The Henry Ford Museum

On Wednesday August 4th we visited The Henry Ford in Dearborn MI.  CBS program that Dorcas really likes is CBS' Innovation Nation hosted by Mo Rocca and filmed at the The Henry Ford, so we decided to visit since it was on our way. The Henry Ford consists of three distinct attractions: The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, Greenfield Village and Ford Rouge Factory Tour.  Each attraction can take pretty much a full day.  Dorcas had pre-ordered tickets for The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, but when we arrived, we decided to also try to do the Ford Rouge Factory Tour and watch the production of Ford F-150 trucks.  Those two activities represent more than a full day, but we wanted to do both, so we would do the best we could.  Next time maybe we can tour Greenfield Village. 

Our first activity was a tour at the Ford River Rouge Complex where Ford F-150 trucks are manufactured. From the Welcome Center we rode on a shuttle bus to the Rouge Complex. The Rouge Complex measures 1.5 miles wide by 1 mile long, including 93 buildings with nearly 16 million square feet of factory floor space. With its own docks in the dredged Rouge River, 100 miles of interior railroad track, its own electricity plant, and integrated steel mill, the Rouge is able to turn raw materials into running vehicles within this single complex.  It takes only about 4 1/2 hours for the complete assembly of an F-150 pickup truck.

Restored Vintage Fords in the Legacy Gallery of the Rouge tour area

Photos of the assembly line are prohibited, but I was able to snap few clandestine shots. Crew cab bodies were being assembled during our visit. 

Here you can see the truck beds traveling down the line

Our tour only allowed us to see a very small part of the assembly complex. We watched the installation of windshields, rear windows, moon roofs, lights and center consoles to the cab.  The bodies were assembled and painted in another part of the plant.  The "marriage" of the body and chassis occurred elsewhere in the plant. 

The view of the plant from the observation deck

This photo shows the exterior of the part of the production facility we toured.  The roof is covered with more than 10 acres of sedum, a low-growing ground cover. The sedum retains and cleanses rainwater and moderates the internal temperature of the building, saving energy.  The roof is part of an $18 million rainwater treatment system designed to collect and clean rainwater annually, sparing Ford from a $50 million mechanical treatment facility.  The vegetation on the vertical walls also reduces solar gain and heat and saves energy.

After the factory tour we returned on the shuttle bus back to The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation.  First we viewed The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited, which is the part Dorcas wanted to see the most.

Dorcas flirting with Kermit

The exhibit included a number of authentic and original Muppets.

Jim, Frank and Jerry, the The Country Trio, representing Jim Hinson, Frank Oz and Jerry Nelson

Beaker and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew

The set for Slimey the Worm of "Wriggling Brothers" worm circus acrobat act

The Henry Ford comprises a huge number of exhibits, too many to fully describe and show here.  Exhibits included primarily industrial, energy and transportation items.  

Triple Expansion Steam Engine, 1891

1928 Ford 4-AT-B Tri-Motor Airplane, "Floyd Bennett," Flown Over the South Pole by Richard E. Byrd.  AKA the flying wash board!

1939 Douglas DC-3

1962 Mustang I Roadster featuring rear V-4 engine  Click for more info

1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible   Click for more info

1959 Volkswagen Westfalia Camper    Click for more info

1965 Ford Mustang Convertible, Serial Number One    Click for more info

1965 Goldenrod Land Speed Race Car  Click for more info

On November 12, 1965, Goldenrod streaked across Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats at 409.277 miles per hour, setting a new land speed record for wheel-driven cars. Builders Bob and Bill Summers powered Goldenrod with four massive Chrysler V-8 engines. Although other car builders copied its sleek design, Goldenrod held the record until 1991.

1967 Ford Mark IV Race Car   Click for more info

1965 Lotus-Ford Race Car   Click here for info

Jim Clark won the Indianapolis 500 with this rear-engine car in 1965. After his victory, a traditional front-engine car never won that race again. The Lotus-Ford combined a European Formula One-inspired lightweight chassis with a big Ford V-8 engine. The Lotus-Ford's success effectively killed the traditional Indy roadster and established a new design for American race cars.

