Big Mac Shoreline ride 2011

Got up to a chilly morning, pretty sunrise over lake Michigan.

  Temps were in the 40's, but the weatherman had promised warmer temps and some sunshine later in the day, so we put on our layers, loaded up the gear in the car and headed out to breakfast with our riding friends, Kiersten and Jeff..  Had a good breakfast, a bit overpriced, but hey, what can we expect in a tourist town?

Got to the starting place plenty early to check tires, unload the trikes,  take a few pics, and get set to ride.  I think it was about 9AM when we started. We were glad we had gloves and hats.  another cyclist took a picture of the 4 of us before we started riding.  From left to right, Tony,Pam, Kiersten and Jeff, ready to roll. Trikes are in the background.

Much of the first few hours were spent riding  in the shade, which made it seem colder than it was.  Then, we came upon this tall giraffe in a yard.  It was early,  looked like no one was stirring in the house, no dog, so I went and took a picture of the giraffe.  There was a smaller giraffe nearby, he was closer to the house, didn't get a picture of him,   I sure wondered what the story was behind the giraffes in the yard. Did a sculptor live here and this is his or her work?   It is not something one expects to find, when riding down a country road.

We were glad when we got to ride in some unshaded spots, gave us a chance be warmed by the sun.  Here is a pic of Jeff and Kiersten riding in front of us.

The course started out with, was flat terrain, we rode past some forests, swampy areas, and this old school house, that someone had remodeled and made their home, complete with  double, satellite TV.  The set up seemed so contradictory, I stopped to take a picture.

Further along, there was an old log cabin that was falling down.  The remains of the chimney and fireplace were still, proudly standing.

The weather was a nice mix of sun and clouds, with a light breeze.  We were glad there wasn't a cold wind, that can make riding pretty miserable.  Stopped and took a little break with Jeff and Kiersten, lamenting the problems that recumbent riders can sometimes have with numb feet.  I didn't have that issue today, because we didn't have a lot of steep hills.  There are many theories out there as to the causes of numb feet.  A big contributer, can be shoes that are too tight, which is why I wear biking sandals.  I have wide feet, and find I can get a looser fit with sandals. I prefer Lake sandals.  The ones I like best are no longer made, so I'm not sure what I'll do when they wear out.  When the weather turns cold, I wear smart wool socks with my sandals, and sometimes a pair of my homemade wool socks on top of the smart wools.  Today was only a one layer sock day for Tony and I.

 Clipless pedals can also have an impact on the riders  feet.   I found I got some relief when I switched from Shimano clipless, to egg beaters pedals.  I'm not sure who came up with the name clipless pedals, the pedals have a recessed place where the clip or cleat on the biking shoe locks on.   It seems to me that since the rider is clipping in, that they should be called "clip pedals," but no one asked me before they named them.  It's probably just as well, that they didn't.

We stopped in Cross village at the Leggs Inn for lunch.  The Legs Inn is a restaurant run by a Polish family, so they offer quite a few polish items on the menu.   Tony and I both had a tasty vegetable crepe, that had a name we couldn't pronounce very well.

Stanley Smolak, a native of Poland,  who immigrated in 1887, created the unique atmosphere of Leggs Inn.  He spent a lot of time roaming the woods and forests of the area, and delighted in what he saw, especially the wind and rain worn roots of trees, and remainders of trees washed up on the shores of Lake Michigan..  He carved them into furniture, saying that "Mother Nature was his inspiration."  Here is a picture of our friend Kiersten sitting behind a desk, made from part of a big log.  Some of Smolak's art stands on each side of the entrance to the dining area.  There are far to many pieces of it to take pictures of.

Behind the Inn, on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan, are beautiful gardens, as well as an outdoor dining area.

This 90 year old family business, is now owned and operated by the 3rd generation of the Smolak family



Cross Village was once a thriving lumber and fishing town.  It is located on the NW tip of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.  It has a history with strong ties to the Ottawa Indians.  Early historical records show that  before his death in 1675, Father Marquette, who was loved by the native Indian population of the area, planted a huge white cross on a bluff, overlooking Lake Michigan.  There is a replica of the cross that stands in that same spot today,  it is said to be visible far out into the lake.  this is how the name "Cross Village" was given to this settlement.

