_1/

Also a bunch in Chicago:
http://forgottenchicago.com/features/tied-houses/

 

From Edgerton.  Sadly, the Red Goose part of the sign is now missing.  And the shoe store itself is gone as well.  The sign would have looked like this originally:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/xheightla/6044071123/

 

 

One of the highlights of the day — in Baraboo.  It’s been on my list a long time — a carousel and a couple big, ornate band organs to shoot for the website.  I usually blow off museums, zoos & such since they can be costly and time-eating.  But I finally gave in to the Circus World Museum.  I’m no fan of circuses because of their centuries old and continuing abuse of animals… but my conscience was eased a bit when I persuaded the admissions person to let me in free since I’d only be there a few minutes.  I was wowed by the collection of circus wagons.  Although depressing to think of the caged animals that were contained in them, the carriages themselves were incredible.  More about them at their site:
http://circusworld.wisconsinhistory.org/Explore/Wagons/WagonRoom.aspx

 

 

Also in Baraboo — and still in business:

 

 

Moving on to Wisconsin Dells — the Evergreen Motel is now closed and I fear this sign will be gone very soon.  There used to be tons of these unique little motels and signs — but development and property values have just smothered them.  There are still a few oldies that survive (the Holiday Motel for instance – see my Flickr photos from tonight).  The Dells is all about huge, flashy amusement parks, theme hotels, etc. for college students and families.

 

 

A long haul to Wisconsin Rapids in the dark — during which I got stopped for speed (75 in a 55) but let go with a verbal warning.  At least I had this pretty sight to greet me when I got there.  Chasing bulbs mostly working:

 

 

Hoping to wrap up Wisconsin today or tomorrow.  There’s a fairly big chunk of the southwest part of the state that I planned to do after Minnesota.  But I think that’s probably going to have to wait as I’ll probably run out of time somewhere in the middle of MN and have to scurry home.

Let’s start with the good.  Sparkle and Dee didn’t give me any trouble today.  But the end of the day was marred by another Duck incident.

This time in the wild rather than at a historic theme park.  It was supposed to have been a last-call quickie in the river.  Unbeknownst to me, there were a couple of ducks there.  At first, I was not concerned when I saw Nik heading towards them.  But then they didn’t fly away — only sort of scampering on the water.  Now I’m beginning to wonder how well ducks fly — apparently not well.  Instead, the one Nik had locked eyes on was diving under and resurfacing just a few feet away.   Apparently, this duck was not used to predators.  It was looking bad — Nik had tailfeathers in his mouth and lifted the duck out of the water.  Then the duck just stayed above water right next to Nik — stunned I guess.  Nik eyed the duck’s neck and I was screaming at him in my most threatening and demanding voice.  He looked at me, looked at duck, considered options — then the other duck came by and Nik decided that one looked a lot more animated and swam after him/her.  The previous duck swam away.  Then the second duck flew a bit and got away.  I got Nik and got him in the van.  I saw the duck that had been attacked was swimming at least — thank god — maybe injured but I couldn’t tell.  Dammit!  I’m really going to have to scan water sources a lot more closely for any signs of ducks, geese, etc.

Weather — great fluctuations today.  Decent enough most of the time — but two big thunderstorms that cost a bit of shooting time.  The torrential, gotta-pull-over and wait type.  Grey skies, of course, before and after the rain and more “reshoot in sun” notes on my list.  So I’m just banging along at the list, in order, taking what the gods give me.

That grey in the background was coming towards us…  This is Daddy Maxwell’s Arctic Circle Diner in Williams Bay.  Their sign said since 1987.  Their website shows an igloo which I assume refers to this dome structure on the right.  I’m betting there was another restaurant here — maybe just “THE” Arctic Circle? — maybe a drive-in — and the rest of the building added later.

