Welcome to Hell...Michigan!

Where is Hell?  Interesting question.  For years I thought it was at work.  Recently, I up and went to one of those places that I know I've mentioned in this blog, just to see what it was really all about.  I was fascinated.  Hell was not what I imagined, but I do agree that they have great ice cream.

Hell is a real town established in 1841 on Patterson Lake Road in south central Michigan.  It's not much of a town, but it is one of the more interesting places I've ever been to.  It's not incorporated any more, so it's part of Putnam Township in Livingston County and unofficially is home to about 200 people.  The whole place got started around a sawmill in town that is on Hell Creek.  How the name Hell came to everything is unclear, but the world seems to know all about Hell, Michigan now.

Hell Michigan has become a tourist attraction in the middle of nowhere in south central Michigan, but it has some festivals that are legendary.  For one thing, they run through Hell.  It's a running race that is held every year around the middle of summer, and thousands of people come for the festivities, and to say that they ran through Hell.  I mean, who wouldn't go for that?  They also have a festival in September that brings out all the ghoulies.  The Hearse Festival has been going on for 14 years now and is in part sponsored by Hell's Hearse Club.  They have a parade every year that landed them in the Guiness Book of World Records.  They hold the record for the world's longest hearse parade right there in Hell, Michigan.  That's one I've never heard of, but there it is.  They also race coffins and a lot of other stuff during that festival, and  I hear it's a lot of fun.  My parents loved it.

So, what's with Hell?  After the sawmill went away, and people moved to more populated areas, it kind of went downhill.  It became a little sore spot in the road that drew a lot of undesirables.  It's the sad part of the story.  It was really sad for those who had grown up there, lived there, or did business there.  What's the solution to a thing like that?

Well, in the case of Hell, the solution was John Cologne.  He owns most of Hell now.  He grew up there, left to fight in Vietnam and run a Chrysler Dealership, but returned when he retired.  He said that there were only so many plants that he could plant in his garden, so he got bored and bought most of the town.  He decided to drive out the undesirables and turn the place into an attraction and put Hell on the map.  He declared himself mayor, got some grant money, cleaned up the town, and put on his funny bone to turn Hell into a whole lot of fun.  The fun culminated on 6/6/2006 when the day of 6/6/6 presented a joke that could not be resisted.  A local reporter asked John what they were doing for the special day of the beast and he said that they weren't doing anything, but they would like to invite the whole world to go to Hell.  They did.  12,000 people descended on Hell that day, thinking that it was the perfect way to celebrate a day that they would only see once in their lifetime.  They came from Japan, Germany, and two people even hitch hiked in from Spokane, Washington.  They came from everywhere. There was no official press, it just passed from publication to publication all around the world.  It was quite a day in Hell.  They ran out of water, food, and places to put people, but word was out that Hell, Michigan is here to stay.

But, seriously there is nothing too serious in Hell.  You can mail stuff from there, you can play mini golf, you can go kayaking in the creek, you can eat and get ice cream (the ice cream is really good), you can shop at the Halloween store, and you can get some great photo ops.  You can go to the Dam Site Inn, or come for a festival.  It's a really cute place to go and get your grins on.  You can even be the mayor for the day if you like.

Of course, you can get married.  What?  That's right, Hell is home to the world's smallest wedding chapel.  It seats 8 guests plus the minister, bride and groom.  It may sound silly to go all the way to Hell just to get married, but 70 couples came there last year just to say that they got married in Hell.  They came from all over.  There are a lot of people with a great sense of humor.  John said that he thinks there will be even more this year.  They even recently added an attraction for those in love, and it's called Locks of Love.  John inherited an old bridge that used to run along the top of the old dam in town.  It's not used anymore since they got a nice new dam, so he turned it into Locks of Love.  Here you can bring a lock, put you and your love's names on it, lock it to the old bridge and your love will last forever.  You can lock your love in Hell.

So, it all starts at the gates of Hell, and ends in the gift shop.  It's not your normal town, but it sure makes an impression on you.  Because it's so out of the way, I was surprised to see how many people were there on a Wednesday.  It's quite an accomplishment for John Cologne and his whole town of people who supported the venture.  I've never seen anything like it, and I probably will never find anything quite like Hell.  So, what's the adventure for anyone?  I think it's just the town.  It's something unique and fun.

