To the Shady Lawn Cabins

It was raining today, May 1st, when I left Rockford. I walked through a residential neighborhood on my way to the White Pine Trail. It was a short mile from the Colonial Motel I was starting from.

I made the decision not to follow the NCT connectors today for several reasons. The weather forecast called for rain off and on today and possibly a thunderstorm tonight. Even though it added about 5 miles to the overall trip it would break down my route to the next certified part of the North Country Trail into two smaller segments. I wanted food and shelter that I wasn't carrying on my back and I wanted to dry out my gear.

The White Pine Trail is a paved route that runs mostly north and south for about 100 miles. It is a converted railroad track. A lot of the old railroad lines are now being converted to multi-use trails. I think they are best for biking.

The section of the trail that runs through Rockford is very scenic and I enjoyed the first two miles that I followed the trail. After that it seemed no better than an over the road walk as houses were often on both sides of the trail or the trail was very close to Northland Avenue.

Four miles of hiking brought me to Rosie's Diner. The diner is on 14 mile Rd north of Rockford. It has a 50's theme and the food is good. I had a three-egg meat lovers omelet, fried potatoes, coffee and rye toast. Enough carbs to get me to the Shady Lawn about eight miles further up the road. The server's t-shirts read, "tip servers not cows."

I took Northland Drive the rest of the way to Cedar Springs and walked through their downtown area. It appeared to be another very nice town. The White Pine Trail ran very close to the road so I could have gone back to the trail but I decided to walk the road the rest of the way to Shady Lawn. I did not want to miss the motel after putting in a 12 mile day. I would be back tracking tomorrow and would use the trail then.

As the Shady Lawn came to view I could not stop smiling. The cabins were far smaller than my garage. The entire cabin could fit in my bedroom. The office was the residence of the manager so I knocked politely. She signed me in. Cash only.

With the key in my hand I went to my cabin. I unlocked the door and went in. Once again I started smiling. One step from the door was the bed. The bathroom door could only be opened part way because it hit the bed as well. I made a makeshift clothesline and hung my wet gear the best I could. Everything would not be dry in the morning.

Sleeping was not a problem.