 

 

From Beloit.  Nothing says “tavern” like a lantern — but this is the biggest lantern I’ve ever seen:

 

 

Also Beloit.  Had to be a gas station originally.  Maybe a standard icebox style station that was later dressed up like this?  I can’t imagine the work that went into this:

 

A pretty little former icebox station (if you don’t know what I meant by that) — in Machesney Park, IL.  The entire mini trip to Illinois was miserable weather:

 

 

A few shots from Rockford, IL — taken before, during & after major rain:

The former Auburn Theatre — converted to retail use — now vacant:
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/4814

The “Rockmen Guardians” — built 1987:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockmen_Guardians
Bad enough shooting in rain — but even less light under trees:

A couple of signs that would look 120% better with blue backgrounds:

Ah — back to Wisconsin where the sun was out — from Janesville:

In Milton.  Meyer’s Farm Market has had a lot of bad luck with their giant pumpkin lately.  Just last month, the second pumpkin was knocked off their silo.
http://www.channel3000.com/news/28514851/detail.html
Here’s Sparkle’s butt with the silo for scale:

The pumpkin’s stem:

I believe these are the remains from both pumpkins:

 

 

On to Columbus — the store is gone, the sign remains.  An antiques store in the space below now:

Across the street — and losing the light — just another Louis Sullivan gem:
http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/wisconsin/columbus/sullivan/sullivan.html
I try to see these buildings when I can even though I don’t have a spot at my website for them.  Not really my era — but his stuff is simply fantastic:

 

 

Plans for tomorrow — we should get through Madison, The Dells, and lots more central Wisconsin.  And then a lot more Northeast WI probably Monday.

 

 

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:

‘

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.

Another glorious weather day.  Only a few times in the afternoon that the clouds were playing games with me.  Making me wait a couple of minutes for the sun to emerge.  Perfect conditions for a major photo shoot.  Biggest number of stops in Wisconsin so I was barreling all over town.  Poor Sparkle took a pounding from me today and the heat.  I’d buy her a beer if I could.  The dogs were pretty zonked from the past couple days — only two majorly illegal swims:  one in a church fountain and another on private property I’m sure in Fox Point.  But we didn’t get caught either place and it was SO worth the risk.

Tons of photos for you.  Don’t forget to check out all the other photos at Flickr if you’re new to my blog thing.  Those photos are different from the ones here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agilitynut/

I always post the Flickr photos first then start working on the  blog.  Lately, I’ve run out of steam and have had to finish up in the morning.   Tonight, it’s 1 am but I’ve had a Starbucks coffee and have artificial energy.  Tomorrow, I’ll be feeling the pain though.

Starting out here in Port Washington:

There were other cities — but let’s move right on to Milwaukee.  Very sad to find this adapted gas station turned coffee shop closed up:

A modern sign but certainly inspired by all those neon saw signs of old — and much appreciated in this era of unimaginative plastic signs:

A contemporary building — with 1960s styling.  Very Bertrand Goldberg:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrand_Goldberg
Like an overgrown Prentice Women’s Hospital which might be demolished:
http://www.archdaily.com/153733/prentice-women’s-hospital-by-bertrand-goldberg-listed-as-illinois-ten-most-endangered-buildings/

Huge sign, fallen on hard times:

A neat sculpture next to a bridge — too wiped out to google for more info.  I’m counting on you Milwaukee-ites to fill us in on what it all means:

A couple close-ups:

Mosquito?:

Sometimes my stops don’t yield the results I want but are interesting adventures nonetheless.  I went to the Lakefront Brewery to shoot the giant beer mug.  But it seems the mug is only brought out on Fridays or something, then it’s put in storage on the brewery floor.  So I couldn’t go see it because of insurance reasons (all kinds of toxic chemicals on the floor I was told).  But I got to see it, sort of, from above.  Not useful for my website but I’m sure you are guys are interested:

Another gigantic sign — an interesting mix of porcelain enamel, neon and corrugated plastic:

Another nice sign that’s down on its luck.  The pizza place has been closed for years but the sign remains.

And I know you want a close-up of the delicate crown:

First ice cream of the day — yes, FIRST.  I’m not ashamed.  And technically frozen custard.  The sign is wonderful but I sure wish Kitt’s would do something with the front of their place.  That plastic is just so uninviting:

Their other sign (and Sparkle’s cameo):

Inside the plastic – way more exciting:

Decisions, decisions:

I went with one of the flavors of the day — cherry amaretto — why not.  Superb.  The cherries seemed real — hard (frozen) and chewy.

Fantastic basket weave style sun screen (brise soleil, if you prefer):

Wowza — I’ve never seen a Speed Queen clock before.  I don’t think that was the right time — not sure though:

Surely a chain — but I’ve never heard of them before:

And moving on to the 2nd frozen custard stop of the day:  Leon’s.  It was in the 90s today — a big change from the past few days.  And I was plowing through the stops, in and out of the van like a jackrabbit.  So I used these two frozen custard places as my motivation — saving Leon’s for the last stop — arriving at dusk:

The custard pumper — or whatever it’s called — in action:

A bit of sexism here at Leon’s.  The men (boys) handle the windows in their white shirts, black bowties, and crisp paper hats.  The women are pretty much behind the scenes in ugly blue uniforms.   I’m not sure how I feel about this — but all I wanted was my custard!

