Sat next to a couple from Fl named Dick and Jane. He rides a single trike, and she rides a bike. They have ridden many tours, in fact, they have ridden tours in every state in the US. They are very interesting to talk to. There are so many nice people on this tour, with a wide variety of interests. We all have the common bond of a love for biking, so it's easy to talk to people and get to know them better. It's part of the fun of PALM. Each person here has stories about slices of life, to tell, and here we are all are, strangers, sharing a slice of life together. What an experience.
It poured rain while we were eating breakfast, but by the time we were ready to leave at 8:37, it was only drizzling. We rode out with Kirsten and Jeff. Kirsten has a really cool rainbow, spiral flag on her trike. I'm putting one on my birthday wish list. We had on our rain gear, and Button was as snug as can be in his carrier with the rain cover on. Very glad we bought the rain cover with the carrier. Hope he has a better day today.
Stopped for ice cream in Chippewa Lake at 10:30 AM. Not really hungry for ice cream, but we aren't
sure that there will be stops for food later on, so we had some anyway. Had no idea that Chippewa lake was so large. It is known for good fishing, as well as many other activities. It is located in the NE corner of Mecosta County, at 790 acres, it is the largest lake in Mecosta County. Tony and his family vacationed there a few times, when he was growing up. The area around the lake is very hilly.
A few times, the rain stopped and we took off our rain gear. Then it would get hot and steamy again, and the rain would start again.
One of the water stops had cornish hens, peacocks and chickens across the road. I walked over to try and get some pictures, but the birds kept going in their coops, so I couldn't get any really good pics.
Played leap frog with David and Ann, along with several others, as we rode along. Got a nice sub sandwich at 14 mile Rd, and had lunch with David and Ann. It was a nice break. Good rest, and good company.
I had trouble getting clipped back in after stopping to give Button a bathroom break. We had only a mile to go, so I rode in unclipped. Arrived at about 3:30. Very tired today. Tony's knee is bothering him some, I gave him some IF Relief, and had him rub some of the cream with essential oils in it, on his knee. That usually helps with the pain right away, plus it fights inflammation. So glad we brought it along. It's hard to know what to pack, I wanted to be prepared, yet not over pack. I think I'll know how to do things better, on our next PALM ride.
We were bushed, didn't even get everything in the tent or get Button's carrier covered, came back from supper, got in the tent, and the sky opened up. That was about 6:30. It continued to rain hard, thunder and lightening for hours. We managed to get to sleep, but Tony woke up a few hours later because his side of the tent was wet, and it kept getting wetter. I opened up the tent door, to check on the weather, only to find that we were in a low spot, and the whole area was flooded. The area had turned into a lake. We called it "Lake Clare," (but not until the next day.) Left Button in the tent and went into the school. We were totally soaked by the time we got there. Although Tony was willing to help me move things out of the tent, it would have been slower for me to direct him, then to just go do it myself. Our neighbor Bill, moved one of our bags, even though he was busy coping with his own flooded tent. I got the rest into the building my self. By then the water in the tent was ankle deep, our sleeping mats were floating. No dry place for Button, so I took him into the school, even though dogs aren't allowed there. I had no where dry to put the poor dog. Bill's wife Linda helped me move the tent to higher ground, but it was so wet, that it wasn't useable. It was hard for Tony to sit there and not be able to help me, but I told him later that it helped me the most, to know he was praying for me.
I told the PALM people that we had no dry place to sleep, they said we could stay in the school, but could not use any pillows or sleeping bags, because that was camping, and there was no camping allowed in the school. I changed into dry clothes.
We weren't the only ones with no dry place to sleep, no pillows, and no blankets or sleeping bag. I was so discouraged, overwhelmed by the situation, that I was on the verge of tears. Several people stopped to talk to us, telling us how cute Button was. I nicely asked them to please not make a fuss over him, because I was afraid the PALM people would make me put him out doors. 2 of the custodians, Lisa and Susan, stopped and said how cute Button was, I told them the same thing I had told others, saying that I didn't know what I would do if they told me Button couldn't be in the building, because I had no where dry to put him. Then I lost it, and started crying. They were so kind, gave me a hug and told me it would be OK, Button could stay there for the night. Also said they would ask their supervisor if they could open the cafeteria for people to sleep in, saying at least there was benches by the tables to lay on. They did open the cafeteria and I was glad, but I could see that getting a night sleep wasn't going to be easy. We were tired from a day of riding and new the next day was a 53 mile ride, one of our longer days.
We relied on the Lord for our strength and were determined, with his help, to make the best of it. I got us each something to lay our heads on, and we tried to settle in. The benches were attached to the tables, so not much room to turn over, but at least they were dry.
Pretty soon, Lisa came over and said they had a dryer, did I want her to dry our things ? I cried, saying she was an angel of mercy, and asked if she was a Christian. She said she was. I told her she was an answer to our prayers. I thanked her so much and told her my biggest concern was for Button's carrier. It was soaked, and more rain was predicted the next day. He would have no dry place to ride. She said they had a fan and could dry it with that. Told me to leave all of our things on the bench and she would take care of them.
Finally Tony and I managed to get to sleep, but kept waking up because we were cold. At 2AM, here came Lisa, with our sheets, that were still warm from the dryer. She covered us up with them and we were finally able to sleep a few hours. I know God used Lisa and Susan to take care of us in our time of need. We were so grateful for them and for God's provision for us. God was with us even in the midst of our trails. In the morning all of our things were dry and in a nice neat pile on the bench. How wonderful to know that the Lord used these 2 custodians to meet our needs. God is awesome, that's all I could think. God is awesome.
It was sure not fun to take down a tent that was wet on the inside and outside in the morning, but we got it done.
So tired, but I know the Lord will help us through the hills and miles ahead of us tomorrow, even though our situation is hard. He surely helped us tonight.
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