Since leaving St. Ignace last Sunday, we have made stops in Petoskey, Traverse City, Cadillac and now Midland ... all towns in the lower Michigan peninsula. This area was economically dominated by lumber harvesting/milling in the late 1890's to 1920's ... the houses along the lake and bay shorelines are magnificent. The areas along the various shorelines were also resorts for people from the Detroit, Chicago and Milwaukee areas. Beautiful old structures.
Talking riding, we have covered about 830 miles since leaving Minneapolis on July 31. We have seen a wide variety of countryside, of towns and villages, of colors, of lakes, of trees ... sure ain't Arizona, that's for sure.
Getting back to the wonderful rail-to-trail experience, when we left Cadillac yesterday morning we intended to stop for the day in Clare, MI, which would have made for a 45 mile day ... but then we came upon the Pere Marquette Rail-to-Trail path about 18 miles prior to Clare. After being misled by Google Maps (once again) as to how/where to access the path, we got on the wonderfully paved path and rode ... with the gentle tailwind and happy bodies, we opted to ride the 30 additional miles from Clare to Midland. Happy riding to say the least.
Pere (French for Father) Marquette is this area's Father Kino.
Couple more days and we will be heading into Canada. Ride is going very well to date.
Paved bike paths are good ... as is life.
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