LonBon22, Saginaw, MI (2026)

09/07/2026

The Moss Gibbs Woodland Garden located in Louisville, Kentucky.
Moss Gibbs Woodland is a 15-acre botanical sanctuary located within Broad Run Park, part of The Parklands of Floyds Fork system. Designed to seamlessly blend human curation with old-growth nature, it serves as a slow-paced, tranquil hillside retreat.
Rather than an open lawn, the park utilizes a design concept called "hyper-native planting" to craft secluded outdoor alcoves. These include the Kentucky Coffee Tree Rondel, the Scarlet Oak Rondel, and the Redbud Rondel.
A centerpiece of the trail is a 20-foot-high pedestrian bridge built entirely out of stacked stones without a single drop of mortar. It relies entirely on the architectural weight of the arch.
Massive Plant Density: Landscape architects added over 47,000 individual plants from 200 native species over the existing topography. They designed it so perfectly that the border between the wild woods and the curated garden is nearly invisible.
The 15-acre plot sits on historic wilderness land once owned by frontiersman Squire Boone, the famous brother of Daniel Boone.
The Garden caretakers often showcase a "magic trick" with the native moss blankets covering the hillside; when sprayed with a light mist of water, the seemingly dead, brown moss snaps back to a vivid, lush green in a matter of seconds.
Planners did not design this garden for the present generation. The root spacing, tree canopies, and pathways were calculated on an 800-year growth timeline to allow the forest to mature into its intended structural peak over centuries.
The valley's wild hyacinth fields were historically nicknamed "beargrass" by early Kentucky settlers, who discovered that the plant’s subterranean tubers were completely edible.
**My posts are not Ai. Media keeps mislabeling my posts since I use Adobe software (etc Lightroom) to edit my photos. If you see a label for Ai, disregard it. I do not support Ai generated photos and I want people to visit these locations and appreciate them the way they are. Some of my photos are heavily edited which strike media meta and automatically label my posts as Ai.**

09/07/2026

The Moss Gibbs Woodland Garden located in Louisville, Kentucky.
Moss Gibbs Woodland is a 15-acre botanical sanctuary located within Broad Run Park, part of The Parklands of Floyds Fork system. Designed to seamlessly blend human curation with old-growth nature, it serves as a slow-paced, tranquil hillside retreat.
Rather than an open lawn, the park utilizes a design concept called "hyper-native planting" to craft secluded outdoor alcoves. These include the Kentucky Coffee Tree Rondel, the Scarlet Oak Rondel, and the Redbud Rondel.
A centerpiece of the trail is a 20-foot-high pedestrian bridge built entirely out of stacked stones without a single drop of mortar. It relies entirely on the architectural weight of the arch.
Massive Plant Density: Landscape architects added over 47,000 individual plants from 200 native species over the existing topography. They designed it so perfectly that the border between the wild woods and the curated garden is nearly invisible.
The 15-acre plot sits on historic wilderness land once owned by frontiersman Squire Boone, the famous brother of Daniel Boone.
The Garden caretakers often showcase a "magic trick" with the native moss blankets covering the hillside; when sprayed with a light mist of water, the seemingly dead, brown moss snaps back to a vivid, lush green in a matter of seconds.
Planners did not design this garden for the present generation. The root spacing, tree canopies, and pathways were calculated on an 800-year growth timeline to allow the forest to mature into its intended structural peak over centuries.
The valley's wild hyacinth fields were historically nicknamed "beargrass" by early Kentucky settlers, who discovered that the plant’s subterranean tubers were completely edible.
**My posts are not Ai. Media keeps mislabeling my posts since I use Adobe software (etc Lightroom) to edit my photos. If you see a label for Ai, disregard it. I do not support Ai generated photos and I want people to visit these locations and appreciate them the way they are. Some of my photos are heavily edited which strike media meta and automatically label my posts as Ai.**

09/07/2026

Observatory Night at Delta College Main Campus Observatory located in Bay City, Michigan.