2001 C5-R Corvette   Click for more info

1973 FMC 2900R Motorhome, Used by Charles Kuralt for CBS "On The Road" Television Show

"On The Road" aired for 27 years, from 1967 to 1994.  During that time, in addition to his wife, Charles Kuralt kept a mistress in Montana.  The scandal became known shortly after his death in 1997.  Read about it here. 

1950 Lincoln Presidential Limousine Used by Dwight D. Eisenhower   Click for more info

1961 Lincoln Continental Presidential Limousine Used by John F. Kennedy.  President Kennedy was riding in this car when he was assassinated.  Click for more info

Wrong number through the ages

The museum contains an exhibit documenting the Civil Rights Movement in America.

Ku Klux Klan Robe and Hood, circa 1925

Rosa Parks Bus, 1948 GMC  Click here for more info   

This bus, the site of Rosa Parks' stand against segregation laws, sat in a rusted storage shed before The Henry Ford acquired it and began a full restoration. Parks' act of defiance on December 1, 1955 sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which helped to ignite the Civil Rights Movement. Today, the restored bus survives as a reminder of her courageous activism.

Rosa Parks bus prior to restoration

1952 Wienermobile   Click for more info

We saw as much as we could, but still had to rush on by many of the exhibits without really getting a chance to see them.  That part was disappointing. Hopefully we can come back some other time and see more of the museum, as well as Greenfield Village.

After visiting The Henry Ford we had dinner at Ford's Garage only a few blocks away.  Ford's Garage is not owned by or affiliated with Ford Motor Company, although it is located on the Ford Motor Company property. Ford Motor Company licenses its logo and trademark to the restaurant chain.  Ironically there is only this single store located in Michigan, while there are 14 other stores scattered across Florida. We thought we were eating at a quaint local joint.  Go figure.

There is a clear old timey garage theme working here

The napkins are blue shop towels and the napkin rings are hose clamps.  Pretty cool!

By eating at Ford's Garage and enjoying the great burgers and experiencing the painfully slow service, we were able to miss the rush hour traffic out of town on our way back to camp.  We arrived home exhausted to find a grateful pup.  We will sleep well tonight.  

Tomorrow we move north about 275 miles to Wolverine MI, high on the lower peninsula.

Headed North: Upper Midwest Adventure 2021

Dorcas and I are on the move again, heading north and west, eventually landing in Ely MN for our traditional wilderness canoe trip into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.  The temperatures in the upper Midwest have been brutally hot much of the summer, but the forecasts I have seen show cooler temps in August.  Let's hope so.

We have owned our Newmar Dutch Star for about 19 months now and are still enjoying it.  Faithful readers will remember that our 2004 Country Coach, in which we had been traveling for about 13 years, had been crushed and totaled by a fallen oak tree in November 2019.  You can read about the demise of the Country Coach and the quest that led to the purchase of the Dutch Star HERE. Since buying the Dutch Star in December 2019, we have been continuing to make modifications and improvements to make it our own.  Not that it needed much; it already had most of the bells and whistles and gee whiz gadgets and electronics to be expected in a newer coach.  One thing lacking in the Dutch Star was a comprehensive energy management system (EMS) that monitors the power entering the coach and takes protective action if it detects harmful conditions.  I had installed the Progressive Industries EMS-HW50C in the Country Coach, and it had served us well, particularly protecting coach appliances and devices from the low voltage conditions we have encountered at avarioud campground pedestals.  In the few days before this trip I installed a very similar device, the Progressive Industries EMS-LCHW50 Hardwired RV Surge & Electrical Protector in the Dutch Star.  

