Paris Park ~ 22090 Northland Drive, Paris, Michigan

This is a curious and unique park with a 20 foot "Eiffel Tower."  When we visited last March all the park gates were closed and we had this view through the fence.

But in June everything was open although we had to pay a $7.00 fee to get into the park (we could have paid $30 for an annual pass but saw no reason to do that 😏). The campground looked full but we saw no people.

After a short walk, we got to see the tower. Apparently back in the 1930s Paris Park had bunkhouses for WPA workers and the metal bed frames were kept and stored. In the 1980s, some students designed this sculpture from that metal.

The second thing of interest in this park is the fish hatchery. Fish food is provided on site and the rainbow trout will break the surface for food.

Bookending the park with the tower is an eight foot tall Native American sculpture created in the 1930s. The artist and purpose are lost to history but we do know it was a WPA project and it's a Chippewa Chief.

If these oddities are not enough for you, look for these on a nearby side street (photos from March).

Lastly, we found this historic marker on 22 Mile Road near the 131 interchange. What a remarkable woman!

And that wrapped up our Paris adventures 😊

  

 

Ann Arbor, MI ~ Miscellaneous Attractions & Things of Interest

In 2016, we drove to Ann Arbor to see Elvis Costello in concert (so worth it, until we saw he was coming to Grand Rapids in 2017 ~ oh well).

Since we were in Ann Arbor, we arranged for a tour of the Big House.

We even got to see Harbaugh :-)

We toured more of U of M on our own.

With dinner at the famous Zingerman's, we finished our 2016 visit.

Joe Biden was our next reason for traveling to Ann Arbor in December, 2017, and you can see how that turned out.

So back we came in February. This time he showed up.

We love Joe Biden but this evening was underwhelming at best. However, there was more to explore in Ann Arbor than Joe Biden. The famous 'Bookstore' mural (known by many other names) is one.

The mural by Richard Wolk depicts Woody Allen, Edgar Allen Poe, Hermann Hesse, Franz Kafka, and Anais Nin. And don't miss a walk down Graffiti Alley.

The 'Singing in the Rain' mural, by David Zinn, was a little harder to find but persistence paid off. Unfortunately, we did not realize that from a certain orientation the actual lamp post would line up with the mural (note for your next visit). We enjoyed it nonetheless :-)

Wave Field, an earthen sculpture by Maya Lin, can be found on the U of M campus. In February it was covered in snow.

For a completely kitschy, roadside attraction, don't miss the giant carrots, on One Carrot Way.

Jerry Ford has a large presence in Ann Arbor with his library being located here and his history at the University of Michigan. We took a brief tour of the library which has a nice exhibit on the first floor. Ford is the only president to have his museum in one location (Grand Rapids) and his library in another.

It took us a minute or two, or three, to find the waving Gerald Ford mural, by Katherine Larson. It was painted on canvas and then attached to the wall (second floor of the Graduate Inn).

Our last, but not least, roadside attraction from this trip was 'Dine with Jesus' at Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Church in Brighton (about 20 minutes north of Ann Arbor). We couldn't get the full effect due to winter cover so visit in nice weather for your complete dining experience.

Cheers to finding the off beat and wonderful wherever you travel!