White Pine Trail - LeRoy to Cadillac (MI)

 It is another beautiful sun-filled day day as we leave Muskegon at 8:30am to drive the hour and a half to LeRoy, MI.  Schooner is safe and secure at the nearby Dog Star Ranch and we are confident of a great day of biking on another Michigan rail-trail.  Today's goal is to ride 17 miles of the 93-mile Fred Meijer White Pine Trail.  Including the return trip we have an ambitious 34 mile ride planned.
The White Pine trail lies on the former Penn Central Railroad from Grand Rapids to Cadillac, MI.

It is 10 am on Friday July 11 under clear sunny skies with a temperature of 70 degrees F when we arrive in LeRoy, MI.  Once the bike is unloaded we seek out the nearest facilities for a pit stop before beginning the 1.5 hr ride to Cadillac.  As a trailhead, LeRoy is not the best.  Parking is sparse.  Facilities limited.  The pic on the left are the "facilities" that we found.
Just as we were preparing to get underway we met an interesting man just cycling in from the south.  His name was Terry and he was from Dallas at one time.  He said in 2003 he was told he had one year to live, max.  He and his wife decided to move to Howard, Michigan where she had family, in an effort to defy the diagnosis given to him.  He daily pursues a healthy lifestyle.  Would like to have visited longer with Terry, but he was completing a ride and we were starting one.  We concluded our visit feeling very glad to have met this living miracle.

The trail is approximately 10 feet wide and is paved with asphalt.  This is one of the nicest trails we have ridden in Michigan or anywhere.  It is well maintained, clear of debris, and so very scenic!  From wildlife to wild flowers the trail is filled with wonders.

A few miles up the trail is the village of Tustin.  The trailhead here provides ample public parking.  There is a cafe and museum nearby.  Pic on the left is the trailhead at Tustin.  Pic on the right gives a glimpse of the town.

A beautiful forest 

Because we are riding on a rail trail there is never more than a 3-5% change in grade, thankfully!  We are surrounded by gently rolling hills covered with forests of various types of trees as well as lush farms with crops either just harvested or ready to harvest.  When on a hill we gazed across the valley and could see over the tops of pines growing on the hills around us.  It was breathtaking.

Dense forest with tall ground cover

A farm beside the trail

Lake with beaver dam

Canopy-covered trail

Tunnel just before Cadillac

The staging area just south of Cadillac includes a large parking area, a porta-john, and, well, that's pretty much all it includes.  We kept riding north.

Soon we enter the town of Cadillac.  Below are pics of Cadillac Lake.

We parked our bike and walked a couple of blocks to the Simply Delightful Cafe.  The special of the day was a Turkey Rueben for $5.95.  The Rueben was delicious but they also had Moomers Ice Cream.  We shared a bowl of Red, White, and Blue-berry Cheesecake ice cream.  OH MY!

This contained a serious amount of YUM!  No calories, just yum!

On the left is the town of Cadillac.  On the right is the After 26 Cafe occupying the old train depot.  

It is now 1:20 and time to head back to LeRoy.  

We are about 6 miles down the trail and we see the gentleman pictured below.  A man we will not soon forget.  We stopped to see if he had a story to share with us, and he did just that.  

This is Wil Reding an interpretive naturalist.  He left Grand Rapids, MI 5 days earlier and was walking his way to Cadillac where his wife was scheduled to pick him up around 6:30 pm tonight.  At 69 he is eager to take a break and share with us.  

         Wil showed us his tatoo and explained that in 2006 (when he was 60) he and his wife set out to retrace John Muir's 1000 mile walk to the Gulf.  They used Muir's journals, Civil War maps, and did countless hours of research to recreate the journey.  It took the Redings 53 days to walk 800 of the 1000 miles.   He currently has plans for a walk in Spain (and surrounding countries) for his 70th birthday next year.  Meeting Wil Reding was definitely a highlight on our ride.

One of many beautiful farms as we head home

It is 3:15 when we conclude our ride on the White Pine Trail.  We begin our drive southwest toward Muskegon.  What a day filled with fun, adventure, and beauty beyond words.  I love our trail rides.  I love spending time with my sweetheart as we share the wonder of God's creation--the waters, the animals, the lands, and especially the people.

Betsie Valley Trail - Beulah to Frankfort (MI)

 Some would think it odd to be invited to join in a 21 mile bike ride, but not our friends Charlie and Gisela!  They eagerly accepted our invite to explore the Betsie Valley Trail this last Saturday, June 27, 2015.  It is about a 2 hour drive from Muskegon to Beulah, where we want to park and begin our bike ride to Frankfort, MI.   The Betsie Trail was built on the former Ann Arbor Railroad bed.  Above is the replicated railroad depot and the Beulah Trailhead.

It is 74 degrees around 11:15 am when we leave from the Beulah staging area.  The trail is crushed limestone from Beulah to Mollineaux Rd.  On this section of the trail we see expanses of natural wildlife areas filled with wild flowers, trees and shrubs.

On another section of trail there are lakefront cottages on one side of the trail and the beautiful Crystal Lake on the other side.

Crystal Lake is about 25 miles southwest of Traverse City

Taking a moment to enjoy Crystal Lake

In 1873 an effort was made to try to connect Crystal Lake with Lake Michigan.  Because the water level of Crystal Lake was higher than that of Lake Michigan the project failed.  The result was a drop in the water level of Crystal Lake by about 20 ft.  Because the water level dropped sandy beaches were uncovered.  This lake is probably the bluest and clearest lake I have ever seen.

These bikes make frequent stops!

