Here’s something you might see in a field while riding a bike, but you won’t see while driving on an interstate highway:
According to the website, the Warnes family has lived in Leelanau County for 100+ years. Curtis M. Warnes explained that this sculpture
. . . speaks to my family’s history on the Leelanau Peninsula for the past 100+ years. Their love of the the area and heart and sole they put into everything they did. Everywhere I look on the peninsula I see a piece of family. My great uncle Lou ran the dune rides and my family ran the general store in Glen Arbor starting back in 1927. The little souvenir and snack shop at the bottom of the Dune Climb for many years was ran by my grandparents . . . Gilbert [the name of the sculpture] is dedicated to and named after my Great Grandfather, my Grandfather and my Father.
So why was this sculpture created? Warnes explains: The answer is simple, I love this community and I wanted to give a gift to Leelanau County.
(Before doing the research, I wondered if this sculpture was an example of a current trend by some to make a “land acknowledgment” of others who inhabited a land before us. Prior to white-ish people arriving, this land was inhabited by the Ottawa and Chippewa people, and before that, the land was inhabited by dinosaurs, hence the sculpture. I now know the dinosaur is a tribute to three earlier generations of the Gilbert Warnes family.)
Sometimes while riding, my mind wanders. Below on the left is the original image. On the right is a mental enhancement.
Old Mission Peninsula extends northward from Traverse City into Lake Michigan, and separates the the Grand Traverse Bay into a west and east arm.
The local climate is particularly conducive to growing cherries. The airport is named Cherry Capitol Airport.
Here’s a view looking out over the Grand Traverse Bay. I think this is the East Arm.
The bike ride ended in Traverse City. But before I packed one rear bag and my handlebar bag for Fed Ex to ship back to Cleveland, I stopped at the Eastfield Laundromat to get some clean clothes for the flight home. Jim Legato (“Mr. Jim”) runs the laundry as well as the general store and apothecary next door.
Among other items, Mr. Jim sells Toss-N-Wash Magic Dissolving Laundry Wash Pouches, which worked fine, but made me wonder what it is about these laundry packets that warranted the adjective “magic”?
I would have reserved “magic” to describe the ALL-U-NEED product advertised on the front windows.
After lunch I stopped at a copy shop that offered a packing service and FedEx pickup. While unloading my bike, Rylan (from Chardon, Ohio, not too far from Cleveland) came over to talk about cycling.
He said he has cycled in South Korea, Japan, and Europe, where there are dedicated bike routes (not just the last few feet of questionable pavement on the edge of the road) and people are riding back-and-forth on these routes all the time. He’s a little concerned about riding a bicycle in America.
I had the copy shop put one rear bag, the handlebar bag, and my helmet into a box and FedEx them back to Cleveland. I rode my bike one block east and gave the bike to a bike shop to disassemble, pack, and ship the bike back to Cleveland. Now, as a pedestrian with one bag, I got an Uber ride to my motel for the evening.
In the motel shower I learned that Eucalyptus Spearmint can be used as a body wash, a shampoo, or a conditioner.
Eucalyptus Spearmint: the Swiss Army Knife of shower lotions.
Here’s a stairway door at the motel. My guess is the sign was put up by the Safety Manager, and the door stop was placed by Customer Service.