Mama Onufrock

Dan and Mary are wonderful Warm Showers host. They shared their beautiful home with us as if we were family. I reckon touring cyclists are family. Indeed, next week they are hosting Mark who we met in Bowlus, MN and road with for a few days. 

Last night and again this morning Dan fed us abundant cuisine as if their was a festable of feasts. And to my surprise and joy, Mary brought home a birthday cake for me. How did she know I love chocolate cake? 

After breakfast, Dan joined us on bikes and led us out of town through Ludington park, along the marina, past lighthouses giving us a history lesson of the area only by someone who has grown up and lived in this area. A little past Gladstone, or Happy Rock as the locals call it, he turned around to head home, but not before giving us adequate directions to our next quest. 

Thanks Mary and Dan. You blessed us by welcoming us into your home. 

I met Al at the University of Montana. During my senior year, Al and I shared a room in the big white corner Crusade House that sits across from the UM sports arena. There are way too many stories to tell. You’ll have to find my Beartooth Bonanza blog to read about some of them. Others won’t be put to pen. Al’s family has a cabin compound not far from Escanaba, across the small noc bay below Garth Bluff. They call it “Larsonville”. Al’s mom is there for six weeks this summer. Today is her 94th birthday. We found the compound and eventually Al’s mother. What a sweet woman. A Proverbs 33 woman. I couldn’t tell she was 94. We had a great visit. We learned the history of how her father first built a cabin and how the next generations have added on and built homes of their own. I got to see and hear how Al got his expressive , vibrant, jestering and excited manner when telling stories. 

Leaving Larsonville, we headed east on US 2. The highway is busy and tense but there is a 12 foot shoulder with rumble strips protecting us from traffic. We found a restaurant at Garden Corners and we ate our first pasty(PASS-tee), a version of the Cornish miners’ meat and rodabega hand pie. They don’t digest as fast as touring cyclists wish. It took us a bit to get in a rhythm again. However, another 20 miles down the road and we found home for the night. 

Indian Lake State Park sits on the lake. I’d say the camp ground is 80% full. We have a nice quiet tent site and even a view of the lake. The temps have been pleasant all day ( we woke to 48 degrees!). It’s 68 now. Maybe we’ll stay a while?