Day 60 Sutton's Bay, MI - Two Far 2018 - Trailing through the Rust Belt - CycleBlaze

July 15, 2018

Day 60 Sutton's Bay, MI

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Today we rode from Traverse City to Sutton's Bay and back on the Leelanau Trail.  We were joined by Alain's brother Geoff and sister-in-law Marty.  We'll call them Team A+.  Marty and Geoff ride recumbents, so the bents were the majority bikes today.

Team A+ leading the way on the Leelanau Trail
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The Leelanau Trail is a rail trail and while it runs from one busy tourist town to another, along the way it is quiet and rural with farms and orchards. 

There are many cherry orchards along the trail
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There were also some apple orchards
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There was one crop that was new to us.

This is hops
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Here we are behind Teams A and A+ arriving at a decorated area on the trail.
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There were various items and a bunch of American flags along the side of the trail.

The sign says Polish Acres
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We have seen a lot of this plant growing along the roads in Michigan. Does anyone know what it is?
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Bill ShaneyfeltStaghorn sumac, I believe.

https://michiganflora.net/species.aspx?id=97

----->Bill
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5 years ago
Boris Fayferhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhus_typhina
Some usage:
Some beekeepers use dried sumac bobs as a source of fuel for their smokers.
The fruit of sumacs can be collected, soaked and washed in cold water, strained, sweetened and made into a pink lemonade.[10] The leaves and berries of staghorn sumac have been mixed with tobacco and other herbs and smoked by Native American tribes.[11] This practice continues to a small degree to this day.

All parts of the staghorn sumac, except the roots, can be used as both a natural dye and as a mordant. The plant is rich in tannins and can be added to other dye baths to improve light fastness. The leaves may be harvested in the summer and the bark all year round.[12]
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5 years ago
We're staying in Traverse City again tonight. This is a view of Grand Traverse Bay.
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Thanks to Geoff and Marty, we've made a few upgrades to our bike.  They brought a new front fender that Kerry had ordered and shipped to their house.  It is longer and should keep my feet much drier in the rain.  They also brought the correct rain covers for our underseat panniers.  Arkel had sent us the wrong ones, which we didn't realize until the first time we used them on rain day #1 in May.  We hope we won't have to find out if any of this works! 

We also sent our cool weather gear home with Geoff and Marty.  We really hope we won't need it again!  It is always good to lighten the load a little.

Today's ride: 43 miles (69 km)
Total: 2,813 miles (4,527 km)

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