Paddle Pedal and Coffee

One Couple’s Quest for Fun Kayaking, Cool Bike Trails and a Great Cup of Coffee

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Special Interest

Interesting side trips including tours, museums, caves, gardens, even parks.

A needed day of relaxation-sort of

Posted on October 3, 2025October 3, 2025 by David Harris

Michigan Day 7 This was the last full day we were to spend at the cabin on the lake. When we woke up to wind, overcast and temps in the 60s, our plans became pretty easy to schedule. We drove into Marshall to Dark Horse Commons for breakfast.  Mary had a delicious mushroom and cheese…

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A Return to the ‘Zoo’ —Part 2

Posted on September 14, 2025October 3, 2025 by David Harris

Michigan Day 6 Another big day scheduled so we only spent 45 minutes enjoying the sunrise on the deck. We left around 8 AM for a bike ride on the Falling Waters Trail in Concord MI. The trail was entirely asphalt and well-maintained. Along the trail we stopped at Lime Lake where we once again,…

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Kalamazoo-Where the water boils

Posted on September 3, 2025October 3, 2025 by David Harris

Michigan Day 5 According to many references, the word kalamazoo is Potawatomi for “boiling water”. There is some discussion as to what “boiling” means, but it is likely because of the rapids in the Kalamazoo River. In fact, we later discovered that the locals refer to city as the “Zoo”. We planned on spending the…

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Ionia and points south

Posted on August 16, 2025August 15, 2025 by David Harris

Michigan Day 3 We woke up Sunday morning to this view right outside our hotel window from our private deck. A search of coffee shops open on Sunday in Lowell turned up no results. What did come up while searching was Tim Horton’s Donut Shop. Even though we usually avoid restaurant chains, Tim’s seemed like…

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Grand Rapids and Lowell

Posted on August 12, 2025August 12, 2025 by David Harris

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…

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South Dakota by Pictures

Posted on April 5, 2025July 19, 2025 by David Harris

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…

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Return to Burkesville

Posted on March 31, 2025 by David Harris

We’ve been visiting Burkesville KY since 2019. The weekend event is named River Festivus and it’s been improving each year we visit. We may have never attended this festival and race had it not been for the points competition in 2019 that had us traveling all around Kentucky and Ohio. The Mighty Cumberland River Run…

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Our Last Day in Wisconsin

Posted on March 22, 2025March 17, 2025 by David Harris

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…

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Spending a Day in Western Wisconsin

Posted on March 16, 2025 by David Harris

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…

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To the Elroy-Sparta Trail and Beyond

Posted on March 4, 2025March 4, 2025 by David Harris

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…

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Recent Posts

  • East to Ann Arbor
  • A needed day of relaxation-sort of
  • A Return to the ‘Zoo’ —Part 2
  • Kalamazoo-Where the water boils
  • A non-travel Monday

Categories

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    • Iowa 2022 (13)
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    • Clear Lake Paddlefest 2021 (1)
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    • Nooga Loop 2023 (1)
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