Michigan Day 2 Today we had a paddle race event scheduled. The 22nd Annual Riverwalk Kayak/SUP/Canoe race in Lowell. We packed up the van, ate a little hotel breakfast and left Grand Rapids for the 20 minute drive. Then the rear brakes on the van really started grinding. Only now the noise didn’t go away…
Paddle Pedal & Coffee Tours
Theses are long trips touring a specific state (or part of a state) on a quest for kayaking, biking and coffee. In addition we’ll search for cool hiking, special interest tours, good places to eat and the best pickleball courts.
And the winner is…Michigan
Day One After extensive and detailed research, followed by weeks of committee discussions, along with a really close ballot, it was determined that the 2025 Paddle Pedal and Coffee Tour would be in Michigan. That’s not really quite true. I found two kayak events in Michigan spaced a week apart in mid-July so we figured,…
South Dakota by Pictures
2021 Sturgis Better late than never post? Recently, while reviewing some older posts, I realized that after our 2021 South Dakota trip (including several stops in Iowa), I had only included stories about stops we made in Iowa. So this post is a little different. It will show the SD part of the trip using…
Our Last Day in Wisconsin
Day 12 and 13 This would be our last full day in Wisconsin for this trip. Neither of us had ever been to LaCrosse WI but there seemed to be a lot of sights and activities. But first, we stopped at Sparta WI for coffee. A couple of to-go cups and we were back on…
Spending a Day in Western Wisconsin
Day 11 We woke to a beautiful Thursday. Our first destination was about an hour west to West Salem. The La Crosse River trail. We pedaled 10 miles round trip from West Salem to Bangor. It was starting to warm up a little and the vegetation bugs were starting to fly. We made sure we…
To the Elroy-Sparta Trail and Beyond
All we had scheduled for today was ride on the Elroy-Sparta Trail. Mary and I had biked on the trail before so we kind of had an idea of what to expect. So after breakfast, we drove to Norwalk to catch the trail. The Elroy-Sparta trail is touted to be one of the first rail…
A Paddle and Paddle day
Day 9 After breakfast it was a 12 minute drive to Mauston WI. We wanted to check out the pickleball courts. We found Lions Park on the south side of town. The courts were in really good shape and not busy at all. It was time for our late morning coffee so we chose Beyond…
Wisconsin Westward
Day 8 We started heading west towards Madison when we realized we had forgotten our life vests. We had taken them out of the van because when they dry out they smell like the lake we just visited. We were going to be gone for five days so we had to turn around and head…
An Easy Sunday to Enjoy the Weather
Day 7 After attending church, we drove to 7 Swans Creperie. For the second day in a row, we were dining at a restaurant with a name I did not know existed (my spell checker did this time). The restaurant is in a quaint building in an older neighborhood As it turns out this creperie…
Hanging Out in the ‘Good Land’ for the Weekend
Day 6 Our plans today and tomorrow were to spend some time in Milwaukee. For breakfast we drove about 15 minutes to Allie Boys Bagelery. I didn’t know there was such a thing as a bagelery. My spell checker doesn’t either. We visited a farmers market in Whitefish Bay and then headed home to get…