July 31-Aug 3,
2012 PEDALS AND PADDLES adventures:
When does 3 + 2 = 4? ANSWER:
when you have 3 days in Michigan (land of many lakes and bike trails) and 2 different
modes of transportation strapped to your
vehicle. With a little bit of planning,
and good luck with the weather, we completed 4 PEDALS and PADDLES adventures in
the Whitehall, Michigan area.
We stayed at the Michillinda Lodge, which is situated ON THE
BLUFF of Lake Michigan, approximately 20 miles north of Muskegon.
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| MICHILLINDA LODGE |
This lodge, originally constructed in the
1930s, is a mix of old world charm and old world amenities (like natural air
conditioning, also known as open windows and a fan!) With the screened porch of our room literally
overlooking Lake Michigan, LOCATION makes this place awesome, and listening to
the waves each night is a pleasure that A/C can never give you. KUDOS to Tom for finding such a fabulous base
for our adventures.
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| THE WHITE RIVER |
DAY ONE - ADVENTURE 1: Our first adventure was a PADDLE down
the White River, which we did immediately upon arriving in West Central
Michigan. We checked in at the Happy
Mohawk Canoe Livery, outside of Montague, where we put in the White River for a
3 hour tour. Unlike Gilligan and
friends, this 3 hour tour took just that long, with a rep. from Happy Mohawk
meeting us at the appointed pickup place, where he transported our kayaks back
to our Highlander.
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| CAN YOU FIND THE TURTLE ON THE LOG? |
The White River benefited from recent rains, but still
remained a relatively shallow and calm river, with a gentle flowing current. However, what it lacks in current speed, it
more than makes up in “S” curves, snaking back and forth giving us a chance to
practice our steering skills. We were
the only ones on that part of the river, so it was a quiet ride. Water animals and birds seemed to also be
absent, but it was a delightfully peaceful adventure. Dinner at Michillinda Lodge overlooking Lake
Michigan ended Day 1.
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| WHAT WORD IS MISSPELLED ON THIS SIGN? |
DAY TWO - ADVENTURES
2 & 3: The plan for Day 2 was a ride on the Hart-Montague Trail, which
began in the small town of Montague.
This trail was one of the first linear State Parks in Michigan when it
was first transformed from a “rail” to a “trail.” In total, the path is 22 miles long,
connecting the towns of Hart and Montague, although our goal was 11 miles north,
near the town of Shelby. We chose this
spot because the Country Dairy Farm is located right on the trail, where one
can take a tour of their dairy operations, and visit their restaurant. Of course, that interested me, with my motto “I
Bike to Eat.”
In true Rail-to Trail form, the path is straight and almost
totally flat. It quickly leaves the
small-town buildings of Montague and opens to a more rural setting. While not as shaded as some paths we have
ridden, it is tree lined and picturesque.
With the exception of some cardinals, wildlife is not prevalent on this
path. However, some notable signage on
the path kept us entertained as we peddled.
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IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING,
RIGHT? SO.... |
First, we were not surprised to see the “No Motorized
Vehicles” signs at several crossroads.
What caught our attention was several gas pump signs, indicated we could
get gas (and other amenities I’m sure) just a short distance from the
path. A GAS PUMP sign….seriously? I laughed at the incongruity of it!
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....WHY DO WE NEED A GAS
PUMP SIGN ON THE PATH?? |
The second “only in Michigan” sign happened when we noticed
a grassy path running parallel to our paved bike path. We recognized it as a horse trail, not
uncommon along Indiana trails. What did
catch my attention was the sign labeling this path as a Horse AND SNOWMOBILE
path….NICE!!!! This area would be
fabulous in winter with Lake effect snows covering the ground. Hmmm, maybe we will have to consider this for
one of our snow-shoeing PEDS adventures in the winter.
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NOT GOING TO SEE THIS
ON AN INDIANA SIGN! |
After a delicious ice cream cone at the Country Dairy Farm
(made, of course from their own milk), it was back the 11 miles to
Montague.
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ME @ THE COUNTRY
DAIRY STORE |
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VISTA LEAVING THE
COUNTRY DAIRY STORE |
Right around the 18th
mile, I could tell we were pushing this adventure into new territory, and I wasn’t
sure I was too happy about it. This was
turning out to be our LONGEST pedal we have ever completed, and the last 2
miles were the longest. I really need
to get some more people who are willing to “spot us” by meeting us at a
designated destination, eliminating the need for us to re-cover ground we have
already covered just to get back to our vehicle.
