Alternate Plan

I've been having more bike trouble! Earlier this summer when I brought my bicycle in to get the seat fixed, I also told them that the front brake had stopped working. They were able to pop it back into place right then, and I guessed that I had somehow pulled it loose when I was getting the bike on and off the bike rack. When I got the bike home I went to ride down the street  a little to see how the new seat felt - and the front brake wasn't working! I managed to get it back on by looking at how the rear brake was attached, and I figured it must have been putting it on the bike rack to bring it back that popped it loose again.

Then on Monday I decided to go for a short ride after work - just up the street to take some pictures of the jewelweed that is blooming all along the road. I rode out over the lawn - a little bumpy - and found that the brake was popped out...

I fixed it and went on riding - and when I got to the jewelweed and tried to stop, the front brake wasn't working! This is a very unpleasant sensation! The rear brake still worked but that doesn't do as much, and it takes longer to stop and it feels like you're out of even more out of control. So I went to pop the brake back in, and as I was looking at the rear one to compare, I noticed that the front  one looked bent. The brake wasn't being held into place like it should. I rode back to the house, very carefully - I'd have to take the bike back into the shop. At least I got some photos of the jewelweed.

Jewelweed loves wet areas - like this marshy  ditch. It's also called touch-me-not, because the seed pods burst open when you touch them - the explosion sends the seeds flying in all directions! (Two years ago I managed to collect some seeds near Creve Coeur Lake in St. Louis, by putting a bag around the plant and then setting off the seeds. I scattered them around the edge of our backyard, which floods every time there is a lot of rain... The plants came up last year but my dad mowed them over, not being aware of the experiment. This year, I have received reports from home that they are back, and blooming, because dad "accidentally didn't mow them over"! So apparently they are perennials...)

So, despite all the places I'm wanting to go and see still, for my day off I had to take my bike to the shop in Marquette.

On my way out I stopped to take some more photos of the shoreline near Sand Point. A bit of wind on the water today!

There are tiny bits of garnet that wash up along the beach here! I hadn't seen such a bright patch before this.

Zoomed in a little on Grand Island - you can see that a few trees are starting to get lighter over there.

I brought my helmet and bike clothes in the car with me, in case it was a quick fix; then I could ride on the lake shore trail to Presque Isle Park. But they said they would have to keep the bike there, and replace the whole front brake. So I had to go with my alternate plan.

First, I went to McDonalds for lunch. I haven't been to a McD's since May, and I had a craving! I had had to do some errands around town in Munising before I left, so it was lunchtime by now. Then I went for a drive.

One of the places the guidebook had talked about was Van Riper State Park, about 25 miles west of Marquette. It was a nice drive, through Negaumee and Ishpeming (towns have such interesting names around here!) I turned in to Van Riper State Park and got a map at the entry kiosk. This was at the main recreation area - a campground and swimming beach on Lake Michigamme. The hiking trail I wanted was actually a little further along the highway, so I drove back out and found it right away.

The full trail would have been a long, straight section with a shorter loop at the end. I ended up doing just the  loop, as there was a second trailhead there. It started out with a steep climb - there were steps, but they were too high to just step up, it was a real climb! The trail wound up and around the top of a big hill, allowing views through the trees from several points. There were some great views of Lake Michigamme, and of the river as it flows toward the lake. The woods were mostly pine, but there were a lot of deciduous trees as well - mostly green, but a few that had already turned red and yellow. It was warm out, and there were some mosquitoes right where I started out, but once I started going around the top it was very windy - the wind came right through the open woods and helped with both of those!

When I stopped to take pictures at the first overlook, I heard a strange sound - a bird making some kind of cry. I scanned the trees nearby but didn't see anything - and then a hawk floated by overhead! As soon as I saw it I said to myself, "Yeah, that's a hawk's cry all right..."

It spun out of sight, and I looked up to see if it would circle around, as they so often do. Sure enough, it did - and then there was another one! It was a pair of them, soaring and circling together! No wonder I kept hearing that cry - they were talking to each other other!

 It really was a gorgeous walk - the sun through the trees, the views off in the distance, the little red mushrooms that were growing everywhere...

Then the trail started to loop back around, and I found myself in the lee of the hill. The wind died down, the mosquitoes came up, and it got very muggy. As the trail descended, I really had to concentrate on where I was stepping - it was still steep, and even a little slippery in some spots! But I came back down to a lovely view along the river. And a newly-fallen tree that I had to climb under!

Freshly fallen acorns - still green!

White Baneberry - also called Doll's Eyes. Kinda creepy. Yes, it's poisonous...

A trillium fruit, almost ripe! More of a seed pod than a fruit, really.

Ferns, moss, and lichens growing all over a rock that has been split by a tree.

Under and over...

Fruit of the False Lily-of-the-Valley.

Because of that last section of the trail, I was a little hot and sticky by the time I got back to the car. I drove back to the main gait and went for a swim in Lake Michigamme! I did not have my suit with me, but I changed into the bike shorts and old T-shirt I had brought in case I was able to ride my bike in Marquette!

The water was quite cool, but nothing like as cold as Lake Superior. It also wasn't that pure, clear blue - the water was dark with tannin washed in from the surrounding forest. I couldn't see all the way down to my feet, and my legs looked orange! My shirt was orange anyway, so if it did stain there's no way to tell. There was a sandy bottom, but it felt a little muddy too. That water felt so good! Surrounded by views of forest, with goldenrod blooming along the shore and a bright blue sky... I stayed in for a good long while.

Finally I got out and changed. They have a very nice changing room there, but no showers. I was more concerned with my lack of a towel - it took me a while to air-dry!

Back in the car, I had a snack - part of my sandwich from lunch, an apple and a handful of trail mix. Then I walked back out to the beach to take a picture of that tranquil scene!



Before I drove back to Marquette I went for a short drive on the road that led to the trailhead - it continues along the river from there. It was a paved road, but narrow and curving, so I had to drive slow. There was no shoulder so I didn't really get to stop to take pictures - except once, where there were just too many red maple trees to ignore! But there was other traffic, including a logging truck at one point, so I didn't like to just stop in the middle of the road like that!

I drove for about ten miles before I started feeling like I should be heading back. It took longer getting out than in, it seemed, but soon I was back on the highway.

I did make one more stop on the way back - at a roadside produce stand outside of Ishpeming. I had noticed it on the way out - and noticed that one of the signs said "Peaches"! Sure enough, they had fresh peaches, and I bought a  bunch of them. They were still a little hard - I was trying to  pick out the ones that weren't bruised  - but you could smell that they were the real deal.

I had to make a quick stop at Walmart on the way through Marquette, which was a good break before I did the final drive back to Munising. The sun on the lake was magnificent.