Michigan, Michigan?

Here we are well into August, post-Bethany's birthday. We've been soaking up the warmth and sunshine at times, and been holed up inside listening to the rain and storms at others. It's easy to forget that it's not always like this here, but ready or not, we've reached the end of summer vacation season. 

Things have been slower paced on Star Stable lately, especially for us. We've been having consistent, extremely low FPS/"jerky graphics" issues, for reasons unknown. Lowering graphics quality on the game has not helped, nor has restarting the computer, nor has avoiding populated areas, so we don't really know what to do. Since we can still play HI3 fine, and since we're fine when we're in our stable on Star Stable, we're hoping it's something on Star Stable's end that gets fixed in time. Due to the headache-inducing jerkiness, we've not been playing much since the end of Camp Western, but we did manage to ride out to Starshine Ranch (no more beasties, not even in the wolf and bear dens!) to see the newest additions: the updated Mustangs!

We think these guys are really cool! Their special move is bucking, appropriately, but unlike on HI3, the riders seem to always stay on. XD

Since that's about it on the horse gaming front, I might as well share some highlights from the humans' recent weekend away in Michigan's capital, Lansing. 

Mom and Grandma's room in their rental "bungalow" for the weekend. 

There was no sneaking around here - those old wooden floors creaked like crazy.

This was hanging on the wall! 

We applaud this decorating choice. =)

Mom's comfy spot for most of the weekend's downtime. <3

Their first destination: The Michigan State Capitol

It was completed in 1878, about 40 years after Michigan became a state (1837).

Interestingly, Michigan's original capital was Detroit, with the understanding that a permanent location would be selected by the legislature in 1847. (Detroit's proximity to Canada made it an unideal capital location.) A courthouse became the first capitol building.

Many cities vied to become the permanent state capital, but Lansing Township won. There wasn't much there at the time, and they had to scramble to build a wooden building to serve as the temporary capitol in time for 1848 legislative activities. They were calling the settlement "Michigan, Michigan" at first, but decided it was too confusing and changed it to Lansing. It wasn't until after the Civil War that Michigan could build a much grander permanent capitol building.

Both of the former capitol buildings have since burned down.

Unfortunately, the impressive rotunda is undergoing repair/restoration work, so Mom did not see it in all its glory from the inside. (Excuse to go back!)

Everything is so Victorian and fancy! 

Mom says she felt quite out of place walking around in her t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers.

The wood throughout looks like expensive walnut, but almost all of it is pine (much more readily available, less expensive). Since pine is light-colored and doesn't take stain well, it was painted darker. Artists then painstakingly painted on realistic woodgrain details. It certainly fooled us!

The Great Seal of Michigan was all over the place in the decorations. It's also on Michigan's flag.

For the record:

"Tuebor" is Latin for "We will defend."

The longer phrase down below is Latin for "If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you."

The seal was designed by a Michigan territorial governor, Lewis Cass, back in 1835.

All of the fancy, ridiculously heavy chandeliers used to be gas-powered but have since been upgraded to electric. 

Chamber for the Michigan House of Representatives

Chamber for the Michigan Senate

Granted, it was a weekend in the middle of the summer, but Mom was surprised at how few people were around the downtown area in general. We suppose most flock "up north" and/or to lakes on weekends this time of year...

They saw lots of Canada geese, though.

Their second destination was the Michigan History Museum. They probably spent the most time in the first section, from the Ice Age through the early 1800's. 

This area was decorated with some gorgeous murals

Cue the Europeans and their deadly diseases. Nothing would ever be the same.

So much conflict over control of land and resources, first between Anishnabeg, Iroquois, French, and British, then eventually add in American settlers. And so much of it seemed to hinge on the fur trade, since fur garments were all the rage in Europe.

The American settlers ultimately prevailed and took over, displacing indigenous people left and right, and history marched on.

Now that furs were out (and most fur-bearing mammals had been hunted nearly to extinction anyway), it was time to exploit other natural resources, namely copper, iron, and lumber!

This area included a realistic depiction of a mine's depths, complete with a creepy wax miner with a candle attached to his helmet. I'll spare your eyes from those photos.

Full-size (9-10' diameter) and mini "big wheels," Michigan inventions that made transporting logs in the snowless seasons (when sleds wouldn't work) easier. The logs were chained underneath, and two horses pulled it.

So interesting that some of the earliest farming machinery was powered by what appears to be horses walking on a treadmill!

We'd be here all day if I continued commenting on everything, but suffice it to say that farming and industry continued to evolve and modernize. Then the automotive industry was born and... we all know what happened from there!

The museum also staged typical household rooms at various points in time post-Civil War. Mom found many rather creepy - she would not have wanted to be alone near them after hours. 

The Victorian Era probably wins the creepiest prize. I'm mercifully not including the shots with some rather haunting black and white portraits on the walls. XD

By the 50's, the creepiness factor had decreased significantly.

The museum continued with artifacts and info dating into at least into the 1980's, but by this time Mom was pretty tired and stopped taking photos, so that's it for those.

Destination #3 was Michigan State University's botanical gardens. They have winding rows of all kinds of plants, each plant in its own little plot and labeled with informational signs. Mom could've lingered there for hours checking it all out, but alas, her companions were not so into it. Here are some photos of a few of her favorites:

Such a lovely, relaxing place!

Their final stop was not in Lansing but in nearby Grand Ledge. Their intention was to walk along the Grand River to view some sandstone rock formations, but things did not go according to plan.

Like us, Mom is not the greatest with maps. They ended up on the wrong trail in the forest. (In her defense, nothing was marked clearly.)

They did get to see the Grand River briefly:

...and then it started to pour, even though no rain was predicted for hours.

Everybody was soaked by the time they made it back to the car and not in the mood to try to find the right trail. So, the "grand ledges," like the Capitol's rotunda, will have to wait for another time!