A drive about 30 miles up the road was on our schedule today. In Dearborn, MI there is a complex called the Henry Ford. It contains the Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village, an IMAX theatre and is the starting point for the Ford Rouge Factory Tour. It is a very large complex. Luckily the complex is located close to the freeway so I didn't have to find it using local roads.
We decided to visit the museum and the factory tour today. You could easily spend a couple of days exploring everything they have to offer here. We just missed the bus to the factory tour so we checked out the gift shop and took a few pictures before the next one. They run every 20 minutes or so. Here is the clocktower at the museum.
Soon we were getting on the bus to head to the factory tour. The ride takes a few minutes as it is not right next door but a couple of miles away. We arrived at the factory around 11:00 AM and the tour person advised us to skip the theatres and head straight to the assembly plant so we could see it in operation. They shut down for lunch at noon and all manufacturing stops until they come back. So off we went. You are not allowed to take pictures in the assembly plant or in the theatres so I don't have any from there. This plant was built over 100 years ago and was a modern marvel when done. It was a model for its time with vertical integration and the first mass production line for cars. Today they are as environmentally friendly as possible. They recycle and even have a living roof. Yep, those are plants growing on the roof!
After the assembly plant tour we headed back to the theaters. There are two, one is the legacy theatre where you see a film about the triumphs and tragedies surrounding the Rouge. The other is the Art of Manufacturing. It is a multisensory theater where you see, feel, and hear. It was cool.
There were also some of the favorite old Ford cars on display. They had a '56 T-bird, which is a car I always wanted. Of course there was a Mustang, too. Check out the slide show at the end of the post.
After spending almost 2 hours here we took the bus back to the Henry Ford. It was now lunch time for us so we decided to eat at their cafe instead of leaving and coming back. It was just OK. Bill had a open face meatloaf sandwich and I had a beef pasty. A pasty is like the original Hot Pocket and a common meal here in Michigan.
After lunch we entered the museum. My goodness you could spend a full day just in here! There are cars, trains, airplanes, presidential limos, a display on furniture, a display on America's enduring struggles for freedom, an agriculture equipment display, an exhibit about the various decades, and the gallery with a changing series of touring shows with the current on being on the Civil War. Whew! They have the limo JFK was riding in when he was shot, Regan's limo he was pushed into when he was shot, Henry Fords first self-propelled gasoline-powered vehicle, the bus Rosa Parks rode on, my favorite vehicle-the Weinermobile, the largest locomotive ever built-the Allegheny, the Dynamation house (an all-aluminum house) and many, many more items. Check out all my pictures.
When we finally left I was really tired. Back at the RV I rested a bit before fixing a quick dinner of spaghetti. We also had to start putting things away as we are leaving in the morning. It was a very tiring but interesting day. If you are ever in this area I really recommend you visit the Henry Ford. One of these days we will visit the rest of the parts but we ran out of time this trip. Enjoy all the pictures.
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