Month: August 2024

3 Days & 3 Great Lakes

Two to two and a half centuries ago, the main source of income in this region was the fur trade. The town where I grew up, Prairie du Chien, was one of the main hubs of this trade. Even today, the annual Rendezvous along the shore of the Mississippi River celebrates the traders and trappers who gathered there for decades to seek their fortune. All of those furs eventually made their way by canoe to Mackinac Island, and from there to the east coast and Europe. Probably since high school I’ve wanted to visit Mackinac and explore that fur trading connection. This became the year.

Friday morning I awoke in my tent along the western shore of Lake Michigan's Green Bay, at Wells State Park.

Friday morning I awoke in my tent along the western shore of Lake Michigan’s Green Bay, at Wells State Park (Michigan DNR).

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Taliesin Times Three

Frank Lloyd Wright has been called the world’s most famous architect. There now exists, across southern Wisconsin, the Frank Lloyd Wright Trail, that connects some of his most famous and iconic creations. Not the least of which is his home, Taliesin, just across the Wisconsin River from Spring Green.

Drafting room, Hillside school

This was the third time I’ve stood in the drafting room at Hillside School. The first time was about 60 years ago when my dad and some of my brothers stopped in to talk with someone because one of my brothers was thinking of becoming an architect. Thirty years ago, when Taliesin started doing tours, my brother and I came on a Saturday morning for a tour. At that time we walked through the school, but not the house.

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