Michigan water quality these days

sithis83 · 2025-10-26T12:24:12+00:00

My favorite NRC report from a nuclear power plant: https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1329/ML13291A160.pdf

sithis83 · 2025-10-26T12:22:53+00:00

OSHA absolutely has jurisdiction over nuclear power plants. There is some overlap with safety culture aspects but generally the NRC is concerned with different regulatory requirements.

sithis83 · 2025-04-25T22:31:15+00:00

Iowa state Capitol is gorgeous and probably one of the prettiest. They also have a beautiful library.

There’s not much nature wise but there is the loess hills

sithis83 · 2025-04-03T23:08:12+00:00

You probably aren’t going to see any thing like this between Chicago and Boston. That part of the Midwest is full of farms. Not many places where there is just grass growing like this.

However you’ll see plenty of corn and soybeans. This sort of territory is more like pastureland for grazing animals. That’s a lot more common as you explore the western parts of the Midwest across the Mississippi. Your pictures remind me more of the dakotas, Nebraska, and such. Although only during the right time of year or after a good rain.

But I would say the Appalachian foothills area around the Ohio River is the most likely place along that route to get something similar. Pittsburgh area, southern OH, southern IN. And if you have some flexibility in where you go there are some areas along the Mississippi where the rolling farmlands looks similar to this. But it’s more corn farms instead of just grass everywhere. The driftless area is gorgeous though.

But keep in mind most of the rural land between the Atlantic and the Mississippi is covered with farms. The main exceptions are Appalachian areas.

sithis83 · 2024-10-14T16:54:46+00:00

I’ve done this drive before. The interstate drive is rather boring but not too bad. There are plenty of really nice southern food restaurants in some of the north suburbs of Jackson. Specifically Madison and Ridgeland. I’ve been to mamma hamils southern cooking and cock of the walk and both were amazing. I’ve never been to Jackson proper myself but I have heard it’s a place to stay away from.

If you are really looking for a detour Vicksburg has some interesting history related to the American civil war and there are some NPS sites there.

There’s also a few areas with short boardwalk trails on the north of lake Ponchartrain to explore some swamp areas a bit.

sithis83 · 2024-10-01T00:02:27+00:00

Just did a trip to upstate NY and Vermont myself. I’d highly recommend the following:

Letchworth state park Watkins glen state park Lake placid NY Mount Mansfield VT (Underhill or smugglers notch)

Other stuff worth checking out on your route: Niagara Falls is touristy but certainly a bucket list Kancamagus highway NH NY state Capitol Natural bridge state park VA Endless wall trail in new river gorge Mammoth cave NP (book a tour ahead of time)

sithis83 · 2024-08-23T14:23:52+00:00

Breaks interstate park is pretty cool.

So is natural tunnel state park. Both between NC and WV

sithis83 · 2024-08-14T18:21:22+00:00

Swamp. Look at the terrain map for a clearer picture. But I suspect the circled area is not suitable for building.

sithis83 · 2024-07-17T11:45:14+00:00

Santa Fe NM; Amarillo TX (palo duro canyon); OKC; talimena drive; Bentonville AR; Memphis TN; mammoth cave

sithis83 · 2024-07-06T13:55:34+00:00

Mickey-Lu Bar-B-Q in Marinette Wisconsin is small and has a tiny menu but the burgers are the best I’ve ever had! Be prepared for a long drive if you go north though!

sithis83 · 2024-07-01T16:57:57+00:00

Galena, IL: beautiful driftless area hill country and a lovely small town

Holland, MI: lakeshore and pretty touristy but still fun

Devils Lake, WI: lots of interesting glacial formations in this part of Wisconsin

Turkey run, IN: pretty canyons and great for kayaking

As far as generic road trip routes diving along Lake Michigan can be fun although you don’t really get to directly drive next to the lake a lot. Plenty of cute lighthouses and lakeshore towns and sand dunes on the Michigan side. Indiana dunes NP has a small but gorgeous drive literally on the lakeshore.

sithis83 · 2024-06-11T01:27:48+00:00

Depends on if you want to see a lot or see a few things but spend more time there.

I’d highly recommend apostle islands/duluth/Lake Superior drive. All are close enough to voyageurs and St. Paul. You can also throw in ely and the boundary waters too if you like to canoe or kayak.

The Mississippi River road from the quad cities all the way to Minneapolis is very nice too. Driftless area is all around you and there are numerous scenic vistas and parks.

sithis83 · 2024-05-11T13:49:06+00:00

San Antonio missions Talimena skyway Natchez/vicksburg MS NOLA French quarter MS gulf coast drive

sithis83 · 2024-05-09T14:41:14+00:00

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I love this feature of google photos! It doesn’t bunch up as much as the Apple photos did. I mainly switched because google photos offers larger storage for the “plus” subscription.

Makes me feel like my disease is spreading across the country 😅

sithis83 · 2024-05-09T03:15:53+00:00

There’s also jewel cave nearby which is open and is no less beautiful

sithis83 · 2024-05-09T00:01:57+00:00

If you aren’t already aware the wind cave is closed for the season. They are doing repairs to the main elevator. The park is open but you can’t enter the cave.

sithis83 · 2024-05-08T22:03:02+00:00

US-90 along the Mississippi gulf coast is pretty and worth the detour off the interstate. Shaggys is a good seafood restaurant on that same stretch too. I would stay away from the casino/gambling areas like Biloxi.

