Minnie

Street Sweepers

Ever since I was a young girl, i've loved street sweepers. And not just any kind. The mustard yellow ones, with the name of Pelican, made by Elgin. I used to get so happy when i'd see them. I'd run outside to see them closer. When I rarely see one, I still feel happy and get excited!

Elgin, Illinois is a couple of hours where I live. Perhaps I should see if they have any factory tours. I've seen some small models, so perhaps they have a gift shop where I could purchase one?

This is a link to their current Pelican model:
http://www.elginsweeper.com/Products/MechanicalSweepers/Pelican/tabid/113/Default.aspx

You can spin and zoom in on this 360 view:
http://elginsweeper.com/portals/0/images/360/pelican/pelican.html

This is a cute video that shows a timeline of Pelican street sweepers over the years:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oEGsHEHKq8

Many years ago I worked at a large manufacturing company, and they had their very own Pelican street sweeper like I used to love. I guess they only hold one person, otherwise I would have been able to ride along with the person who operated it. When I was having a bad or stressful day, I used to "visit it" and it always cheered me up.

This blog has an example of the color and type I remember:
http://eagandailyphoto.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-sign-of-spring.html

I remember seeing one for sale for $10,000. It honestly seemed like a great deal. My husband at the time said I could get it if I could figure out where to store it. I suggested the extra parking space in front of the house. Needless to say he didn't agree.

I see one on ebay for $51 starting bid! Oh, how tempting to bid on it. It's about 282 miles from where I live. I wonder how long it would take to drive it home? And where would I store it? I don't think it would fit in my parking space in my condo building. :-(

Kaszube's Park

The below pics are of Kaszube's Park, Milwaukee's smallest Park.

It's within Jones Island, just south of downtown Milwaukee. Not too exciting in winter but quite interesting.

This article has some information on it:
http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2013/08/06/photo-gallery-the-kashubes-polka-picnic/

Below are a few pics I took on 12/26/14, with temp in the mid 40's. The last one is of a tower next to it, showing some lovely blue sky peeking out from the clouds.

Lake Michigan Coast Guard Buoys

I have noted some buoys in Lake Michigan, including one I can see near where I live. It's green and I'd like to get a boat ride so I can get near it and see if it's a bell buoy.

I also noticed it looked like a different green this past summer than last year. And definitely it's location shifted noticeably. I wasn't sure how they place them, if they use GPS coordinates or purposely place them in a different spot.

I do know they take them out near winter, and saw some on the large concrete section where bulk carrierers dock, just south of downtown Milwaukee.

I took a drive near the Coast Guard and noticed a lot of buoys inside a metal fenced area, near where they keep their boats. One large red one really looked like a bell buoy while the rest looked smaller. Most if not all were green or red. I noticed numbers on some as well.

It didn't look like the Coast Guard building welcomed visitors, and indeed had warning signs, so I still am researching my questions. When I was in Door County this past fall, I followed signs for a lighthouse in Sturgeon Bay but once I arrived, it was part of the Coast Guard and I wasn't able to get too close. I do understand the needs for security.

They had really cool red and green older buoys, one on each side of the entrance that I took photos of below. They looked like they had modern energy efficient bulbs in them, so I'll have to take a drive past at night and see if they light up.

Pigeon Show - Jefferson County Fairgrounds

I have never been to a pigeon show before, so when I saw one nearby, I decided to check it out. There were a lot of varieties, as shown in my photos below. There were several areas that had judges performing their role with what looked certain varieties. Many were making the soft cooing sounds and seemed alert but content.

Nike Missile Silo - Waukesha, WI

Photos of the old Nike Missile Silo in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Shown are the structures remaining. I believe the area was supposed to have converted to a type of museum. The overlooking view is quite beautiful.

VOR - Vertical Omnidirectional Range

Ever since I was part of the Civil Air Patrol years ago, I have been interested in VOR's. Some of them look like sombrero hats. Pilots use them to navigate, and i've always wanted to see one up close.

After much searching, I wasn't able to find any photos of what they look like inside. I am contemplating contacting some of the local airports to see if they can tell me more, or if they have photos of the interiors. I have heard that due to what they contain, I cannot actually go inside of one. But with all of the things on the internet, including photos of the insides of water towers, why not VOR's?

Conventional VOR

http://www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc26257.php

DVOR (Doppler) VOR

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHF_omnidirectional_range

I'll post any that I can take a photo of. I have not been able to get close enough to take a good image of one yet.

If you have any photos you'd like to share, especially what the insides look like, please let me know.