09/07/2026

The Real “Jeepers Creepers Schoolhouse” historic Gilead Township District No. 3 Schoolhouse located in Bronson, Michigan.
THIS ONE IS FOR HORROR MOVIE FANS! 😁
While it looks like a peaceful piece of early 20th-century architecture, this abandoned property is tied to a terrifying real-life crime that forever altered pop culture.
Built in 1908 by contractors Everle & Wallace and designed by architects Griffin & Fair, the building operated for decades as a rural multi-classroom schoolhouse.
After consolidation closed many one-room and small district schools, the building was left abandoned, surrounded by quiet farmland.
The True Jeepers Creepers Story and what happened at this building:
On Easter Sunday in 1990, a local man named Dennis DePue murdered his wife, Marilyn DePue. Looking for a place to hide the evidence, he pulled his van up behind this specific abandoned schoolhouse to dump a bloody sheet. While DePue was at the schoolhouse, a brother and sister driving down the lonely road spotted him handling the blood-soaked sheet. Realizing he was seen, DePue hopped into his van and aggressively tailgated the siblings for several miles.
The couple’s terrifying encounter and the image of the abandoned schoolhouse directly inspired the iconic opening sequence of the 2001 horror film Jeepers Creepers. In the movie, the main characters see a monster dropping bodies down a pipe behind an identical old church/schoolhouse before being aggressively tailgated by his rusted truck.
The real-life manhunt for DePue was famously featured on an episode of Unsolved Mysteries in 1991. An alert viewer recognized DePue living under an alias in Texas, leading to a police chase and a shootout that ended his life the very night the episode aired.

08/24/2026

The Pickle Barrel House Museum, a whimsical, two-story historical cabin located in Grand Marais on Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
The unusual history of the structure spans a century:
Cartoon Origins (1914) - Cartoonist William Donahey created The Teenie Weenies, a popular Chicago Tribune comic strip featuring two-inch-tall characters who lived in a pickle barrel.
Built as a Gift (1926) - To promote their product line, Reid, Murdoch & Co. (makers of Monarch brand pickles) had a life-sized, 16-foot-tall version of the barrel built by the Pioneer Cooperage Company. It was given to Donahey and his wife as a summer cottage on the shores of nearby Grand Sable Lake.
The Looky-Loos (1937) - Tired of a constant stream of curious tourists trying to catch a glimpse of the cartoonish home, the Donaheys sold the cabin. It was moved two miles into the town of Grand Marais.
Over the next several decades, the building served various purposes, operating as an ice cream stand, a visitor information center, and a gift shop.
Restoration & Museum (2003–Present) - After falling into disrepair, the Grand Marais Historical Society acquired the property in 2003. They completely restored it to its original 1920s interior layout. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004 and now operates as a museum displaying Donahey's original artwork and memorabilia.

08/24/2026

This butterfly is an Idea leuconoe, commonly known as the Paper Kite butterfly or Rice Paper butterfly. At the Dow Gardens Butterfly House located in Midland, Michigan.
They are famous for their large, translucent silvery-white or pale yellowish wings patterned with dark, deep black veins and distinct outer spots.
They are native to Southeast Asia but are incredibly popular in live butterfly houses and conservatories globally due to their calm demeanor.
Their slow, drifting, glider-like flight style makes them easy to observe up close. Because they lack strong flight muscles, they float gracefully through the air like a piece of paper.
Like many relatives in the milkweed family, they are poisonous to predators. They accumulate toxic chemicals from the host plants they feed on during their caterpillar stage.

08/24/2026

The famous Colgate Clock sitting atop the former Colgate-Palmolive factory in Clarksville, Indiana, directly across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky.
Long before soap was made here, the red brick building opened in 1847 as the Indiana Reformatory South (a state prison). Following a severe cellhouse fire in 1919, the state relocated the inmates.
Colgate purchased the complex in 1923 and actually utilized inmate labor to help convert the prison cells into a soap manufacturing facility.
The massive clock was designed by Colgate engineer Warren Davey and built by the Seth Thomas Clock Company for the company's 1906 centennial. It originally stood atop Colgate’s Jersey City, New Jersey facility. When Jersey City replaced it with an even larger clock, this original timepiece was shipped to Indiana and officially began ticking on November 17, 1924.
For decades, this massive industrial complex was an economic powerhouse. At its production peak, the plant manufactured roughly 95% of all Colgate-brand toothpaste sold in the United States before the facility permanently closed its doors in 2008.
The octagonal clock face spans 40 feet (12 meters) in diameter. It is one of the largest single-facing clocks in the world, significantly outsizing London's famous Big Ben!
The minute hand is over 20 feet long, the hour hand is 16 feet long, and each individual hand weighs more than 500 pounds. Because of its immense scale, the tip of the minute hand travels more than half a mile every single day, totaling roughly 200 miles of structural movement per year!
Why Eight Sides? The distinct octagonal perimeter of the clock framework was purposefully designed to honor the shape of "Octagon Soap," an incredibly popular early laundry cleanser produced by Colgate.
During the catastrophic Great Ohio River Flood of 1937, rising waters knocked out power to the area, freezing the massive hands of the clock precisely at 4:10.
Although the factory has been closed for years, the clock remains an actively preserved regional landmark. The surrounding property is currently undergoing a massive $500 million redevelopment project spearheaded by Weyland Ventures to transform the historic prison-factory into a vibrant district featuring a boutique hotel, restaurants, residential spaces, and a sports complex.

