Omaha to NYC Day 20
Animated Map: https://www.relive.com/view/vQvx714Xj9q
I worried the cabin mosquitoes and the scratching skunk would keep me up, but we reached an agreement. The mosquitoes would get their fill before bedtime then chill. The skunk left to do skunky things during the night and I woke refreshed. The weather had cleared to partly cloudy with little chance of rain.
I lingered until after 8:00 then headed the 11 miles to Battle Creek. The morning light shone in streamers through the trees. I listened to John Field’s solo piano nocturnes on the way. The route seemed very rural, but looking at the Relive map linked above, I see the trees hid a lot of industrial buildings. The rural road became a path along the river.
In town I diverted to look at the Federal office building that once was the Battle Creek Sanitarium run by John Kellogg. The rich flocked here in the early 20th century to take cures. TC Boyle documented it in The Road to Wellville. I lingered at a coffee shop writing most of yesterday’s blog. Battle Creek is home to the Kellogg Foundation. I think a lot of professionals work there. A woman with a Slavic accent approached me. She is a Warmshowers host and wanted to talk bike touring. Everywhere I meet fellow tourers because they see the bike then they see the guy with the bike cap. I love being part of this community. Bike tourers are very open to the world as a rule.
On the way out of town I visited the Sojourner Truth memorial. She lived there from 1857 to 1883 when she passed. The statue had homeless folks living behind it reminding me that the work to make the world a better place continues. Next, I passed the Underground Railroad memorial. Battle Creek was a very active station. As I approach, I saw a young man taking video. We chatted. His name was Drey. He works for Amtrak shuttling train crews in a van. The history seemed new to him and was very interested in learning more.
It was past 11:00 when I left and I still had over 60 miles to do. The way to Marshall followed a road with an OK shoulder so not great, but the scenery was nice. Marshall was a charming old town. In what would be a theme for the day, I wished I wasn’t doing high mileage days. I could have added another day, but I was too lazy to rework the logistics. I’ll have to come back. The most interesting building was a mansion constructed by a Marshaller who was consul to Hawaii when it was an independent country. It’s built in a tropical colonial style. It’s a museum now.
Next up was Albion. On the way into town I stopped a cyclist, Mark, to ask advice on route options. (HI Mark!). It turns out he bike tourers. We’re everywhere. He told me the best way to get to Jackson. We’ve exchanged texts and email to continue the conversation. Albion is a college town with a renewed main street. I got supplies for dinner quickly and headed out to Jackson.
The route Mark had given me was a pleasant road with Share the Road signs and low traffic. It took me to the Falling Leaves trail. I was able to crank on both and the miles passed quickly with nice scenery.
Jackson was a pleasant surprise. It is an old industrial town with a few tall buildings. The downtown has a bunch of cool murals. Again, I wished I was taking more time. I did a ride-by of the closest ones after stopping for coffee.
The way out of town went through an old prison gate. Two walls of the prison still stand. A sign informed me that the prison was erected in the 1840s. The Michigan Central Railroad had a spur through the gate into the prison. The prisoners were used as slave labor to build Jackson’s economy. Boy, I’m glad that’s in the past.
Except for it isn’t really. Jackson is still a prison town. I passed the new, modern prison on the way out of town. The path had signs every two hundred feet warning trail users not to trespass on Dept of Corrections property. The geese ignored the signs.
The signs continued for miles along a gravel path that headed northeast towards my destination for the night, Portage Lake. They and the gray skies lent the trail a gloomy atmosphere. Happily I spotted some cool Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds to break the gloom.
I peeled off the trail for the last few miles on empty roads to Portage Lake. I was tired and kept looking at the map and my slowly moving dot. I got to the campground just after 6:00. The weather was cooler and the bugs were much reduced. All in all it was the best camping since my first night near Omaha. I took a break from writing. Hisako and I had a long chat before I turned in for a restful night.
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