My State's Triple Crown

 So, I headed back to Michigan via train, as I mentioned; however, I was so late leaving Denver that I missed the connection to Grand Rapids. This started to worry me and I got in touch with my in-laws, who offered to pick me up. At first, I clung to my pride and said no. Then, I started to soften and told them that would be wonderful. I really do have a hard time asking for help, and they have always been great at offering and supporting me in all my craziness. 

When I arrived to Grand Rapids about midnight, my in-laws were there waiting. My poor father-in-law had been soaking in the hot tub and was ready for bed, but he came and rescued me along with my mother-in-law. We returned to their house, about a mile from the train station, and I settled in for the night with the watchful eye of their cat. The plan being to meet my mother halfway between the 2 houses the next day for lunch. No greyhound trip for me. 

We met at Jamesport Brewing Company for lunch and to dump me off on my mother for another month or so. The food was amazing and the beer was good. My mom had brought the convertible for the ride back to her place. So, we headed out like Thelma & Louise for Cadillac, MI. My mom took me to a couple cemeteries on the way to her place to show me where other members of our family were buried. 

Once at my mom's, we discussed what my plans were for the next few months. I explained to her about this Triple Crown of Michigan that I had learned about on Facebook. It is 3 days doing 20miles each day on parts of the NCT. The first 20mile loop I planned to do was the Jordan Valley Loop, followed by the Manistee River Loop, and finished off with the Fife Lake loop. All of these loops were near the area where I grew up and contained sections I had either floated the river or had camped with family. The only less familiar one was the Jordan Valley. 

During this stay, I decided to sleep in the camper as my aunt and cousin were coming to town, and I figured they could have the comfy indoor beds. This actually worked out as I simply got up each morning before the sun and headed for my hikes. My mom was letting me use her car for these trips, so I all I had to do was go into her garage and leave. It worked out very well. The following posts will be each of the 3 days I took to do this adventure.