Upper Macatawa Greenway Trail - Zeeland, MI

We arrived at the Upper Macatawa Greenway Trailhead around 10:00 am on Monday June 18.  The area is a natural area with a primary biking trail, but there are also hiking trails and mountain bike trails scattered throughout.

I had to determine which path to take at one point.  The hiking trails were obvious but at first it was a little confusing as to the difference between the bike trail and the mountain bike trail.   Oh, the asphalt becomes dirt on the mountain bike trail.  We stayed on the asphalt trail.

The 3 mile trail (6 mile round trip) was completed in 2015 so the bridges and bike trail are in great condition.  If you want to ride more miles, this trail connects to the Fred Meijer Kenowa Trail on the north and the Holland Area trails to the south.

 Debbie and I trade off on who rides the trike and who rides the bike.  If a hill is involved, Debbie rides the trike for stability reasons.  On the flats, she gets the bike for speed reasons.

 The trail is full of curves, reasonable hills, bridges and scenery which make it very interesting.

The creek crossings were definitely worth an observation stop.

Near the top of the hill was a scenic overlook.  There were several small lakes in the lowland marsh.

There goes a mountain bike trail underneath the wooden bike-trail-bridge.

Towards the bottom of the hill, Debbie is riding through a clump of willows.

Now we are near the marsh level looking back on the hill we biked through.

The wildflowers are always worth stopping for.

The songbirds were abundant on the trail.  One homeowner near the trail erected this bird condo to attract them.  That's a Red-winged Blackbird sitting on top of the condo.

One more scenic shot on the return trip through the natural area.

We gathered our bikes and traveled, through Zeeland and on to Holland for lunch.  Holland, Michigan was settled years ago by Dutch farmers, (obviously).  I met a man on the street, (while Debbie shopped the eclectic stores), who was actually from the Netherlands.  He was visiting his aunt who had settled here just after WWII.

Holland is a patriotic town as depicted by the bronze children saluting the flag.

Our favorite spot for lunch in Holland is Cranes.

Soups, salads, sandwiches, and desserts are on the menu.

We split the City Cristo sandwich.  It's turkey, provolone cheese, honey mustard, apple slices, grilled on apple butter bread, and sprinkled with powdered sugar.   It was pretty good but a bit sweet for us.

We did not split pie.  We each had one.  Oh well, back on healthier eating tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.

OKC West River Trail

Our first ride of the 2018 season combines the new OKC West River Trail with the older Oklahoma River Trail.  The combined trail follows along the North Canadian River from Lake Overholser to Meridian Avenue, and proceeds along  the Oklahoma River, (renamed to such in 2004 for a 7 mile stretch),  down to the I-35 junction.

We started our ride here at the Overholser Dam area but a few extra miles could have been added on if we had wanted to start at the north end of the lake.  Although that trail is also quite scenic, it will have to remain for another ride.

The trail passes near the OGE Mustang Plant.

I don't believe this old railroad bridge is used for trains any longer.

Not all graffiti is bad.  I kind of like this one underneath the I-40 bridge.

We pass by two truck dealerships.  This one is Peterbilt.

We pass three RV parks.  We generally stay at this one, the Rockwell RV Park, which has access to the trail.

This plaque is located on a remote portion of the trail.  Plaques are seldom read but this one is well worth it.  Double click on the picture to enlarge it.  Thank you, Safari Belay McDoulett for your tireless efforts to clean up this area.  There is still much to be done.  We need more like you.  The North Canadian and Oklahoma Rivers are still severely trash polluted. My river shots are very selective to not show the obvious problem and the bridge passages have many signs of homelessness. It's up to us to be like Safari and continue her efforts.

Safari's Crystal Lake.

Walking bridge to fishing dock on lake.

Notice the pine trees in the background.   There are approximately half a dozen of them and I estimate them to be 40 years old or so.  This is a remote area - with no homes nearby.  How did they get there?  Perhaps someone dumped a Christmas decoration there 40 years ago.  I can only imagine.

I retired from OneGas 8 years ago.  Once my team worked on a billing complaint here at the Haskell Lemon plant which we were able to resolve.  Looks like they're still using our gas.

Crossing the Meridian bridge.

You can take a cruise down the Oklahoma River.

Or, you can ride a Ferris Wheel.

Or, jump on a skateboard ramp.

Or perhaps catch a kayak race across from the many boathouses along the river.

Maybe ride a bike under a train.