I went with Raspberry — one of the flavors of the day — with my new fave topping, Spanish peanuts.  It was pretty much half peanuts which was fine with me:

Tomorrow, moving on to Milwaukee suburbs south and west and a little dabbling in Illinois just over the border (no Chicago this time round).  Ideally, but unlikely, start ever so slightly northward.  Must get to Minnesota eventually.  Must.

 

UPDATE / ERRATA:  Turns out the “contemporary” building I described above actually was designed by Bertrand Goldberg — built in 1976.  But I guess the base must have been an update — don’t know.  Very interesting!  I’ll have to check it out more closely on a future trip.

Thank YOU Wisconsin for coming through today.  Perfect blue skies with pretty little white cloud accents.  Temps in the 70s.  Just enough visible water for the doggie stops without them driving me crazy.

Only one negative thing to report.  A couple little heart-stopping incidents from Dee (my camera, short for D-90):  an error code.  You could hear the shutter make a weird sound like it froze up taking a photo in mid-operation.  Instead of a pretty click sound, a half click.  In panic, I took out the battery, the memory card, turned on and off, changed battery & memory card — but still error message.   But then the error went away when I would just simply take another photo.   I hope Dee hangs in there since we’ve got about 17 days left here.

On with it the blue!  From Two Rivers – tiny little icebox gas station — now just a repair shop.  I don’t know the brand here — not seen a roof with that concave beveling before or that tiny tower on the left.  No sign of other colors under the blue and yellow.  Does anyone recognize this breed?

From Manitowoc.  Former Rummele Jewelry store from ca. 1932.  Vitrolite of the day + terrazzo:

Also Manitowoc.  I’ve never seen a Bubble Up sign before — though I certainly remember drinking the stuff:

More Manitowoc.  This is now a catering business — I don’t know the original occupant.  With those windows, it must be 1940s.  The vitrolite gets a 2nd place here because of all the crude patching.  Some of the tiles were replaced with mirrors and taped over red stuff.  But better than missing chunks.  I understand replacing this stuff is very expensive.

From Winneconne.  Most likely not originally Biggar’s — and I bet the martini glass isn’t even the original design.  But it’s all good.

From Wild Rose.  Nothing says summer like ice cream.  And although this is a tacky cone — I can’t resist including it because of the grandiosity and oddball purple.  Blueberry perhaps?

And speaking of ice cream — I did indulge myself in some today.  Though I didn’t have hot weather as an excuse.  This is actually gelato — mascarpone something with pistachios — and a whole lot of caramel.  It looks much bigger in the photo than real life.  But I know you want these dive-in close-ups, right?  Melty smooth and yummy:

The reason I stopped was to support this adapted gas station.  It’s owned by Christiano’s Pizza next door, in Wautoma.  Although it’s been messed with (stonework on the facade, ugly Wild West canopy), you known instantly that it was a Sinclair station by at least three things.  For those of you that like playing “name that station” here’s a mini primer:
#1:  the columns are placed in typical fashion, with little Deco-ish caps on them
#2 the tilework and the little peak above “Gelato” on the left
#3 the easiest bing-bing-bing identifier is the little green vertical tile details.  See the one to the left of the “Gelato” on the right?  The rest are pretty much removed.

A bunch more examples of these stations at this Texas Sinclair page that I was in the middle of working on before this trip:
http://www.agilitynut.com/gas/txsinclair.html

As I was eating my tasty treat, I came upon these guys in Omro.  It sure made me feel guilty for my evil dairy-consuming, cattle-enslavement ways.   I don’t know how or when I’ll ever make the shift from vegetarian to vegan.  But the expressions of these two really shamed me.

 

Another from Omro:

Old time photo studio in Oshkosh.  Extra points for being a freestanding building in the middle of downtown.  And big smile for actually being OPEN in this economy and digital age:

No secret society here — the F.D.L. refers to Fond du Lac where this place is located:

From Plymouth.  A swoopy break from all that monotonous turn-of-the-century downtown brick.  I’m assuming it’s 1960s.