Would I go there again?  You bet I would.  I'm thinking that maybe my husband and I should renew our vows.  Hell seems like the perfect spot.

Enjoy!

http://gotohellmi.com/
http://www.michigan.org/city/hell/
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/2456
http://traveltips.usatoday.com/things-hell-michigan-55641.html
http://www.yelp.com/biz/dam-site-inn-hell
http://www.mapquest.com/us/mi/hell
http://hellsurvivorspaintball.com/forge-through-hell
http://hellfest.info/
http://www.foundmichigan.org/wp/2012/10/24/the-devil-may-care-one-mans-quest-to-save-hell-michigan/
http://www.v-prod.com/VG_PROD42.html
http://www.cafepress.com/artisticcreationsbyninakindred1
http://terri-dixon.artistwebsites.com/
http://www.zazzle.com/imagings
https://www.fictionpress.com/u/530752/Nina-Kindred
https://www.facebook.com/adventuresforanyone?fref=ts

The Things You Learn in Niagara

I've traveled most of my life, and sometimes the things that I learn just amaze me.  I recently visited Niagara Falls for the first time in 16 years.  I know, it seems like a long time, especially since I only live a few hours away, but I like new things and only have so much time; therefore I don't get to go there often.  This was my first time going there since 9/11.  I don't think I realized how much things had changed.

The falls never change.  They are beautiful and one of my favorite sights in the world.  But the world around them is really different than it used to be.  Niagara Falls used to be one place that just happened to sit on the border of Canada and the United States.  I must say that it was always more entertaining on the Canadian side.  Sorry to my fellow Americans, but it's true.  That's where my story starts.  I made reservations to stay on the Canadian side.

Rainbow Bridge has become more than just a beautiful bridge.  It has become a tightly monitored border crossing.  That's not to say that it's really any easier at any other crossing, but this is one of the busy ones.  When 9/11 happened, these people were used to running back and forth to work, or to go out for an evening, maybe even see a movie.  I used to just stop and say "Hi, I'm going to Canada."  No one worried about anything.  One of the reasons that it's taken me so long to get back now is because I had to have a passport.  It's new to me.  I grew up in pre-apocolyptic times.  I have traveled back and forth to Canada, especially through Detroit and Windsor at least a hundred times in my life.  But now it's different.

Now you choose which boat to get soaked on.  If in the U.S. you will take the Maid of the Mist.  If you are in Ontario you will take the Hornblower.  I actually took the Maid of the Mist 16 years ago, when all the raincoats on all the boats from either side were blue.  I didn't take either cruise this time, because they are wet and miserable.  So, everyone should go once for the experience, but if you go twice, shame on you.

But, what about the crossing?  We had to drive up on a curb like structure on our way to Canada.  They asked all the usual questions, and asked me if my son was my son.  Legitimate question, since he could have been anyone with the same last name.  I'd never thought about that.  They wanted to know about alcohol and tobacco and such.  We waited in line about a half hour at a busy time on a Friday and we were gone.

Our plan was to go back the next day and go to the Cave of the Winds.  That's where everything got a little weird for me.  We got our stuff, minus our luggage which was tucked away in our hotel room, and we headed to the bridge.  Traffic was backed up for over a mile.  We sat in line for an hour and barely even moved.  We met some very nice people who live there, and they said that this was not common.  They should know.  But, was that true?  I still want to know.  After sitting in traffic that barely moved.  I mean only half a block or so, and that was because people were giving up and leaving in front of us.  The line itself had not moved at all.  We finally gave up and took the turn to go back to the Canadian Niagara Falls.  Sorry U.S.  I was only in town for a couple of days, and I didn't want to spend it all in line to get into my own country.

I always meet people in my travels whether it be at a comic book store, Tim Horton's, my hotel, a rock and roll wax museum or just watching the fireworks on a Friday night.  I saw the lines then, and I wondered what the deal was.  So, in my curious way, I started to ask people about the border crossing issue.  I was on the Canadian side, so the people that I talked to were from Canada.  Most of them don't bother with the crossing.  Most of them find it too much trouble, even though they used to cross it all the time to go to the casino, theater, or out to eat.  It's just too much trouble.  I talked to a retired couple who were in town for their honeymoon from Saskatchewan.  They were both widowed and giving love a second chance.  It was great, but would they go to the U.S?  No.  He used to be a trucker, and he told me all about his travels throughout both Canada and the U.S.  He said that something just changed.  It was like the whole world had gone nuts.  They did not even bring their passports with them, even though they were going to be looking at the U.S.  They had no desire to go, because of the border crossing.  So, there I was in Canada, I'd seen the border going back, and I wondered if I was going to be able to get back home.

