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My great Michigan odyssey is over. It ended on a cold, gray day just like it started. But though the weather was similar, my attitude couldn’t have been more different.
On day 1, I was both excited and anxious about what was ahead. On day 8, I felt proud and happy about what I’d done, but also sad that it was ending. Multiple times as I was riding today, I slowed down and just coasted, enjoying the silence and the freedom of a quiet wander through the countryside.
Last night and this morning. I explored South Haven, a cute touristy little town. The most prominent mural I saw had an impressive three dimensionality to it (above). The dreariness of the day meant the beach was just a huge expanse of sand, probably a view not often seen by tourists.
Most of my travel was on the Kal Haven Trail, which I had been looking forward to experiencing since the trip’s start. Back when I worked at Rails-to-Trails, it was one of the mainstays in the literature, a nice nature trail that also connected two significant Michigan cities (Kalamazoo and South Haven).
The trail didn’t disappoint, with access to an impressive pier and platform area shortly after its beginning and interesting trailside info along the way on the importance of blueberries to the area and the brief history of a local oil boom.
But as delightful as it is, my time on it was relatively short as it was my second shortest travel day at just 35 miles. Too quickly, I was back in Paw Paw at the cozy home of my Aunt and Uncle (below). And then it was off to the highway with the long drive to Virginia begun.
The book of April’s that seems best for my last day of riding is “Home at Last” because, even though I’m still not home yet, I’m on my way. This book is about migration so not technically about what I did.
But it is about journeys and the challenges faced by animals who take them, so I think it works. Even though a book for young kids, even adults can learn from it (lobsters migrate?!?) https://www.amazon.com/Home-at-Last-Song-Migration/dp/0805051546#
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