Just across the street — neat window decals (protected by installation from the inside):

Love him:

And last one for the day from West Bend.  These guys are in front of the art museum.  I would’ve posed the dogs with them but there was some sign on the bench saying “monitored by video cameras 24 hours a day”.  Probably would not have been confronted or arrested but I was too wiped out to risk such an event.  Or some horrible catastrophe if a squirrel suddenly appeared.  Would not have been a good way to end the day.

Tomorrow, about a dozen stops and then onward to the Milwaukee area for at least a couple of days.

A whirlwind of a day.  Really digging in and trying to get things done.  The weather has been very cool and clouds mostly cooperative.  Gorgeous clouds rolling through all day long.  It would be a good day for just lying on your back and watching them.  But not me, not today.

Last night, as I was shooting the lit signs outside Northern Advertising in Antigo, a woman was leaving and invited me to “come see the signs inside in the morning.”  I didn’t know there were any!  So you betcha, I was there at the crack of dawn.  It was actually the biggest functioning collection I’ve ever seen outside of the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.  Loads of beer signs — all porcelain enamel and in fantastic condition.  This is an overview of the front building:

And there’s more signs in the back building:

It’s hard to pick out any favorites — but here are a couple nice ones.  I’ll post a bunch more at my website eventually.

  

Sure, these modern hamburgers signs are pretty tacky — but I liked the monumental-ness of it here — and it looked pretty good in the sun.  At the Cool Twist in Suring:

At the former Decker’s Uncle Sam Fireworks in Abrams:

From Green Bay — I’m pretty sure this is either a replica or a newly-created sign.  But Al’s Hamburger Shop has been there since 1934.  That’s plastic protecting the neon:

 

Also from Green Bay — the Willow Street Bakery has been open “for over 40 years”:

 

Moving on to the Door Peninsula — do Wisconsiners call it the “D.P.”?  This one from Sturgeon Bay.  A very sad, very closed (since at least 2007) mid-century motel:

Barely discernible at the bottom of the sign face — identifying this place as the Dun-Ro-Min Motel:

Another one from Sturgeon Bay — vitrolite of the day shot!  George Draeb Jewelry opened here in 1910.  The vitrolite or carrara glass must have been added to the building in the 1920s or 1930s.  This picture doesn’t do it justice — those are clouds reflecting at the top:

A bit of terrazzo as well:

OK — moving on to today’s big event and time-eater.  I’ve always wanted to get a shot or two of the giant coffee pot on Washington Island.  But it’s only accessible by ferry so I’ve blown it off til now.  Lots of traffic on the little scenic and touristy roads of the Door Peninsula — for a while, it seemed impossible.  Plus, from my pre-printed schedule, the last ferry back to the mainland left at 6pm.  I did the math as I drove and even called the ferry office to make sure I had it right.  The ferry person on the phone said it couldn’t be done.  The ferry takes about a half hour.  If I got there for the 5:15pm boat, I could grab my photos of the Coffee Pot which is right there by the ferry and catch the ride back.   I did some speeding when I could and prayed I wouldn’t get stopped.  Didn’t.  Rather stressful but we got there at 5:10.

More than likely, we wouldn’t make that 6pm boat back so I brought Sparkle along for the extra $25.   If I would up “stuck” there — no tragedy — I’d be forced to romp in the sand with the dogs for a couple of hours and then rough it overnight by camping with Sparkle.  I’m sure the hotels there wouldn’t take four dogs and/or cost a fortune.

Here’s Sparkle enjoying the ride:

The view:

 

As I grabbed my photos of the Coffee Pot (uploaded one to Flickr tonight), I saw the line forming for the 6pm ferry back.  I hesitated and got in line.  I knew it meant sacrificing a lot of beach romping and exploring time — but I’m just way too far behind schedule.  I’m sure I’m the only person that would have done this:  spent $37 for 5 minutes to shoot a Coffee Pot.  But there you have the insanity of me and these roadtrips.

Back on land…. From Ephraim.  Wish I’d had time to stop for ice cream here — but the light was fading.
http://www.wilsonsicecream.com/main.htm

 

From Baileys Harbor — nicely done wood carvings:

 

 

The Cape Cod Motel in Egg Harbor.  This area was very Cape Cod-y with rich folks, yachts, cutesy stores.  I couldn’t get out of there fast enough!  No, actually, it was very pretty — the water lapping at the road and I got to take the roads much slower on the way back.

