by Jeff
38 miles
We slept in, lounged over breakfast, went swimming, visited with the Rumneys, and ate a hearty lunch of pasta. None of us wanted to leave; it was such a peaceful and fun place to be. We finally hit the road at 3:00pm.
Thank you Rumney family, for your wonderful hospitality!
We decided to change our route the night before, after Jeff read more details about the trip between Sleeping Bear Dunes and our next campground reservation at Orchard Beach State Park in Manistee. Turns out, there are some massive hills on that route along the shoreline. The hills even have names: the “Three Sisters.” When hills have names, you know they’re going to hurt. I believe each of them were climbs over 1000 feet, one of which was over a 2-mile stretch. Our quads were still sore from the climb the day before, so we decided to pass.
We knew we had to be at Jeff’s family reunion near Walhalla the following night, so we drew a line between us and Walhalla and found a campground in the middle: Tippy Dam Recreational Area. Only one significant hill to climb, and only a 38-mile ride. We were off!
The ride was beautiful. We traveled on county roads for the most part, through thick woods and lush prairies. Google maps pulled another fast one on us, taking us up a 600-foot climb only to find out that the road then turned to dirt; we knocked on the door of a nearby house and were set straight as to how to get back onto pavement. Later that day, Google recommended taking another trail, but when we saw that it was dirt and loose gravel, we took a pass.
It seems like our best time of riding is in the evening: the air is cool, the sun isn’t in our eyes, and we tend to talk a lot more. We celebrated our trip by sharing our highlights from the last couple of days and eating the last of our Mackinac Island fudge. As twilight came, we saw several deer in the fields around us. So cool.
We arrived at Tippy Dam Recreational Area just as darkness fell. The kids are all experts by now when it comes to setting up camp, so the tent and sleeping areas were put together in 25 minutes. We ate some quick sandwiches for dinner, including Caleb’s peanut butter and pickle creation. Shortly afterwards, everyone happily went to bed.
Tomorrow, we finally reach a long awaited break: our 5-day Koch family Reunion!