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BIRCH TREES WERE
PREVELANT. |
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TOM BELOW THE
WEATHERVANE |
Upon returning to Montague, we visited the World’s Largest
Weather Vane, constructed in honor of a 19th century shipwreck and
the shipping history of the area. The
final tally was 23 miles….time to rest at the Lodge.
The stats: 23.04 (RT ), Time 2:21 , ODO: 367.55
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CHANNEL CONNECTING
WHITE LAKE AND LAKE MICHIGAN |
Of course, a bike ride is primarily a lower body workout, so
Tom decided that a sunset paddle on Lake Michigan would be in order. We had scouted out the area and discovered a
narrow public access site located near the channel that connected White Lake
and Lake Michigan. We launched, went
through the channel and then over to the northern side of the breakwater, where
the waves were somewhat less.
We beached
our kayaks and enjoyed some time just sitting on the beach watching the sun and
waves.
Because of the waves, we couldn’t
launch directly from the beach, instead
we had to walk it out in the shallow waters where there were some breaks
between the waves. True confession: I tipped the kayak while getting in,
rewarding me with a dunk into Lake Michigan….nothing was in danger except my
dignity. Tom was busy with his own
maneuvers so he missed my baptism.
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SUE KAYAKING AFTER
THE MOONRISE |
As it turned out, the sunset was less than spectacular, BUT
the moonrise over the lighthouse and White Lake was worth the trip. We were rewarded for our efforts with needing
to dump the water out of the kayaks and reloading them in the ever- deepening dusk. Glad we don’t have to do those things often.
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| THE GRAND RIVER |
DAY THREE - ADVENTURE 4: Being in the throes of the Drought
of 2012, it was hard to begrudge the rain that came off of Lake Michigan over
night and in the morning. In fact,
sitting in our screened porch, watching the rain approach across the lake, gave
us a chance to plan our final adventure, a kayak trip, to take place en route
to Ft. Wayne. Our destination was Crockery
Creek, a tributary of the Grand River between Grand Rapids and Grand
Haven.
Through a lot of Google Mapping and Google Earth, we found a
public access site across the river from the mouth of Crockery Creek. It was a good of a spot as it appeared on the
map, but the paddle across the Grand River was a bit further than it seemed
from the shore.
While Tom was fiddling with the car after unloading, I began
watching a very large bird with what appeared to be an extremely large wing
span circling over the river.
Remembering what Tom has told me about the extraordinary size of bald
eagles in relation to other birds, I was intrigued. I told him about it as we got in our kayaks
and made our way over to Crockery Creek.
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| EAGLE WATCHING THE RIVER |
Sure enough, just after we entered the creek and paddled
around a bend, the very large bird flew overhead to a tree just up ahead. I thought I saw a flash of white and I
quietly paddled upstream to find the perch of the alleged bald eagle, while Tom
quietly slipped out the camera. I
pointed to the top of a dead tree where I spied the bird quietly sitting.
He got a few pictures, still not convinced
it was an eagle. Meanwhile, 2 small
boys came paddling around the bend from upstream and I motioned for them to be
quiet and look up in the direction of the eagle. As their mom paddled into view, we all
watched the eagle as the eagle, in turn, watched the river.
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| CLOSEUP OF BALD EAGLE ON CROCKERY CREEK |
After the eagle flew away, she confirmed that the
Grand River is the home to several bald eagles, including a juvenile which was the
largest one she has ever seen. As
recently as the day before, she watched the eagles share a giant carp, one of
her pleasures for being a river resident.
As we quietly thanked her for the information and paddled
our separate ways, Tom encouraged me to
look ahead around the bends in the creek, as eagles are prone to perch at the
top of dead trees just out of our range of eyesight. Just then, as if he heard Tom, another eagle
suddenly flew off from a tree just ahead of us, with his white tale flashing in
within the trees. He was too fast for
Tom to get a picture, and despite spending the rest of the trip barely paddling
and barely talking, we never again saw another eagle. Soon, we gave, turning around and paddled
against a headwind across the Grand
River and back towards home.
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| PEACEFUL CROCKERY CREEK |
Three days, four adventures, and lots of time to gaze across
Lake Michigan the top of the bluff at Michillinda Lodge. We had a great time, and have decided the
area, with more places to paddle and more Rails-to-Trails to ride, deserves a
place in our future plans. See you
later, West Central Michigan.
Notable Nature Sighting:
Two sightings of bald eagles…very cool!
PS: THE MISSPELLED WORD ON THE SIGN IS "SUNDAY" ...SHOULD BE "SUNDAE"