Oklahoma City Parks have done well on their trail system.

We made it to the finish line.  Now, back to Meridian Avenue for lunch at Chili's and on to Lake Overholser to the car.  This 30 mile trek was all we needed.

Grand River Valley Rail Trail - Saranec to Ionia, MI

We took advantage of a gorgeous fall day on Monday (September 11, 2017) and drove to Saranac, MI to explore the Fred Meijer Grand River Valley Rail Trail.  We began our ride at 11:15 a.m. under clear skies and a perfect-for-riding 66 degrees!

This fairly new trail was finished in 2013 and is 8.25 miles in length from Saranac to Ionia.
Pictured is the old Saranac Depot and is the trailhead where we began our ride.

The Saranac trailhead is situated on the Grand River and has a nature trail, picnic area, and a historical museum.
We rode over 5 restored railroad bridges on our way to Ionia, such as the one on the left.
Beautifully crafted granite mile markers are placed along the trail to advise us of our progress.

Early on the ride we encountered golf ball sized objects on the trail.  I had no idea what they were, but Chris did.  He opened one so I could see what a walnut looked like before it made it to my pancakes!

Zoom in for a better view of the limestone surface

As you can see from the pictures, we are surrounded by beauty,  Tall trees and heavily wooded areas fill most of our view along with glimpses of the Grand River.
This rail trail is paved a short distance within Saranac and Ionia but the bulk of the trail is crushed, screened, and compacted limestone.
It was for this reason that Chris opted to load our trikes for this particular ride.  Several riders we encountered used regular upright bicycles with wide tires.

 We stopped on the bridge over the Grand River to take some pictures and enjoy the view.

Chris with the Grand River in the background

Pic on the left and located in west Ionia is the Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility.  On the right is another trail pic.





Pictures here show the newly constructed pedestrian bridge over M-66.
The pedestrian bridge runs beside an old grain elevator and takes us into downtown Ionia.




The pic on the left is the old train depot in Ionia.  On the right is the Ionia Courthouse Building, completed in 1886.  This building was built using local pink sandstone and replaced an 1840s hall of justice.  When built the building was heated by 14 fireplaces and lit by gas!  Electricity was installed in 1922.  Spending a day in Ionia and looking at or photographing the historical homes and buildings would be an interesting excursion.

It's 1:00 p.m. and we're hungry!  Chris googled nearby restaurants and we headed off trail for Main Street.
Our destination was a 4 year old business called Aunt Stephie's.  We found a perfect place to park our bikes right out front!
Our waitress/server/cashier was Aunt Stephie and she was a delight.  Stephie was full of sparkle and eager to impress us with her homemade chicken salad, soups, and freshly made beef patties for mouth watering olive burgers.  I had the olive burger and Chris chose the Chicken Salad on a Croissant.  Both were delicious!

Aunt Stephie bringing homemade pie

We asked Aunt Stephie if she had pie.  And she did!  Freshly made by her husband's 91 year old grandmother!  Chris had the apple and I chose blueberry.  Both were delicious.  The food was good and the price was very reasonable.

Pics of downtown Ionia.  On the left is the Ionia Theatre and on the right you can see the brick road and some of the old historical buildings.

By 1:45 p.m. it is 76 degrees and we are ready turn around and head back to Saranac.




We stoped to take some photos with some of the seasonal colors.  Trees and shrubs are just beginning to get their fall colors.
(Click on any of these photos to enlarge.)

At one of our photo stops, while Chris was taking in the beautiful colors of nature, his trike took off in another direction.  Guess we were on more of a hill than we realized.

We were almost back to the Saranac trailhead when we decided to take a little scenic detour from our rail trail.  This is the Saranac Village Nature Park.

The park was a quiet ride and had a park bench,  rustic restroom, geese, and a pond.
Not sure why this tree had been cut down, but thought it made for an interesting picture.

 We made a loop and then biked out of the park and went a short distance on our trail again.  There was another little side trail that we followed and it took us by the Grand River and then to the back side of the old train station in Saranac...and thus, our car.
It was around 3:35 p.m. by the time our bikes were loaded and we were ready to head home to Muskegon, MI.  Our round trip of biking was approximately 20 miles.  The trail was well maintained and tree branches trimmed back from the bike path.  Crushed limestone on the trail made it slower to ride, but doable.  Because of the extraordinary beauty along the trail we both agree that the Grand River Valley Rail Trail is worth experiencing.

Happy Trails, from Chris and Debbie