Overnight the duality of the port showed itself - not only is this a haven for pleasure craft, but at 1am we heard a strange sound like rain but grinding. We looked out to see in the dark a 650 foot tanker slowly moving like a whale passing our minnow-like boat in its slip, hardly making a wake. I found a photo of it on Marine Traffic:

Next day, the weather again was great so we rode the bikes on a 20 mile route up the Grand River and around Spring Lake. Spring Lake feeds into the Grand River and has the small town, Fruitport, at its far end.

To follow the water the other way along the Grand River would bring you eventually to Grand Rapids, the inland industrial metropolis. Like other spots in Michigan the bike trails here were well maintained, thoughtfully planned so as to bring you over the bridges and through overpasses and highway junctions on separate paths.

We were able to dip down to Ferrysburg past the sand and gravel works where that big tanker had likely come from and then over to the bottom of Spring Lake to join a path that led through the trees and past cottages and marinas up around the Lake. So many marinas - so many boats in Spring Lake - no wonder the channel to Lake Michigan was so busy the previous day.

Fruitport, MI on Spring Lake