When we reach Mollineaux Road the trail becomes a very nice 10-foot-wide asphalt trail.  Locals know this.  There are cars parked in a small parking area off of Hwy 115.  Many cars are parked off the side of the road along the highway as well.  Guess they prefer riding the asphalt part of the trail into Frankfort.  It is afternoon on a beautiful Saturday and trail traffic begins to pick up.
For awhile we ride along the 54-mile-long Betsie River.  (Picture on the left)  The Betsie River eventually widens (pictures below) to form Betsie Lake.

 It is 12:30pm when we reach Frankfort, MI.  Below are pictures of Betsie Lake.  Just a couple of miles further the Betsie River flows into Lake Michigan.  The lake is beautiful.  It is framed by lush rolling hills to the south.  Just off of the trail are marinas, boats (luxury and fishing), and town.  Today there are tents/booths along the main road offering all kinds of crafts, homemade foods, and market items.  We found out that the booths are here every Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm.  What fun!

We parked our bikes in a park next to the bike trail off of Main Street.  Across the street is the Bayview Grill (pic below).  There is a full menu and everything looks yummy.  Three of us chose the fish tacos pictured below.  They did not disappoint.

The best part of this trip was not the scenery- beautiful lakes, rivers, wildlife, flowers, or trees.  Nor was it the clear blue skies and temps in the 70s with a gentle breeze.  The best part was laughter and the gift of sharing the experience with our friends.  

Time with friends - priceless!

After lunch we walked a little, looked at a few of the remaining craft booths, and rode our bikes a little further along the lake shore.  Soon we all agreed it was time to make our journey back to Beulah.

 Once we reached Beulah and the guys had loaded our bikes, we drove over to the Blue Caribou Cafe where we topped off our day of exploration with a scoop of Moomers ice cream!  Here we sat at a table on their outdoor patio within sight of the beautiful Crystal Lake.  It was the perfect conclusion to our 21-mile ride on the Betsie Trail.

Blue Caribou Cafe

Hart-Montague Trail - Hart to New Era (MI)

 The William Field Memorial Hart-Montague Trail was dedicated in 1989, and was Michigan's first "paved" Rail Trail.  The 22.6 mile trail overlies the abandoned C & O Railroad right of way and stretches from Hart to Montigue, MI. The trail is asphalt and is a narrow 8 ft wide, but that is about to change.

Pre-construction work has begun and by November 2015 the trail will be repaved and will be 10 feet wide.  

Work has begun

The Hart staging/parking area is a 30 minute drive north from our campground and we arrive and unload our bike around 10:00 am.  It is the second full day of summer and currently 63 degrees.  Our destination is the Country Dairy in New Era, approximately 12 miles south of us.

 As we ride we pass from sections of canopy-encased trail to sections of rolling hills and orchards.  On the right is an apple orchard in Mears, with apples just coming on.

Another view of the canopy followed by a field of asparagus already going to seed.   We are riding in Oceana County which, according to locals, is the official "Asparagus Capital of the World", and Wikipedia agrees!

Field of Asparagus

Cherries almost ready to pick

Cherry Trees

To our west is a cherry orchard in the early stages of development.  To the east is a fully developed orchard and trees loaded with cherries which will be ready in just a few days.

Above is very nice place to stop and take a break in Shelby.  In the background is the old train depot converted to law offices.  On one of the buildings along the trail is the mural I used at the top of this blog.  Another place to plan a stop in Shelby is the Gem Factory.  You might want to bring a credit card along for this stop. 

The pic on the left is just one of the beautiful grain fields on rolling hills just outside Shelby.
After a leisurely 1 hour and 15 minute ride from Hart, which included many stops for taking pictures, we arrived at the Country Dairy.
The Country Dairy, located in New Era, is a producer-handler,  meaning that they do it all!  They have a herd of Holstein cattle and process the milk on site.  Their products are sold in stores around Michigan.

At this ice cream and deli we find a large selection of Country Dairy products and gift items.  We walk past the fresh meat and cheese, past the fresh homemade ice cream counter, and get in line to order from their deli.  A favorite for many is their "bottomless cup of milk" which comes with most of their menu items.

We will often order a hamburger here, which is exceptional, but today we went with wraps.  It came with one side, cheese curds, pickle, and the bottomless cup of milk.  The wrap is huge and could have easily fed both of us.

A popular stop along the trail

Adjacent to their building is their Moo School, which we attended a few years ago and found educational.   After Moo School be sure to head on over for a free tour of their beautiful facility.
It is 11:45 and we are ready to head back to our car which awaits in Hart.  It is now 67 degrees and sunny skies.

We had not previously stopped in Mears at The Wood Shed Bike Shop.  Today we dropped in to meet one half of the husband-wife team who have owned the shop for many, many years.  We were impressed with the number of bicycles, tandems, and recumbents that were available for rent.  The owner also sells new bikes and does bike repairs.  We so enjoy meeting people and visiting as we travel.

After the bike shop stop we pulled over to get a picture of this field of some sort of grain.  We thought it was wheat but were not sure because of the height.  Chris is standing in the field to give an idea of the grain height.

After riding 23.5 miles total we are back to our car by 1:15pm.  While Chris is loading our bike I spot this Rennhack Orchards Market across the street.  We are hoping for fresh strawberries, but evidently the strawberries are almost played out.  Thus, the strawberry selection is not great.  However they have a large and varied selection of jams, syrups, salad dressings, salsas, and toppings.  Most of these involved "fruit" of one variety or another.  We will need to come back another day to purchase some delectable gifts here.  Another beautiful day of biking in Michigan!