As we headed out of Cross Village we rode past this stone church, I didn't write the name of it down, and could not locate any history of it.

I'll conclude this blog entry with Cross Village, and add more about our Big Mac Shoreline Tour in my next blog entry.  Stay tuned, for more. 

Pre tour flat.

I think there must be a new rule in my life that says each bike tour must be precedented by a flat tire on something.  We rode the trike on Tuesday and all was well, went to load it on the trailer today, and it had a flat tire.  I didn't really have time to patch it, so I was glad I had a spare.  Changing a bike tire when the bike is on the trailer seemed easier.  Note sure why, I was standing on the trailer, so the trike was at the same height it usually is when I change a tire, maybe I just needed to tell myself it was easier.  After all this is at least the 4th flat I have changed this summer. (might even be the 5th or sixth, I've lost count.)  When I went into our local bike shop to pick up another spare, I asked my friend at the bike shop why I am getting so many flats.  His reply was, "because you need practice changing them. "  Personally, I feel like I have had enough practice for the season.

Needless to say, we got off to a later start then we planned.  Had hoped to be in Mackinaw City by 1 or 2PM, never left home until 12:30, and we still had to drop Button off at the dog sitters.  Took awhile to walk him around and get him acclimated.  We finally got to Mackinaw City around 4:30 PM.  decided to pick up our tour packets first, then check in at the Motel. Our room is small, but clean.  We decided that we will think of it as a cruise ship cabin, them we won't feel as claustrophobic.  The shower is smaller than the one in our camper.

 Had to park the bike and the trailer by the front of the Motel,  took this picture at night, when I went to check on it.

 right by busy US 23.  I'm a little concerned about leaving it there, Locked the bike onto the trailer and locked the hitch for security, went back to our room.

 Trusting in the Lord to keep all safe.

Once we unhooked the trailer, and checked in,  we called our friends that are riding with us and they came to the Motel, (their room is next to ours,) and we went out to supper together.  Had a nice visit, made plans for morning, and then headed to our rooms.   The Mackinaw Shoreline tour offers a 25 mile ride, a 50 mile ride, a75 mile ride and a century ride.  We are doing the 50 miler.  Will go to breakfast at 7AM, hope to start riding by 9AM.

Forgot to bring garbage bags  to cover the trike seats with, so had to go to the Motel office to get some.  The girl behind the desk wasn't very willing to help, but after a bit of explaining from me about how it is no fun to start riding in the morning with a wet bike seat, and telling her (nicely) that "Could I please have  a larger size bag, because our bike is recumbent, so the seats are bigger." and telling her that I was surprised that a Motel would be out of garbage bags" because it is likely something they need each day,"  she gave a big sigh, was gone for 5 minutes,  then came back with 4 bags that were the size I needed.  I thanked her and told her my butt thanked her as well.  Don't think she appreciated that much.  I think she had other things she would rather have been doing ,  working the desk at the family motel was not high on her Friday night list..  Anyway, the trike and our butts will hopefully be dry and happy in the morning.

Covered the trike seats, tried, unsuccsesfully,  to get a picture of the moon over lake Michigan before the cloud cover moved in,  then headed for bed. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.

Wow,  it  has been 15 days since we rode last.    We just returned from visiting our daughter and her family in Bellingham WA.  We flew out and the trike is a bit big to have shipped, so we had to make do without it.  It was hard, our daughter lives less than a half block away from a great trail system.  We walked many miles on the trails while we were there visiting, and many times wished that we had the trike there, so we could ride.  The weather was beautiful during our visit.  Not one single day of rain, and sunny everyday.  It was so great to see everyone again.  Wish we all lived closer to one another.  It's hard to only see all of them, only once a year.

By the time we drove  the 90 miles home from the airport in Grand Rapids, it was 3 AM, which was midnight Pacific time, at least our bodies had mostly adjusted to the time change by the time we returned home,  that made it a little easier.  We got on the airport shuttle a little after 9 AM, yesterday morning, so it still made for a long traveling day.  We were glad to see our own bed.

 Got up around 9AM, by the time we had  coffee and breakfast,   unpacked and went through the phone messages and mail, it was past lunch time, so we didn't get started on our ride until after 2PM. After spending all of yesterday traveling, it felt so good to get out and ride.   Since Button had spent so much time in his crate while traveling, we didn't take him along.  He wasn't very happy when he saw us getting our gear together for a ride.

