100 Days 48 States - The Journey

"There was never any more inception than there is now,
Nor any more youth or age than there is now;
And will never be any more perfection than there is now,
Nor any more heaven or hell than there is now."
-Walt Whitman

TODAY’S ROUTE:
Hammond, IN to Alden, MI: I-80 East to I-94 North to I-196 North to Holland to US-31 North to Manistee to SR-22 North past Empire to SR-109 back to SR-22 to Northport, around to Traverse City to US-31 to SR-72 East to Rapid City to Alden. (MAP)

THE DETAILS:
Did you ever have a perfect day; one where everything went right and you didn’t want it to end? Today I had one of those days.

I’m up early and on the road by 8:00 AM. My first stop is just 20 miles away, the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. This 15,000 acre preserve stretches along the bottom of Lake Michigan. After a quick stop at the Visitor Center to get the stamp, I ride along the beach. But I don’t dawdle for long, as I want to get north to my real goal for the day: Michigan. I’ve never really been to the Great Lakes State. I went to Detroit once, but that doesn’t really count. Besides, the day I was there, Tonya Harding had the crap beaten out of Nancy Kerringan, so I’ve tried to forget the whole thing anyway. I swear, I had nothing to do with that horrible incident. Yeah, right.

The highway helps me get north fast and in a few hours I’m in Manistee, getting up coastal Route 22. The weather is flawless. It’s so crystal clear you wonder if it’s real. A bank thermometer in Manistee reads 68 degrees, 30 degrees cooler than where I was 24 hours ago. What a difference a day makes.

Past Parksdale, what little traffic there is disappears and the road starts to get windy. After Arcadia, I get my first good look at the lake from up high. 712 feet above sea level actually. This isn’t a lake. This is an ocean! I know there’s land over there somewhere, but the curve of the earth hides it from view. They should make a law that states if you can’t see the other side it’s not a lake, it’s a sea.

At Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, I really get to experience the beauty that is the northwestern shore of Michigan’s lower peninsula. A hilly region fringed with massive coastal sand dunes and dotted with clear lakes, it’s a masterpiece of wind and water. I ride the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive and stop for panoramic views of Sleeping Bear Dunes, Glen Lake, and Lake Michigan. The sandy bottom of the lakes makes the water as blue as the Caribbean.

The highlight of the day has to be Dune Climb, a towering sand dune 460 feet off the lake. If you have the ambition, it’s a quick slide down the hill, but an hour to get back up. People turn into ants as they start the climb back up, lost in a overwhelming slope of sand.

I spend the rest of the afternoon winding up the coast and by 6:00 I’ve arrived at the Williams home on Torch Lake in Alden. Kip Williams is a life long friend of my buddy John Allee, and he’s invited me to spend the night. The Williams family has had this house on this lake for generations. The setting is serene. At three miles across by twenty miles wide, Kip tells me the lake reminds him of Manhattan, another place that has been so important in his life. By the way, Kip is a film director and his latest project "The Adventures of Sebastian Cole" is in theaters now. Check it out.

As soon as I arrive in Alden, we’re out on the water for a family cruise down the rambling Clam River. We take out the old Chris Craft, a true classic and one of the last real wooden boats made by the company in the 60’s. The wildlife on the river and the setting sun are spectacular. It’s a perfect end to a perfect day.

Okay, so my cell phone didn’t work today. But nothing is ever perfect.

THE DAILY TAKE:
Miles Today: 398.4
Total Miles: 4587
Time on Motorcycle: 7 Hours 12 Minutes
States Visited today: 2 (IN, MI)
Total States Visited: 16
National Park Service Passport Stamps: 2
NPS Stamp Totals: 43 Stamps, 13 States
Weather: Crisp & Clear
Number of speeding tickets so far: Still Zero!

SEEN ON THE ROAD:
"Dying for a Drink? You might." - road sign near West Olive, Michigan

RANDOM PASSINGS:
Every day I spend too much time looking for good places to eat. When you are in an unfamiliar area it can be difficult to find that perfect diner or some down-home cooking. And those dam McDonalds and Burger Kings taunt your hungry stomach. But today I get lucky. It takes me about a half-hour, but down a road not on my route I find the Morning Glory Café in Whitehall, Michigan. For six bucks there’s an all you can eat breakfast buffet. The cinnamon French toast will knock your socks off.