So, there we were watching fireworks that I'm pretty sure are put on by Canada.  We listened to some live music before the fireworks that was also on the Canadian side.  Everything was beautiful, but how long would it really take to get back into the U.S?  No one mentioned some big thing at the border during the day, so we didn't know if that was normal, or if something had happened.  We did see police when we turned off, so maybe it was an incident.  Maybe it was just crowd control.  We weren't sure.  The locals all said that it wasn't normally like that, but they all also said that they never bothered to cross Rainbow Bridge, because it was too much trouble.  So, what was the deal?

So, we spent the rest of our brief visit playing on Clifton Hill, looking at Dinosaurs, riding the SkyWheel, walking through the gardens, and checking out the Hard Rock Casino.  We had a really good time.  We never did try to cross that border again, because we were on our way to Port Huron, Michigan.  We packed our bags and took off across the Ontario Peninsula to cross at the Michigan border.  It wasn't as busy up there as it was in Niagara, so what could go wrong?

Well, you tell me, America.  I got to Port Huron, and saw the biggest bridge I think I've ever seen towering hundreds and hundreds of feet above the water that was emptying into Lake Huron, and I got stuck in line at the border.  I got into a line that was only cars.  There weren't even any SUVs in my line.  I thought it should be easy.  I thought about a half hour.  No.  I don't even know how long we were there, but it was long enough for me to wonder why you couldn't use a cell phone up there.  I don't even like cell phones, but we were bored.  I was snapping pictures and my son was complaining.  At one point, I saw the officials take some guy away in handcuffs.  They stopped everything.

Was it a coincidence?  Did we just happen to be at these crossings when incidents happened?  As we passed, we noticed that there was little to no line on the side heading to Canada.  We talked during our wait, and we wondered if they would actually catch a terrorist if they were coming across the Canadian border.  After much deliberation, and the time to deliberate, we decided that they probably wouldn't  That's the irony.  We decided that if someone was trying to do something bad, that they would probably have prepared for it.  That guy that got arrested probably didn't do anything serious, because he was dumb enough to get caught doing whatever he did.  Real criminals know how to get through border crossings.  When we finally did cross, the guy we talked to to get back into the U.S. didn't even ask if my son was my son.  Looking back at my Canadian crossing a few days earlier, I found that I was upset.  That was the only question that I really thought made much sense.

So, I must say that my experience with the border left a lot of questions in my mind.  I wonder if being more thorough actually helps.  I wonder if there is really a good way to secure a border.  What should the border patrol really ask?  What are they really looking for?  Why are there so many arrests and problems on our side?  I'm not judging.  I just wonder about that stuff.  In the mean time, I say don't stop traveling because of it.  Just be aware and be prepared when you come back to this country.  Save a little extra time for what I'm assured is a rare hold up.
Enjoy!

http://www.niagara-usa.com/
http://www.niagarafallsstatepark.com/
http://www.niagarafallsusa.org/
http://www.niagarafallstourism.com/
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http://terri-dixon.artistwebsites.com/
http://www.cafepress.com/artisticcreationsbyninakindred1
http://www.zazzle.com/imagings
https://www.facebook.com/adventuresforanyone?fref=ts
https://www.fictionpress.com/u/530752/Nina-Kindred

Here's Some Stuff to See and Do...Weird Stuff

We've all seen and done some strange things in the name of entertainment and seeing the world.  Ever so often, like after I've written 200 posts for a travel blog, I like to mention some outstanding ones.  I've talked about my share of unusual things like seeing a crashed plane in Greenville, Maine, and we in the north east love our mountain parks with the mountain coasters and the Alpine slides.  I've traversed Trummelbach Falls in Switzerland and gone to James Bond World on the top of the Schilthorn.  I've sat on the Berlin Wall, hiked in Iceland, gone to visit the Native Americans at the bottom of the Grand Canyon and many others.  Today, I've made a list of some of the best and the most unusual things around.