08/23/2026

Grand Marais, Michigan
A historic harbor village located in Michigan's Upper Peninsula along the southern shores of Lake Superior. The classic look of the town's dense Northwoods setting, featuring custom-built wood siding log homes nestled below towering hillsides of maple and pine trees.
With a small permanent population of around 200–300 residents, this quiet hamlet transforms throughout the seasons into a major recreation destination.
The town sits right at the eastern entrance to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore via the scenic County Road H-58. It is uniquely positioned near the massive Grand Sable Dunes, the towering Log Slide Overlook, and the cascading sandstone steps of Sable Falls.
Named by early French voyageurs who mistook the word for a sheltered pool or "great pond", Grand Marais features a naturally protected harbor that historically provided a vital refuge for sailors navigating Lake Superior's dangerous shipwreck coast.
The town is home to the famous Pickle Barrel House Museum, a 16-foot-tall barrel built in 1926 as a summer cottage for cartoonist William Donahey.
It also serves as an official "Trail Town" for the North Country Trail. Travelers frequent the area for rock hunting (especially looking for agates) along the beaches in the summer, viewing vibrant fall colors, and snowmobiling via direct trail systems in the winter.

08/23/2026

The Wright Tower/ Kaden Tower is an iconic 15-story mid-century modern skyscraper located in Louisville, Kentucky.
The construction process was entirely reversed. Builders erected the solid central concrete elevator core first. They then built and hoisted the floors from the top down, suspending them using cantilevered steel beams branching outward from the core.
Because the entire weight of the structure is held up by that central core, the office floors are entirely column-free.
The lacy grillwork facade serves as a giant functional solar screen. The blueprint was originally designed by legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright in the late 1940s as a hotel for Ahmedabad, India, where the stone jali-inspired screen would provide natural temperature control.
When it debuted in 1966, local residents and critics fiercely loathed it. It became the first building in generations to stir up a massive public design debate in Kentucky, with critics aggressively mocking it as a "giant Kleenex box" and the "Pink Monstrosity".
While based on a Wright concept, the building was actually executed by Wright’s protégé and son-in-law, William Wesley Peters. In a bizarre twist of history, Peters went on to marry Svetlana Alliluyeva—the only daughter of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin—after she defected to the United States.

08/22/2026

The Louisville Water Tower, the world's oldest standing ornamental water tower located along the banks of the Ohio River in Louisville, Kentucky.
This site functions today as both a historic landmark and the Louisville WaterWorks Museum.
In the 1830s and 1840s, polluted local wells caused severe epidemics of cholera and typhoid. This health crisis prompted voters to approve a municipal water system. The facility official opened on October 16, 1860, to clean and deliver safe drinking water to the city.
Chief Engineer Theodore Scowden built the structures in the Classical Revival style. The grand Roman and Greek temple motifs were intentional. They hoped beautiful public architecture would convince skeptical residents to abandon private wells in favor of tap water.
The 185-foot-tall structure on the right is actually a standpipe cover. It enclosed a heavy iron pipe to steady the massive, rhythmic surges from steam engines drawing water from the river. The large brick chimney structure on the left was added in 1893. It served a small boiler house needed to power Pumping Station No. 2.
In 1896, rapid-sand water filtration experiments conducted at this property by George Warren Fuller revolutionized sanitary engineering and municipal water treatment worldwide.
On March 27, 1890, a severe tornado snapped the original wood-paneled tower at its base, destroying most of the complex. It was subsequently rebuilt with an interior iron frame.
Ten zinc statues depicting Greek and Roman mythological figures (along with a Native American hunter and hound) line the tower base. Bought for $1,700 from a New York foundry, they replaced the originals destroyed by the tornado.
The pumps officially ceased operations in 1909 when city infrastructure moved to modern treatment reservoirs. The Department of the Interior named it a National Historic Landmark in 1971. It is also highly regarded as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

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