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| Michigan Vineyard and Outhouse Tour A dig in 2005 | |||
Wine Tasting at a Michigan Vineyard Photo by J. Loose |
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We decided to take a late Fall trip to wine country in Michigan's Mission Peninsula near Traverse City, Michigan. It turned out to be a great day for touring the five wineries located there. At the bottom of this page you can send Email to inquire about them. This picture is one of the selection sheets at a winery and the tasting glasses they give you to taste from. Here is how it works: You are given a listing of all the winery's wines. They are listed in order of recommended tasting. Usually the dryer white wines are first followed by the red wines. You can have up to six samples. We ended up buying at least one bottle from each winery. If you are interested in any of them, all of the pictures on this page are available for purchase. | |
The Old Mission Lighthouse, Mission Peninsula in Michigan Photo by J. Loose |
A modern outhouse at the Mission Lighthouse Photo by J. Loose |
| If you are going to take a self-tour, we recommend you drive all the way to the end of Michigan's Mission Peninsula near Traverse City, Michigan. At the end of the road is the Old Mission Lighthouse, pictured here. The lighthouse is located at the 45th parallel as shown in the sign. The 45th parallel is located halfway between the North Pole and the Equator! The modern Outhouse shown above was used by the Curator and once again, he was walked in on by a lady! The curator of the Outhouses of America Tour seems to have a history of being the victim of intrusions when using Outhouses. Why, that's how the Outhouses of America Tour got started! The door had a lock and he thought it was locked but apparently it didn't work. Other members of his group had wandered away so no one was there to warn the lady. After she got over the shock, she hurried away, never to return! | |
Lake Michigan from the Mission Lighthouse Photo by J. Loose |
Mission Lighthouse Outhouse on the right. Photo by J. Loose |
| You can look out over Lake Michigan from the lighthouse. The water this year seemed to be very low and you could walk out a long way before hitting water. In addition to the wineries, there are some Outhouses to be seen. One can be seen at the back of the lighthouse with three kegs stacked next to it shown above and below. | |
Close up of the Mission Lighthouse Outhouse Photo by J. Loose |
Hilltop view of one vineyard Photo by J. Loose |
| The picture above shows a better view of the Mission Lighthouse Outhouse! After looking at the lighthouse/Outhouse, we drove toward the first of five wineries. When we drove towards the first tasting area, we took pictures of the view. It was great! You can see some of the grape vines in the pictures above and below. | |
Grand Traverse Bay from a vineyard hillside Photo by J. Loose |
An old Outhouse near a Michigan Vineyard Photo by J. Loose |
| As we were driving towards the next winery, we spotted a couple of old Outhouses located on the left side of the road. They are shown above and below. | |
Michigan Outhouse near another Vineyard Photo by J. Loose |
Grapes ready to be picked from the vine Photo by J. Loose |
| The close up shows a really well preserved Outhouse that can not be seen from the road. You spot the other Outhouse that was next to the other out building and then when you looked to the right, you saw this one. The other picture above shows some grapes ready to be picked. We were told they would be picked four days after we were there. | |
Outhouse on Route 115 in Michigan next to an old cement brick house Photo by J. Loose |
Looking inside the Outhouse Photo by J. Loose |
| After completing the tour, we went back to our rented place to relax and enjoy some of the wine. The next day we departed and when we were on Route 115, we spotted several outhouses within a mile of each other. The first was behind an old dilapidated brick house. There was a pickup truck parked in the drive so we asked if we could take pictures of it. The guy said he was speaking to the owner and that he wouldn't mind. This one was in pretty bad shape as you can see in the pictures above and below! | |
Notice the Toilet Paper holder on the wall Photo by J. Loose |
Notice the wooden door holder on the right Photo by J. Loose |
| Most Outhouses had a piece of wood to hold the door shut when not in use. You can see that piece of wood in the picture above. | |
Deer Camp Outhouse on Route 115 in Michigan Photo by J. Loose |
Notice the wooden door holder on the right Photo by J. Loose |
| The next Outhouse was spotted just off the road. It looked like there was a trail that someone would pull a trailer into and then they would use the Outhouse. | |
Food for the deer is kept inside this Outhouse! Photo by J. Loose |
The deer won't go hungry if they get into this Outhouse Photo by J. Loose |
| When we opened the door, we discovered that the holes were covered with bags of carrots and other stuff to feed the deer with. That is a common practice that deer hunters do before hunting to get the deer used to coming back to an area. | |
Outhouse near a trailer on Route 115 in Michigan Photo by J. Loose |
Outhouse close to the trailer Photo by J. Loose |
| The next Outhouse was located next to an old trailer. Again, they must use this as come kind of camp. This Outhouse was not in quite as bad a shape as the other ones we had just looked at. | |
| What else can you see in the images shown? Many times a photo is worth a thousand words and I've only elaborated with a few so why don't you add some "color commentary" to my collection. If your addition is worthy, you will find the quote added on the Comments to the Curator page. | |
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