June 22, 2021
To Montague
More on Ludington State Park
A few loose ends on yesterday’s visit to the park. First, I forgot to include a short video clip of the porcupine. I wish I’d started shooting it earlier, because I was almost too late. I was too caught up hoping to catch the moment when he’d look around, but didn’t think about it. It short, but it gives you an idea of its lazy, lumbering waddle.
Also, I went back to research what that odd chimneyed building on stilts was at the lighthouse and found this article. It’s a detailed history of the lighthouse and its associated buildings. This structure was built to house the fog signal equipment after the old building needed replacement because of erosion of the ground underneath:
By 1941, Lake Michigan had started to undermine the station’s fog signal building, making its continued use hazardous. A square, pyramidal, skeletal tower, topped by an enclosed wooden section, was erected in 1941 to house the fog signal equipment, and the old fog signal building was razed. Interlocking steel pilings were driven in front of the station in 1943 to protect the station from the advancing waters of Lake Michigan.
I guess I should have included this photo yesterday as well:
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Today’s Ride
Today’s ride got off to a slow start. At 6:30 Rachael walked over to the motel office to pick up our carafe of coffee, and returned chilled - it’s only 44 degrees out. We wait around the room for the day to warm up, and it’s 10 by the time we finally get packed up to go. I wheel Rachael’s bike outside, and then turn to mine and discover that I have a flat tire. Annoying, but not a bad place to deal with it of course.
I repair the flat, replace the wheel, and discover that now my brake rubs badly. One mystery to me is why this happens sometimes - how can removing and replacing the wheel affect the brake adjustment? Whatever. I do a credible job of readjusting it, but it’s 11 by the time we finally leave. With nearly a fifty mile ride ahead, we need to get underway.
We’re riding to Montague today, biking south on US Bicycle Route 35, the 500 mile route from Canada to northern Indiana that generally follows the eastern shore of Lake Michigan.
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Because of our late start, after only 12 miles it’s time for lunch so we stop at a convenience store by Bass Lake and pick up snacks that we consume sitting at a picnic bench outside. There’s little to choose from. I come out with milk and a package of cashews and almonds - the only one of about 15 trail mix options that does not include chocolate or candy.
Perhaps a mile later we come to Pentwater, a small fishing resort town on the Pentwater River that offers a variety of services. If we’d noticed it was on route just ahead we would have waited and taken our break there.
Some miles later we come to the village of Hart, the northern terminus of the Hart-Montague Bike Trail, one of the first rail-trail conversions in Michigan. For the next 23 miles we ride its smooth, paved surface through a tunnel of green, passing many northbound bikers on the way, including several travelers.
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It’s just turning 4 when we arrive at our room and check in to our surprisingly palatial suite. We’re starving so we take a pass on the jacuzzi, opting instead for hasty showers before we rush off to dinner. Our restaurant is in Whitehall, the neighboring town just on the other side of the bridge across the White River. Mylan’s Riverside Grill sits on a low bluff above the river. It’s perfect out this afternoon - sunny, mid-sixties, the wind has died down. We take an outside table and enjoy a fine view across the valley as we share a Michigan cherry salad and Atlantic salmon.
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As pleasurable as dinner is, our walk to and from our motel nearly outshines it. Our walk crosses the White River, which opens up at this point into a wide, algae-coated bay. The bay itself is very colorful, and full of life this evening - geese, blackbirds, gulls, herons, turtles, even a few charming families of wood ducks. A great wildlife adventure to end our day with.
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https://srelherp.uga.edu/turtles/grageo.htm
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And how interesting that those 2 sticks are positioned so they appear to be weird protrusions from the heron's legs.
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Ride stats today: 47 miles, 1,400’; for the tour: 912 miles, 26,700’
Today's ride: 47 miles (76 km)
Total: 912 miles (1,468 km)
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