The EMS has the following features:

• Over/Under Voltage Protection
• Open Ground, Open Neutral & Reverse Polarity Detection
• Accidental 240V Protection
• Miswired Pedestal Indication
• Surge Failure Indicator
• Amperage Meter Display
• Previous Error Code
• A/C Frequency Protection
• Adjustable Time Delay
• Thermally Protected
• Built-in Scrolling Digital Display
• Field Serviceable 
• UL Certified and Canadian Approved
• Lifetime Warranty 

Whenever the device detects a fault condition it will cut power to the coach, then continue to monitor the condition and restore power when the fault ends,  With the lifetime warranty, if the LED goes out or even if a lightning strike takes out the the unit, it's covered.  The manufacturer will send a new circuit board, and the user can replace the part himself.  I really love a well-engineered and supported product.

Anyway, I digress; back to our trip.  We left home Tuesday afternoon August 3 following an 11:00 doctor appointment.  We got off to an auspicious start; when we tried to start the Pilot to hitch it up to the coach, its battery was dead, and it wouldn't start.  I think the issue relates to a bad reading light switch.  The switch works intermittently, and you can't tell if the light is switched on or off.  If the switch is on, the light may come on later unbeknownst to us, and run the battery down.  But we were able to get it jumped, and we were off.  We departed town prior to the afternoon rush hour, then pumped 84 gallons of diesel and 3.8 gallons of DEF at the TA TravelCenter in Wytheville VA.  We spent our first night at the Walmart SuperCenter in Ripley WV after driving 249 miles.

Camp Wally World Ripley WV

Shortly after leaving Ripley we crossed the Ohio River and entered Ohio.  

Normally Wayne and Lynda join us in the Boundary Waters, and sometimes we travel together. This year Wayne and Lynda had different plans, and Dorcas and I will be entering the Boundary Waters on our own. Wayne and Lynda travel in a white truck and pull an Airstream travel trailer. Notwithstanding the fact they are not coming, we can't seem to escape them.

A Wayne and Lynda sighting at a rest area in Ohio

Wayne is pretty old, and he must have been here before and made an impression.  They named the Wayne National Forest after him.

One other device I have purchased for the Dutch Star is the BlueFire 9-Pin J1939/J1708 Bluetooth Data Adapter for Heavy Duty Trucks, Motorhomes.  The BlueFire device attaches the vehicle Engine Control Module and transits digital data via bluetooth to an app on my iPad.  It provides much more data and in a more graphic manner than the OEM data displays.  It's really cool for a techno gear head like me.  Following is a screen shot from the custom dashboard I designed for our coach. Data fields and gauges can be added, deleted, edited, resized and moved as desired. 

Screen shot from the BlueFire app on my iPad

You can see from this screen shot we have traveled 461.5 miles and were getting 7.7 MPG for the trip.  The compass function is not working correctly, showing us head south when we were actually headed in a generally north direction.  Also, there are several values that the ECM does not report, namely, the cooling fan speed and the exhaust temperature.  I need to correct these errors.

We passed through Findlay Ohio, which is not particularly noteworthy except that it is considered the Flag Capitol of the USA, and they want everyone to know it.

We also passed through Toledo OH, just before entering Michigan.  This reminds me of the Toledo War, which I have written about before.  You can read about the Toledo War HERE.

We made camp on Wednesday Aug 4 at Camp Lord Willing near Monroe Michigan.  Monroe is known, among other things, as the home town of George Armstrong Custer and the La-Z-Boy world headquarters.  We are camped here because it is relatively close to Dearborn MI, and we intend to visit The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn. We had spotted some other camps closer to Dearborn, but they were also near the Wayne County fairgrounds, and were fully booked because the Wayne County Fair was in progress. My friend Wayne strikes again!

Camp Lord Willing was a surprisingly pretty and quaint park.  Most of the sites are permanent sites, and  we were lucky to get in.  Click HERE to view a video of Camp Lord Willing.

Our home at Camp Lord Willing

We will be at Camp Lord Willing for 2 nights. Tomorrow we will spend the day at The Henry Ford museum, then head north through Michigan towards its Upper Peninsula.