Tuesday July 5, 2011-Addison Oaks County park

Another nice day in Michigan. We woke to cool temperatures again but it soon warmed up. Again, not as hot as it is in Texas, but warm.

We went into Rochester to find someone that could repair the leak on our fuel tank. The man that we had been referred to did not do any welding but he referred us to another fellow named Jim. We went to Jim's shop but he wasn't open yet-guess there's not too much call for a welder/fabricator before 9AM. We went to eat breakfast after I called and left a message for Jim. He called back at exactly the right time because I had just finished eating and we were about ready to leave. We went to his shop and after moving the tool box, we found the problem. One of the welds that had been done in Nacogdoches had failed and allowed some fuel to leak. Jim did his preparations and soon had it all repaired. He pressure-tested the tank and it held just fine. We talked about his installing a remote fill pump to transfer fuel from the big tank in the bed into the truck tank, and we made an appointment to come back tomorrow to have this work done.

We ran a couple more errands and returned to the park. I decided to show Stella the beach area near the area where the firework show had been held.

Here is the rope-enclosed area for swimming in the lake. Behind the lake you can see the old mansion that belonged to the former owners of this property.

A closer view of the mansion that was built by and belonged to the Buhl family. The Buhl family owned Buhl Aircraft of Detroit Michigan. I have been told that this house was their weekend or getaway house when they wanted to leave the city.

The front drive and entrance to the main house. What a place! And remember, this was just a weekend getaway house. Just imagine what their home was like!

A view out the back of the house toward the grounds and the lake. I was told that the original plot of land was approximately 1500 acres. Of course, the county owns the property now and maintains the house and grounds and they sure do a great job of it! The house is now used for wedding and reception and I'm sure a party now and then. The park area is nice but lacks a few of the amenities that are needed by campers.

The main dining/reception hall. I was told that this room will seat 350 people and I believe it! It is huge...!

There is some beautiful inlaid wood flooring at the main entrance to the banquet hall. I'm not sure when the house was built, but one of the ladies that works here told me that the Buhl family built the house and sold it to an attorney in 1960. They owned it until Oakland County bought it and turned the grounds into a park and the house into a conference/wedding center.

So long.