Temps today were in the mid 60's, quite cloudy when we started riding, but getting sunnier as the ride progressed.  We have the Shoreline ride coming up this weekend.  It is a 50 mile group ride, that starts in Mackinaw city.  We are riding it with some friends we made through our PALM ride.  Tony wanted to ride the trail today, but we ended up doing hills, as we felt it would help us be more prepared for the 50 miler on Saturday.

We rode into LeRoy and rode past the Library and Post Office heading out west of town.  We took 200 Rd to 18 mile road and headed home that way.

 The sumac is bright red and some trees are just starting to turn color.

The apple trees are full of apples,  many grow wild along side the road, planted by the birds, or by a discarded  apple core. we stopped and picked some.  We each ate one as we rode along, I hope to make an apple crisp before we head to Mackinaw City for our ride this weekend. Such a pretty sight to see the trees loaded down with apples. all of it displayed, with a beautiful sky as the back drop.

 Apple trees growing wild makes me thing of Johnny Appleseed.  His given name was John Chapman.  As the pioneers began to move west, John would try and figure out what route they night go.  Then he would go to that area and plant some stands of apple trees, planning on selling the your trees to settlers. He would settle for bartered goods as well.  He lived a simple life.  Once he planted the trees, he would try and find a nearby settler and make arrangements for the settler to look after the newly planted trees.  He may have built barriers of deadfall branches and stumps to keep the wild life from devouring the young trees.  He was an eccentric fellow, a vegetarian and he traveled barefoot, both were unusual for the times he lived in.  Johnny showed kindness o both people and animals, and was loved by many.  He was a rugged individualist and a gentle humanitarian.  He thought of himself as a missionary, carrying  a message of God and nature, to many.  Guess my teacher must have done a good job teaching about Johnny Appleseed, because he's what I think of when I see an apple tree growing along the road. 

We rode past house and barns, heard a sheep bleating, but couldn't see where it was to get a picture.  The houses surrounded by yards and trees, and topped off by the blue skies, with white clouds drifting about seemed to be begging for me to take some pictures.  I was happy to oblige.

It was such a pleasant day for a ride, we were still jet lagged,  so we took our time.  Not sure if it was because we were worm out from traveling, or because it's been 13 days since our last ride, but, we found ourselves using the mountain drive more than we usually do.  Somehow, the hills seemed bigger today.

We "zeroed" out on several.  Zeroing out is when the trike is still moving, but the speedometer reads zero.  Plenty of time to take pictures when we are "zeroing" out.  Heres's one of my new SmartWool socks.

Rode past an old tractor that was for sale.  I bet it would have plenty of stories to tell if it could talk.

Looks like the self milking barn is framed in.  Thought I better try and get a picture before it is finished. for a month or so it sat with just the cement slab ther, but now things seem to be moving along quickly.

We reached the corner of 18 Mile Rd and started on the last of the loop to our house,  each of us commenting on how thankful we were to be able to get out and ride today, enjoying the beauty around us.  We rode just a little over 19 miles.   

An over due ride

Between our schedule and the warm weather lately, we haven't been riding as much as we would like.  So a nice long ride was well overdue.

We started off by riding to church this morning.  It was such a pretty morning for a ride.  Temps were about 50, and it was mostly sunny.  Tony thinks he has a pulled groin muscle, so we took our time.  When we ride in such a leisurely way,  I realize what a powerful stoker he is, simply because he isn't pushing as hard.  Not that we are speed demons or anything, but it seems that Tony is often timing how fast we do a a certain distance or something like that, and when he does that he tends to put more oomph into his strokes.  At times I have to remind him, that the captain is supposed to set the pace. If he were the captain I have a feeling I would be pedaling my fanny off, or we would have single trikes, and he would leave me in the dust.  Anyway, none of that was a concern today, so we just took our time.


We rode past where the cows, self milking barn is going to be.  They have started the frame work on it. No idea when it will be done, or what it will look like, but looks like it is  going to be big.

When we got to church, Pastor asked if I had my cell phone with me, and if it was a camera phone.  I told him I had it along, but it wasn't a camera phone.  He said he was wearing the purple tie our grandchildren got him and  had hoped I could take a picture of it  for them to see.  Since we were going riding, I had my camera along, so I did get a shot of him for the kids.