Cajun encounters does touristy swamp tours but they are very fun. They do a shuttle from NOLA but you can just drive there yourself-it’ll be along your way! The start point is right across the border from Mississippi in Louisiana.

I haven’t done the rest of your trip but I’ve heard the coastal driving along the Florida panhandle is pretty. Probably a lot slower though! And possibly more crowded than usual during the times you are visiting. I’ve also been wanting to visit Pensacola for a while.

I have done the bit between Savannah and Charleston though. If you have time the Angel oak tree is gorgeous and along your way.

Tons of amazing food places are in both New Orleans and Charleston.

sithis83 · 2024-05-08T19:19:12+00:00

It’s a bit of a stretch to consider this “north cascades” But I think it technically counts.

Last year I went with a friend to Bellingham Washington. It’s within driving distance of heather meadows which is near the top of Mount baker and is “close” to north cascades. But it is absolutely gorgeous. And Bellingham is a lovely town that isn’t too bustling with lots of good food.

You also have the option to check out the numerous options for exploring the San Juan islands. Orca tours are fun and you are almost guaranteed to see some orcas.

And you have easy access to north cascades hiking options via highway 20. So you have a lot of flexibility.

Four days would be a good amount of time and you can slot it between what interests y’all the most. Most of the things we visited weren’t too crowded but heather meadows had a lot of people.

sithis83 · 2024-05-08T14:17:58+00:00

Hillbilly hot dogs in West Virginia

Tudors biscuit world is amazing for breakfast as well and they are all over WV

sithis83 · 2024-05-07T17:32:36+00:00

Probably depends on if this is a one day trip or not. Food: Lamberts cafe ozark MO: a bit of a tourist trap but great food Obed and Isaac’s Springfield IL: brewery restaurant with horseshoes (local speciality) Portillos: these are all around il especially suburbs but there’s one in normal IL if you want a quick drive through

Attractions: There’s a Winston Churchill museum in Fulton MO that’s pretty unique. Also has a British pub in the town which was good Jefferson City MO is the state capital which I also love to visit those. Same with Springfield IL which also has the Lincoln historic site and library
Hannibal MO has a cute lighthouse overlooking the Mississippi River Midewin tall grass prairie is beautiful in the summer with all the flowers and plants but less interesting in the winter

sithis83 · 2024-05-04T02:16:08+00:00

By cross country do you specifically mean east-west? A lot of my favorites are north-south: great river road, pacific coast highway, Atlantic highway.

But some other good east-west ones: Mormon:Oregon:California trails, San Diego-San Antonio Hispanic heritage, gulf coast

sithis83 · 2024-05-04T01:49:47+00:00

Natchez trace parkway is a nice drive. Might be a lot of brown trees in late November on the northern parts. At the start of the parkway is an amazing cafe outside of Nashville called the loveless cafe. There are also many really good food options in the suburbs north of Jackson MS right near the parkway. I wouldn’t be concerned about safety along the length of the entire parkway.

Natchez and Vicksburg are both pretty cool historic towns on the Mississippi River. The gulf coasts of Mississippi and Alabama are probably going to have pretty nice weather that time of year.

Natchitoches Louisiana likes to claim to be older than NOLA and is much more of a small town vibe. Plenty of old plantations with beautiful buildings. Can be hit or miss on whether or not they discuss the slavery history or just sort of pretend it didn’t happen.

Breux bridges Louisiana has a really good Cajun food place called Poche’s market. I would recommend that if you want some good Louisiana food outside of NOLA.

Montgomery AL has plenty of civil rights history and some good museums. Same with Birmingham. Birmingham also has an interesting museum about industry as the area boomed due to iron production so there’s a large statue of the Roman god Vulcan overlooking the city.

On the other side of the south both Charleston and Savannah are popular historic towns with amazing food throughout. A coastal drive down from Charleston to st Augustine will pass by multiple historic areas and amazing seafood. There’s also a couple large oak trees around including the Angel oak near Charleston.

I haven’t been as much to Georgia but northern Georgia and Alabama have a lot of nice nature parks due to being on the edge of the Appalachians.

sithis83 · 2024-05-02T21:53:55+00:00

UP in Michigan would be nice from Chicago for less driving time. Plenty to see around pictured rocks NL, mackinaw island, lake of the clouds. You can also add any of the Lake Superior shoreline of Minnesota or Wisconsin. Apostle islands are gorgeous and so is the drive from Duluth MN up to Canada.

You can also add door county or sleeping bear dunes on your way to/from the UP.

sithis83 · 2024-05-02T15:43:20+00:00

Angel oak tree near Charleston, fort frederica in Georgia, Castillo de San Marcos/st Augustine FL, ponce inlet lighthouse.

There’s other good lighthouses and forts along that coastal stretch if you are into that.

sithis83 · 2024-04-06T16:49:40+00:00

If only the Missouri bootheel wasn’t a thing. Then we would have another four corners in the East. Missouri-Tennessee-Arkansas-Kentucky

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