 

Tomorrow — working our way further south towards Milwaukee.  I doubt we’ll actually get there though until Thursday.

At last — moving on to a new state.   The original plan was to do about two-thirds of WI, move on to MN and then hit the lower part of WI on the way home.  We’re about four days behind schedule so it might mean lopping off the lower half of MN and the remainder of WI.  Still water, water everywhere and the young-uns continue to be ballistic.  Leading to many stops but great fun for all of us.  The end of the day’s run was at the former Marty’s Showboat (see Flickr photo tonight) where its abandoned golf course leads right to the water.  Sad but happy all at once.

The day started in Ironwood, MI — so let’s start with this sign from there:

 

Moving on to Wisconsin.  From Ashland — tell me you’re not getting sick of these vitrolite storefronts:

 

The Steak Pit in Washburn features this sign by the main road:

and this one on its rooftop which is closer to the water:

Sorry all you carnivores, that’s as close as you’ll get to a food shot of meat from me!

Ah yes, a reminder that we’re now in Packer territory — at Pagac’s Bar in Ashland:

 

From Iron Belt.  This one must have had neon originally — a couple of tubing holes still remain where the text is.  I’m glad they’re keeping the sign up — although there was probably much more detail at one time.

 

From Mercer.   I don’t know what to make of this one.  Those top and bottom pieces are clearly new.  The “BAR” part might be new or refurbished.  Perhaps the “Heart of the North” is covering a previous name?  Whatever — it’s still colorful and fun.  Still, I wish I had time to make some phone calls about every single sign, building, and statue while the people who know their histories are still around.

 

From Woodruff — stuck shooting through trees from a distance for this one:

 

From Minocqua.   When I last saw this place in 2006, it housed “LifeSpring”, a coffee bar & gallery.  Now, it’s vacant and I don’t have a good feeling about it.  It’s now pretty surrounded by modern strip malls and box stores.

 

This one from Tomahawk:

 

This was the Alamo Plaza Motel the last time I was through here.  I must have a photo somewhere but I can’t find it.  Best I can do is this loopnet image:
http://www.loopnet.com/Attachments/4/0/1/xy_4012CD07-113C-4EA9-B065-6D1DA8F23D75__.jpg

As you can see, the smaller signs between the poles are gone now.  And the bare-butt-ed Indian kid was replaced:

 

A window skeleton sign from Land O’ Lakes:

 

The last couple photos for the night come with a story.  So, I was driving some long straight line distance again and trying to take it easy.  No ticket today!  But in my fatigue after 12+ hours of driving, I noticed the car in front of me had some non-human-like movement in the backseat.  At first glance I thought it was a dog — but clearly the profile was ears and horns!   A goat?  Yes — there’s a goat in that car.  When they pulled over into a gas station in Pelican Lake, I followed them in.  I went over to get a closer look and ask some questions.  Her name is Etta.  She was adopted from a Girl Scout Camp.  She doesn’t poop in the car (I even checked).  She sleeps in the house, on someone’s bed.  Hangs out on the sofa.  They were there at the Musky Mart to get Etta her favorite candy bar — a Skor bar.  I don’t think I’ve tried that one but you can bet I’ll be shopping for one tomorrow in her honor.  From Google, it’s made by Hershey’s and sounds like it’s a crunchy toffee.

Blurry here but this is how Etta likes to ride:  back feet (sorry, hooves) on back seat and front feet on the console.  She really seemed so calm and intelligent.  I have so many questions that I didn’t get to ask.

Tomorrow, we should be able to get through Oshkosh, Green Bay and a bunch of other smaller cities.  Gradually, working our way down to Milwaukee and then working back up at a diagonal towards MN over the next week or so.

Hopefully, all the bloodshed and breakdowns are behind us now for good.  Sparkle turned in another trouble-free day.  I’m ashamed to admit it but I got another ticket today in the forest of the U.P.  72 in a 55.  It’s so hard to keep it slow on those straight lines with no other cars around.  Feels like you’re crawling at 55.  And it gets really tedious with absolutely nothing to shoot or look at other than trees for more than an hour.  Again, I had to fork over $50 cash as a “deposit” towards the ticket since I’m from out-of-state.  The cop said if I didn’t have cash, he’d have to “take my license”.  Whatever that means I’m not sure!  But luckily I had just been to a cash machine and had $100.  Well, hopefully those tickets are half paid for now (have to call tomorrow to see what the prices are).  And maybe I’ll cool it a little in Wisconsin.  Poised at the border in Ironwood tonight and itching to move on.