 After church we decided to head up and over TV tower hill and ride into Cadillac for lunch.   Once again I attempted to get a picture, but since the hill is so long, its hard to get a good one of it.   If you look closely ,  in the distance, you can see  where the road cut through the trees at the top of the hill. It didn't take us as along as it did the last time we did the hill, but since we haven't ridden in nearly 2 weeks we had to kick our mountain drive in sooner.

I tried 3 times to take a pic that would show the magnitude of the hill, on the last try, my camera gave a low battery signal, which of course meant the end of pics for the rest of the ride.  I was bummed, because we were riding a new route today, and I was looking forward to posting some new pics.  Oh well, once again, my word pictures will have to suffice.

The ride down the other side of the hill was fun.  I started braking when we hit 34 MPH,  we just weren't comfortable going faster than that on the trike.   It's to easy to lose it if we hit a pot hole and the roads in our county, have plenty of those. I promise to get some shots of the colors in that area this fall.  It's a sight many drive to see.   It seemed like we were going down hill for miles, I think we only had to  engage pedal power once or twice between there and M115.

M115 is a state highway  that is a trunk in the NW portion of the lower peninsula of MI.  As far as I know it is the only diagonal highway in the state.   It is about 96 miles long, and  is a 2 lane highway, with some passing lanes.   In 2009 traffic flow was measured at 12, 079 cars daily. This was near Lake Mitchell and Lake Cadillac.   Many accidents occur on M115, and quite a few of them are fatal. However, the road has a shoulder wide enough for a car to park on, which gave us plenty of room to ride.  None the less, we were glad we were only on it for 3 miles, before turning  on 48 Rd. and riding on to  Cadillac.

When we got to Cadillac we too to the Clam River Greenway  over to Plett RD., which is where our new work location is.  Since it was Sunday, the parking lot was empty.  We stayed on Plett Rd, until it dead ended at Wal-Mart.  Then we rode across the parking lot to Ruby Tuesday's where we had lunch.  The ride across the parking lot was likely our riskiest part of todays adventure.  People are less likely to see us in a parking lot, even with our  tall orange flag,.  I tried to stay on the outer edge of the lot as much as possible, so we would be out in the open more.

Since the trike is 10 ft long, it's to long to park on the sidewalk, so we parked in a car parking space, and asked for a table where we could keep an eye on the trike.  Probably wouldn't feel safe doing that just anywhere, but Cadillac is a pretty safe community.   As we watched, 2 older guys stopped and looked the trike over pretty good, obviously discussing the gearing etc.  One of them even picked the front of it up to see how heavy it was.   Had we been out by the trike, they likely would have had many questions.

The restaurant was busy, so it our lunch took awhile, we didn't mind, it was nice to have a rest, before heading home.  By the time we were done eating it was after 3PM.  We took the Clam River Greenway back across town, and connected with the White Pine Trail for our ride back.

Saw some young turkeys on the trail, even if my camera had been charged up, they were across so fast, that I wouldn't have gotten a picture.  About 5 feet down from where they crossed, on a ridge that over looked the trail, we saw the adults of the flock.   They made themselves pretty scarce once they spotted us.

We met Tom on the trail.  Tom is a C-7 quadriplegic  who rides a hand cycle.  We stopped and had a nice visit with him, before continuing on.  He has such a positive attitude towards riding, it's refreshing to  see.  He sure doesn't believe in sitting home and feeling sorry for himself.  Says he would rather get out and see things and meet people.

The weather was so nice to ride.  Temps were in the mid 70's with some clouds.  The trail had a lot of shade,  so it was comfortable riding.  We were so full from our lunch that we didn't even stop to eat our  snack on the way home.  It was after 5Pm when we finished our ride.  We rode just a little over  46 miles.

An unexpected start

We haven't been riding as much as we would like to lately, partly due to our schedule and partly due to the weather.  Seems like the nicest riding days occur on the days we have to work, or have other commitments, leaving the crudy ones for our days off.  We rescheduled last weekends camping trip, because rain was predicted,  and it was indeed a rainy weekend, so we were glad to be at home, rather than cooped up in our 18 ft camping trailer.

