2017 MinnWisMi - Allegan to Battle Creek

Monday - October 9 - Columbus Day
Allegan to Battle Creek
Sunrise was at 7:46 and we were on the road by 8:15 so it was a bit cool (52F)

The Kalamazoo River as we are leaving Albion.

And if glassy water wasn't evidence enough of the lack of wind.....hurray!

The motel breakfast was pretty skimpy so we stopped in Ostego for breakfast #2 for the first time this trip. The building is on the National Register It was built in 1906 and was 3 stories high until 1952. It was originally a pharmacy/drug store.

The inside was nicely restored as well.

This is the third time we've crossed the Kalamazoo River today. It also means that we are going to climb out of the river valley for the 3rd time! 

This is a pretty bumpy part of Michigan. We will have 1100 feet of climbing by the end of the day. That's not much by Oregon standards but a lot for a place people think of as flat.

A tailwind will work for us!

Totally staged.....It was a crossroad off M89 where we stopped to take a break and it was so pretty Doug couldn't resist. We thought it would have been nice if our route had gone that way.

We left early this morning because we wanted to get to Battle Creek with most of the afternoon left to do some exploring.

We checked into the motel and then headed downtown for a late lunch.

At the Visitor Center.

The big brick building is Kellogg's World Headquarters. It isn't open to the public unless you have business there so their history is scattered around town.

Battle Creek has a bike share program!

This is the first program that we've seen that has tricycle cargo bike as part of the fleet.

The whole downtown area has these wide artistic sidewalks with planters and benches. It was pretty quiet today because of the holiday.

They even have sculptural light posts.

This waterfall commemorates the 1835 hand dug millrace that provided water power for 5 mills which produced flour, cornmeal, woolens, and wood products. It played a major role in the economic development of Battle Creek.

There are 6 panel sculptures depicting different parts of the millrace's history.

It seems like all the buildings are big around here but not tightly spaced.

Monument Park

Sojourner Truth (1797-1883) lived the last 26 years of her life in Battle Creek. She was a anti-slavery and women's rights pioneer.

She was born a slave and was sold 4 time before she walked to freedom at the age of 29.

Her faith was deep and she was determined to speak the truth and fight against injustice. She has quite the legacy for someone who was never taught to read or write.

In front of the police station on Division St.

To complete our loop we took the multi-use path along Battle Creek so we could see the Underground Railroad Sculpture.

Battle Creek was a major stop on the Underground Railroad.

It was almost 80F so we were in no hurry 😄. We read a little more Kellogg history along the way and passed the original Kellogg home. This sculpture is called The Cyclists.

The train depot of another era. It is also on the National Register and is now a restaurant called Clara's on the River.

We came back later for dinner and it was just as nice on the inside.

And it had a display of historic cereal boxes!

It was a beautiful walk back to the motel along the path. The sun set at about 7:10.

Our sound of the day greeted us across the street from our motel. The high school marching band was practicing for Friday night's football game. Our room faced that way so we listened to them until they finished around 8:30. Battle Creek has been a delightful place to visit!