One of the things that I love is surreal places, and America's southwest has a bunch of them.  Most of the surreal things involve rocks.  Goblin Valley State Park in central Utah is one of those overlooked places.  It doesn't get near the traffic that it's famous cousins Arches, Monument Valley and so on get.  Goblin Valley is listed as one of the most surreal landscapes in the world, and with good reason.  This is a great spot for photographers, hikers and anyone who just wants to see something really different.

Page, Arizona sits on Lake Powell and is close to the north rim of the Grand Canyon.  It's on the Navajo Nation Reservation and is home to one of the world's best known slot canyons, Antelope Canyon.  The Navajo have several tours that will take you for a tour of the canyon, and let you see some more surreal landscapes in the twisted, narrow, colorful rock formations that make up the canyon.  Erosion can make some beautiful things, and Antelope Canyon was definitely blessed by erosion.

Surreal landscapes abound with the rocky moon like landscape of Iceland, the giant sculptures of Easter Island, the ferrie chimneys of Cappadoccia, and the Door to Hell which is located in the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan.  This giant burning crater was the result of a Soviet gas exploration accident back in the 1970's and has fascinated people ever since.  The Darvaza Gas Crater however, is not just one crater, although the biggest one is the attraction.  There are other smaller craters in the area too.  It looks as though it will be burning for a long time, so take the time to come and see this one.

I love the idea of going to Gibraltar to play with the monkeys.  I've said that a million times, but in Yamanouchi's Jigokudani Valley the snow monkeys spend their time in the volcanic pools and the tourists love to stop by and take their pictures.  The valley is volcanic, as the name Jigokudani lets on, so there are many interesting sites, but the monkeys are the main attraction.

Surreal doesn't stop on the surface though.  You can spend your surreal time looking at ice caves in Iceland, glow worm caves in New Zealand, or at Mega Cavern in Louisville, Kentucky.  That's right, they used to have an enormous mine and now the have an active wonderland.  They have zip lines, tram tours, adventure quest courses, bike trails, and you can even take a lovely Christmas lighted drive through it in season.  The caverns are so large that you can easily drive a car or even run a train through it.  it's the first of it's kind and it's an amazing way to reuse an old mine.

It is summertime however, and it's time to get outdoors and try something a little crazy.  Sun City is probably the best known, and at times most infamous luxury resort in the world, and it's sitting in the center of South Africa.  It is also home to one of the largest waterslides in the world.  Valley of the Waves has a waterslide that drops 98 feet straight down with an area engulfing the size of an average park.  It only holds one ride though, and it's the biggest and the best.

If giant tall ones don't do it for you, Costa Rica has it all.  In America, we call this sucker an Alpine Slide.  In Costa Rica, they made it into a waterslide and you can try it at Buena Vista Lodge and Adventure.  This cement wonder goes 420 meters down a mountain, and it's so rough that you have to wear a rubber tube and rubber pants in order to ride it.  It does sit on the ground, unlike most waterslides and it goes through the rainforest.  It's one of a kind, folks, so you have to come to Costa Rica to try this.

Speaking of one of a kind experiences, here's one that I would love to try, but haven't yet.  I love the idea of Zero Gravity and Zero G will do it for you.  They operate in many locations around the United States and they have the specially equipped planes to take you up and run you up and down the heavens while you fly around inside like a real astronaut.  It will cost you about $5,000, but you'll love every minute of it.

But, when all is said and done, here's my pick.  I disagree with the experts on what would be the best adventure.  I loved playing with the heavy equipment in Las Vegas and all, but here's one that I'd never even thought of and it comes from Great Britain.  It's called Armourgeddon and it's in Leicester.  It's paintball with tanks.  It doesn't get cooler than that.  You can play for as low as 99 Pounds for 2 hours.  They let you drive tanks and shoot stuff out of them.  It may only be paintballs, but it's still an amazing experience.  I haven't done this, but I will.  I haven't heard of anything else like it.  It's my number one pick for amazing things to try this summer.

So, whether you take your first hike in the summer on snow or you go screaming down a mountain on a waterslide, do something different and fun this summer.  I've just given you a lot of ideas.  Go out, experience life.  I will be traveling next week, so I won't be writing.  It will be an amazing road trip, so I will have a lot to write about when we get back.  Enjoy!

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http://www.gozerog.com/
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https://www.facebook.com/adventuresforanyone?fref=ts