Todays forecast was sunny, with high temps in the low to mid 80's.  There was a light breeze too.  We started off at 10:30 AM, and  for once, it wasn't my fault that we got going later than we intended too. The schrader vales are working much better than the Presta's did.  Checking the tires and getting them to the right air pressure is much easier now.

 We were less than a quarter of a mile from home when we heard our neighbor lady, frantically calling her 6 year old sons name.  She ran up to us and asked if we had seen him, we hadn't.  She said he wasn't around anywhere in the yard or surrounding area,  and she wasn't sure how long he had been gone.  She thought he was upstairs playing with her daughter and a friend, but unbeknowst to her, he had wandered outside to play. The sub division we live in consists of lots that are carved out of the forest,  not a place to be wandering around , unless you know the area well.  Not likely that a six year  old boy would be able to find his way home if he went exploring in the woods alone.

  I parked the trike in the shade, put the brake on and started walking the edges of the woods, calling her sons name.  I was soon joined by a family that was up camping on their property for the week,  several other neighbors joined in the search as well.  Some, including the Dad of the missing boy,  were on 4 wheelers, others were on foot.  All of us were calling out the little boys name, hoping for an answer.   I walked into the woods a bit, and around several homes, just incase the small child was hiding and afraid to come out.  I prayed as I walked, asking the Lord to protect this little guy, who for a 6 year old, is usually pretty fearless.  My biggest concern was that he had gone back on the 4 wheeler trails in the woods.  They criss- cross  the forest and converge in a sandy,  bowl like area.  With 10 trails or more,  coming into the bowl, it is an easy place to become disoriented, not knowing what direction will lead out of the woods.  There is also a pond in that area.  Ponds and small, unchaperoned children don't always have a happy ending.   I was praying that would not be the case here.

 The air was filled with the voices of  people , fanned out in all directions, calling the child's name. After about 20 minutes the child's father rode up on his 4 wheeler and announced that the boy had been found.  The grandfather had gone looking for him on his ATV, and found him,  back by the pond.  The boy was OK.  What a relief and what an answer to prayer.  The ending could certainly have been much worse.  I have no doubt that the Lord heard the prayers of many and had his hand of protection on this little one.  Spent another 5 minutes telling others that the lost boy was found, safe and sound, and rejoicing with them about the happy ending, and then walked back to the trike, where Tony and Button were waiting.

I think our ride began exactly when the Lord wanted it to begin, at a time when our neighbors needed help.  We thank him for a happy ending to the search.

Since the skies didn't have any clouds to give us shade, we decided to ride the trails again today.  We stopped in LeRoy to do our banking, and got on the trail, that is right behind our local bank, heading north, towards Tustin.  Got to Tustin, stopped for a bathroom break and to give Button some water and got on our way.

I can see that some of the summer wild flowers are beginning to dry up, the centers on the black Susan's are full of seeds, ready to plant anew when they fall to the ground.

 No turtles on the trails today either.  We have ridden the trail do much lately that I find myself hungry for some road riding,  although the roads offer more scenery, they  don't offer as much shade,  so for a few more weeks, we'll probably be doing the trails.   I am glad for the 4 miles of hills between us and the trail, as it helps keep our legs in shape for hill riding.

As I do every summer in mid August, I find myself yearning for the cool fall air, and the other things that go along with the change of season.  I like summer, but there is  something magical about fall.  The colored leaves give off such a wonderful light, even on a rainy day.  Already our nights have started to get cooler, making for great sleeping weather.  Before we know it, we will be riding with our thermos of hot chocolate along.

We saw a small 4 or 5 point buck eating apples near a garage, but he went behind it before I could get a picture.  The apple trees,  are absolutely loaded with apples this year.  Some are just starting to turn red, so perhaps on our next ride, the color contrast will be enough that they will show up well in a picture. I'll republish one of the earlier pictures I took of the apple trees in bloom, so you'll have a fresh image in your mind to compare the loaded apple trees too.

