On the Trail

Rick and I had a poignant, interesting and fun day recently. We headed to Kalamazoo, Michigan (where he used to live) for the memorial service of a friend of Rick's. As longtime readers of this blog know, Rick is an avid cyclist, with a racing past and a present that includes a passion for lengthy bike hikes. But he considers his greatest life accomplishment as being the "Father of the Kal-Haven Trail," a cycling trail that goes from Kalamazoo to South Haven, Michigan and the first rail trail in the state.

 

His friend who passed, Mike, was one of his colleagues when working on the trail. As Rick often says, "the trail was built on the shoulders of many" and Mike was one of them.

Postcards from the Lake: Quiet Mornings, Loud Cat

I'm back at the lake, finally! And look who welcomed me back! 

Rick will join me for an extended time when he wraps up his annual Dalmac bike ride (Lansing, MI to Mackinac City, 100 miles a day). He's captaining a tandem with his friend Nino, pedaling behind. (Or not, as the case may be!) This early September is lovely and I wanted to be here sooner but life got in the way. You just have to fly with the birds and go with the flow.

A Spring Walk and a Resting Place

No one can say that going to a memorial service for a loved and respected friend is "fun" but when Rick and I headed to Southwestern Michigan for a final farewell to Rick's godmother's husband, we managed to have some fun along the way.

We stopped in Kalamazoo to spend the night before with friends and enjoyed wonderful conversation and a delicious dinner out at a wonderful Middle Eastern restaurant called Zooroona. And on the way home, we took the scenic route.

We've had some wretched weather, loads of rain. But this day was sunny, if cold. Our first stop was through the cute town of South Haven.

It was fun to see open water and seagulls again.

And equally fun to see boats already in their harbor spots, just waiting for good sailing weather.

We cruised through other small towns and ended up at a spot on Michigan's Kal-Haven Trail, for which Rick was responsible for getting built in the 1980s. It is a long bike and hiking trail, stretching from Kalamazoo to South Haven, Michigan. And, it's the spot Rick has chosen for his final resting place.

It was a perfect day for a walk on the trail, even if it was a slow one.

Fiddlehead ferns were out in force.

I loved their wonderful shapes.

We had visited this spot a few years ago, in winter.

It's totally different in the spring.

The trees were flowering and they were so delicate and pretty.

A bee found its pollen supply in full force in a bright dandelion.

It was simply beautiful.

I can see why Rick would like to be "spread out" here one day in the future.

The way-far-out future.

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