We left Hesperia about 8:22 AM. I was going to write a bit about Hesperia yesterday, but forgot, so I'll add it in now.
Hesperia is unique in the fact that half of the village is in Newaygo county, and the other half is in Oceana county. The first settler to the area in 1856 was Perry Booth. He was joined by 2 other settlers in 1866. Living must have been difficult with so few people to help get things done. It's not like they came to a ready made home or community. The post office was registered in 1867. The town was named by Mary Cook, because Hesperia, means "garden" and that is what she thought it looked like. The lumber boom in the last half of the 1800's brought a lot of growth to the area. Being on the White River, made it easy to float logs to the saw mill. Today the area relies on Tourism for a large part of it's economy. Hesperia has abundant sport fishing, especially in the area near the dam. It seems like a very pleasant little town.
In the meeting last night, they said it wouldn't be as hilly today, but since we are heading to Big Rapids, (30 miles from where we live,) we expected plenty of hills. Some riders thought today's ride was hillier than yesterday, for us it was more or less what we are used to riding, because of where we live. (Another reason, we got mountain drive put on the trike.) So far we feel strong. Can tell many are praying.
Had some pretty bad storms come through today.
Thunder, lightening, wind, and rain. Fortuantely, there was no hail. We stopped under a tree to put our rain gear on, and to put the rain cover on Button's carrier.
While we were under the tree, it really started thundering and lightening more, so we high tailed it out of there. About 4 or 5 miles later, Tony realized he left his cane lay in the grass, under the tree. To late to go back, figured we wouldn't find the tree again. Found some shelter under the eaves of a garage, and waited for the storm to pass. When we stopped for water, we told the sag person that tony had left his cane lay. The SAG, said they would be on the look out for it. It's really hard for Tony to get around in strange bathrooms, and showers without it. Sure hope someone finds it, but it is right by tall grass, so it might not stand out real well. We prayed about it while we were riding.
The landscape continued to be a mix of woods and farmland. Rode past an abandoned house, that had seen better days.
Also past some interesting, "stair step" silos.
When we got to Big Rapids about 3:45 PM, we checked the lost and found, the cane, wasn't there. Thank goodness we weren't that far from home, Tony called our friends, Keith and Ann, to see if they would get his extra one out of our other car and bring it to him. Ann said she would come and bring it soon. Ann called back later, left a message that said the cane wasn't in the car we had used to drive to Ludington, guess she didn't think to check the car that was at our house. Ann wondered how she would find us, among so many people. I told her I would leave the orange flag up on the trike. She arrived and saw an orange flag and thought, "oh good, they are right here." then she looked and saw another orange flag, and another orange flag... Opps, guess that wasn't such a good idea. We finally found each other. She stopped at Care Link in Big Rapids and bought one to bring to Tony. Even though she told them that tony was 6 ft tall, they gave her one that was too short, but Tony didn't care, he was just glad to have a cane again.
Ann took me to MC sports to look for something that would be easier to sleep on. Found some self inflating, camping pads. I think they will work good, much smaller and should give us more room in the tent. She took the borrowed air bed home with her. So glad that we were close enough to home for her to come and glad that she thought of going to buy a cane for Tony when she couldn't find one in the car. Thanking the Lord for answered prayer and good friends.
About 10 PM that night, the lost and found, told us someone had found Tony's cane when they were out on the road, riding. SAG had told the people out on the road yet to please keep a lookout up for the cane, and indeed someone did find it. Praise the Lord. We will return the short one when we get back home.
I'll do my history of big Rapids, now, so I won't forget and then have to add it to tomorrows blog entry.
Big Rapids, is probably best known as the home of Ferris State College, the college is a public university, founded in 1884 as the Big Rapids Industrial School, by educator, Woodbridge Nathan Ferris, who from New York. He later served as governor of the state of Michigan, and then in the senate, where he continued to serve until his death in 1928. The school was noteworthy, because it accepted female students, beginning with it's first graduating class. It is also the only public university in the ste to be founded by an individual.
Like so many places in the area, Big Rapids was once associated with the logging industry. The Muskegon River, whose headwaters begin at Houghton Lake, was used as a major waterway for transporting logs downstream to Muskegon. The name Big Rapids came from the swift currents on the river. Families settled in the area and permanent homes were constructed around 1855.
After the civil war many German and Scandinavian people settled in the area. As more logging took place in the area, more growth took place. During the early part of the 20th century, 2 dams were constructed, providing hydro electric power for many. In 1933, oil and gas were discovered in an area about 5 miles south of the city, that is referred to as Austin Field. It has since been converted into a large underground, natural gas storage facilities, with under ground pipelines that come and go from it, and crisscross the state. It provides jobs for many.
Ferris State College now has over 13,000 students, and offers a variety of classes to take. It brings a diversity to the mid sized town atmosphere, that Big Rapids has today. In the center of Big Rapids is a Riverwalk that is 2.64 miles long. The Riverwalk has fishing platforms, walkways, and places to sit and enjoy the sounds and beauty of the area. The Muskegon River offers many recreational options, including, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and tubing,
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