We rode 15 miles out, then turned around and headed for home. It was starting to get hot, and I knew that we would lose the trail shade if we continued on to Cadillac.  We stopped for a break In Tustin.  There is a nice bench right by the post office that is in the shade, so we ate our ice cream there.  We met a couple from Rockford MI, which is about 75 miles from where we live.  They were doing a 2 day, 90 ride  on the White Pine Trail, from Rockford to Cadillac.  They had camped at a little city park in Reed City the night before and were going to get a hotel in Cadillac tonight.  We discussed the unpaved portions of the trail and the sights along the way.  They said the unpaved portions were pretty packed down.  Tony and I really want to do the ride from our house to Jenison, where our daughter lives, but we have been concerned over how well our trike would do on an unpaved surface.  We rode the trail from LeRoy to 18 mile a few times before it was paved, and it really slowed us down.  Not sure when the portion of trail between LeRoy and Reed City will be paved, we could road ride that section if we wanted to do it this year, but of course, there are lots of hills when riding on the road and not the trail.  There is one other 9 mile section of the trail that would be unpaved as well, but we aren't sure where that section is.

From Tustin, our ride was uneventful.  There was still some shade when we got home.  We rode 30 miles.  Sorry there aren't many pics on this blog entry.  I didn't think to take a picture of the couple from Rockford, and there wasn't really anything new to see on the trail.  Hope to have more pics for the next blog entry.

A big hill

Michigan is a state that was formed by glaciers.  The glaciers came from Canada and as they moved, they carved out our great lakes, our flat farmland, and the hills that surround the area where Tony and I live.  The highest place in the lower peninsula of MI is about 10 miles from where we live.  It is known by the locals, as TV tower hill, because it is where TV 9 &10 is located.

 In the fall, the colors  and views from on top the hill are like something you would see on a picture postcard.

 On top of TV tower hill is a place called Grove Hill.  For many years I thought it was named that because there was a grove of pine trees there.  But it is named after George Grove, who was deeded the land as part of a homestead in 1873.  The Grove family were among the first settlers in the Sherman township area. Because of it's commanding views and elevation 0f 1722 feet, it was later used for a fire tower.  It is 1000 feet down to bedrock from Grove Hill.

Tony and I have been wanting to ride up TV tower hill every since we started biking a few years ago, We talk about it often when we drive the hill, but didn't feel like our legs were strong enough to do it.  Today, we decided to give it a try.  The hill doesn't go straight up, rather, the elevation increases up in a series of smaller hills, until reaching 22 Mile Rd, from there it goes straight up.  We didn't need to use our mountain drive on the trike until we reached that point.  By the time we got there, I was glad when Tony kicked it in.   It took us about 20 minutes to get to the top of the hill.  In the picture I am posting you have to look closely down the road, to get an idea of it's elevation.  I hope to get a better picture later on, when the trees aren't fully leafed.  That will give you a better idea of the size of the hill.

Once we made it to the top of the hill, (without stopping to rest,) we stopped for a break at Grove Hill. Decided it would be a nice place to bring a lunch in the fall, when the colors are changing.

I often write about us riding to church in Dighton, which is about 8 miles from out home.  But I have never given any history on the area.

   Dighton MI,  isn't officially a town,  it has no post office, and it does not appear in my Garmin GPS.  It has population of about 50 people.   There are a few houses there, a general store, and our church.  The store dates back to 1887.

Dighton was once a logging town with a population of around 1000 people.  There was a stage coach line connecting Tustin and Dighton.  Dighton was known as a "rowdy" place.  It was located along 20 Mile Rd originally, but moved to it's current location in 1901,it made shipping lumber easier if the town was close to the railroad tracks.  In addition to the 3 lumber mills, there was 3 stores and numerous saloons.  Dighton even had it's own telephone exchange at one time. In 1914 the flooring mill burned down, and was not rebuilt.  I think It was called Curtis Milling.

The railroad was abandoned and the tracks were taken up in 1920.  The Dighton Store, which was originally built in in 1887, and known as the Davis Family store.  The store is still in business.  Our church, The Dighton Wesleyan Church, was originally kitty corner, across the street,  from the store.  Our church, has since, relocated to where the once modern, 2 story, Dighton  school used to be.  A new basement was dug,  our church  taken off of the basement that had been done when the addition was done to the church, many years ago. The church was put on a big trailer and moved 1/4 mile up the road.  It was  a sight to see, our big church, going down the street  main of Dighton.   Quite a big deal, even making the local news and news paper.

The  old school house was owned by our church, for many years.  It was used for family reunions and other community events.   Then someone in the community, donated some land that was right next to the school, enabling us to have more room.  Our church was moved to it's present location about 11 or 12 years ago.  Our church held services in the school house, while we waited for the  renovations and addition to our church, to be completed.  The school house,  was made of sandstone, which was crumbling, was torn down shortly  after that.