The weather was so miserable this morning — grey & sprinkley — that I forced myself to take a little hour-long nap to wait it out.  But by then (10am) still crappy & had to get going.  Stayed pretty much grey until around 4pm when I was really driving and not shooting much.  Thems the breaks.  So much for these August roadtrips being the best chance for sunny shooting.  I guess in five or six years, I’ll be back in the U.P. to try this again.

This photo reflects the conditions.  I guess there’s a photoshop program to add pretty skies — but that would be cheating.  From Escanaba:

 

A couple of bars in Escanaba.  This one with red vitrolite and wooden signs which must have replaced something nicer:

 

I don’t know why they’ve covered up the neon sign with tarping.   Here’s a shot from a few years ago showing what’s underneath:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadtripmemories/519080116/

 

Things get awfully quiet on the long stretches — as long as there’s not lakes nearby — which is practically never in this part of the country.  Happiness is a sandy van.  Nik got thrashed around by giant waves in Lake Superior and loved every minute of it.

 

Mr. Pasty made me stop:

If you’re unfamiliar with pasties, this bag explains the whole deal:

I was limited to the veggie selection — but it was delicious and filling.  Buttery thick crust.  Spicy interior.  Reminded me of all those Swanson pot pies I grew up on — but better.

 

Neat storefront in Ishpeming:

 

Off to Marquette where I’d never been before.  I don’t think there are any really big cities in the continental U.S. that I haven’t been to.  So a new medium sized city is a thrill.  Here’s a neat building with castle details:

 

Doncker’s has been here since 1914.
http://www.donckersfudge.com/experience_it.html

That’s green vitrolite:

 

 

Candy counters:

Soda fountain:

Their specialties are fudge and caramels.  Since I still have fudge, and pie, I went with the caramels.  Dark, milk, and dark with sea salt.

Never had sea salt & chocolate together — the sweet & salty is a great contrasty though.  Like salted nuts on ice cream.  Salt and sugar should really be used together more.  The interior was smooth and melty and to die for.  I was expecting that icky elastic super chew.  But this was like butta.

 

Still in Marquette.  I was eager to finally get to see the Bunny Bread sign.  There were a few of these made in the 1950s.   The only other one known to still exist was located in Anna, IL until 2010:
http://www.agilitynut.com/10/9/bunnyb2.jpg
That one is now at the Bundy Museum of Baking Arts in Urbana, OH.  It is being restored so the ears will move again.

The one in Marquette was saved by the Children’s Museum.  I’ll be lazy and grab this excerpt from my website:

“The only other large sign was built around 1955 for the plant in Marquette, MI. That bunny head is about 15 feet tall while the sign from Anna is about 10 feet tall. The Marquette sign was removed in 1991 and placed in storage. In 1996, it was installed at the Upper Peninsula Children’s Musueum in town. The entrance lobby, partly designed by children, was built high enough to include the bunny’s ears. The sign is visible from outside the building. The bunny head is still the original colors but the neon was removed. It is now lit with blue Christmas lights. “

You can see him in the window on the left:

 

 

 

I have to say I was disappointed though.  There is no way to get a good shot of the bunny.  Blocked by the grid in the windows, the glare of the sun.  And then walls inside the museum:

The best shot I could get of him:

But at least the sign was saved and maybe it’ll get a more respectful display in the future.

Beef-A-Roo — not to be confused with the Beefaroo chain in Illinois — has two locations.  I don’t know if there were others.  This photo is of the sign in Negaunee, the other one, just like it, is in Marquette:

 

Moving on to Houghton.  I suspect the oval on top might have been neon with another name originally:

 

This one next door is obviously a retexted sign — maybe the same owners at the motel:

 

In Hancock — a real indicator of the times we’re living in.  Mom & pop stores shutting down hundred-year-old businesses all across America.  Sucky economy, retiring age owners with no kids interested in carrying on barely profitable businesses.  And that vinyl sign on the lightpost bragging about 15 new high-tech businesses in town is a real kick in the ass:

 

In Calumet.  No sign of life at this place.

 

Last photo for the night — from Mass City — another sign that was probably all originally neon, then updated later with some plastic:

 

So, it’s been swell Michigan.  Despite all the challenges, lots of great memories and thousands of photos to add to the website this winter.  We’re not quite halfway through this trip though — so stay tuned.