Windmill in Holland, MI

I have lived in Michigan (almost) my entire life and have seen it from bottom to top of the UP (upper peninsula). I never knew until a few weeks ago that "De Zwaan", a working windmill moved here from Holland, existed. So my husband & I, needing to travel to visit family in Grand Rapids, made a point to visit.Click the picture to see the details of the park where it resides.

The entire structure was brought here from Holland about 40 years ago. The tour was excellent. I even came home with a bag of flour and some dutch Cocoa Powder. The engineering is amazing.

                                                       Notice the shims on the shaft

 The "Dutch Village" is rather touristy, but very nicely done. The gardens are beautiful. The day we went was after their tulip festival was over and a cold overcast day, so there were no crowds.

I plan to add more travel insights in the future as we are taking a big trip to Alaska in August that will spark lots of creativity, observations, journaling, and great photographs.  Nature remains my most constant muse.
Stay tuned.