    Just before the school house was torn down, Tony and I, among others, were given permission to salvage some of the  building materials from it.  We salvaged some  tongue and groove flooring.   We had 2 days to get out as much as we could.   It was hot, and we were working in the upstairs.  We were plenty dirty by the time we were done.  Ended up with enough flooring to do our kitchen, family room, living room, and hallway. We were thrilled when we came across a floor board with writing on the back of it.  It read; "Curtis Milling, Dighton Mi, 1906."   We were going to set it aside, but somehow it got mixed in with the flooring that was laid in our house.  We found out later, that one of the 3 sawmills in Dighton, specialized in making flooring.

It took Tony 2 years to pull all the nails in the flooring and to clean the dirt out of the grooves. We hired someone to install it in our home, sand it and seal it.  It is a wonderful reminder to us of the history of the area we live in.   I didn't have any  pictures of just the floor, so what your seeing, is some socks I made on my antique sock machine, and one of our cat, Miss Muffet, playing.  The floor is in the back ground.

From Tv tower Hill we headed to 20 Mile Rd, where turned right and rode 5 miles to Tustin.  We rode past a statue of a lion.  It was in an overgrown area in front of a house.  No driveway or anything there, just the statue and 2 concrete pillars.

Once we were in Tustin, we got on the White Pine Trail and headed towards LeRoy.  Stopped at the bank, and refilled dour water bottles at  the local restaurant, Mr. Pibbs, then headed home.  We rode 28 miles today.  All but 6 miles of it was hilly.

Time off

I doubt we will get much riding in this week.  It's the week of Vacation Bible School (VBS) at our church.  Our little country church, has an average attendance of around 100 people.  Vacation Bible School is a big deal at our church.  We have an average of 40-50 people in the church, who help in one way or another< Tony and I, are helpers in the kindergarten group.  This weeks theme is the BIg Bible Broadcast.  Each night the kids get to participate in a game show, watch puppets, play games and do crafts.

Our daughter and her 4 children come and stay for the week of VBS.  During the day the kids swim, fish, go frog hunting, or play in the woods.  After supper, we all head to VBS.

 Last night after we got home from VBS, we had a camp fire.  It was almost 11 Pm by the time the kids got to bed, but after a nights rest they'll be ready for a new day of adventures today.

It's been a busy week with VBS and the other activities with the kids.  We got some more fishing in,  The kids caught about 9 fish on Friday,  took me a good while to clean them, some were kind of small, but when they were all added to what we caught earlier in the week, we had enough fish for a fish fry.  all the kids ate the fish except for Sarah, who said she liked to fish, but couldn't eat something that she had seen swimming around.                                                                                       

The kids spent some time playing the key board I got at a garage sale for a quarter.

We had one more campfire night  here at the house on Thursday night.  Tony and I had worked on Wednesday and Thursday, but  the kids had the wood all gathered for the fire.  Smores, for all who wanted them.  Tony and tim hosed the fire down, after we all went in the house. 

I would say the highlight of the week were the 4 wheeler rides at VBS on Friday night , and the dunk tank.  Tim, Sarah, Marc, and Luc had never been on 4 wheelers or ATV's before, so it was an extra big deal to them.  The church had a "trail" all laid out to take the kids on, and of course it included some hills and woods to go through.  I forgot my camera that night, but I won't forget the huge smiles on their faces as they rode past us.

If the all  kids memorized over 200 accumulative verses,  and attendance was 100 people, then Pastor Deemer was going in the dunk tank.  Throughout the day on Friday, we heard many comments from the grandkids, that "Pastor is going down tonight."  And sure enough he did.  Out of 70 kids, who each got one shot at Pastor, 8 kids were able to dunk him.  Luc was happily among the 8.  There were 3 other guys who got dunked too.  The kids each got 3 tries at each of them.  Those guys were in the water plenty.

After lunch on saturday Tony treated us all to ice cream at Mr. Pibbs.  Shortly after that Tracey and the kids headed home.  The cat came out of hiding, although she had gotten brave the last  day or 2 the kids were here, she was happy to have the house to herself again.  For us, it seemed odd to have the house quiet and empty.  It was a memorable week and tiring week  for all.