Ludington, MI to Luther, MI 53 Miles July 5

With the time change it is still dark at 5:00 AM, so we have reset our alarms to start our rides at 5:45. We are thrilled because the July 4th holiday in this part of the country is continuing. As Carol and I got close to Luther, we saw a sign that said TRACTOR PULL. This is something I've never experienced so Carol agreed to stop. It was a community affair, with contestants getting their tractors weighed in, children asking parents for money to buy homemade cookies and pop and moms keeping track of the kids and visiting. I snapped some photos of old 1951 John Deere tractors pulling 500 pound concrete blocks. We also observed a chain saw contest, a hatchet throwing contest and two man handsaw teams compete for prizes. We are really getting to soak in the local culture.

Luther continued the celebration with a street fair. The town streets were blocked off and people were allowed to drink alcohol, enjoy music and dance to their hearts' content until 1:00 AM.

We were sleeping in the United Methodist Church with the festivities going on outside. All was fine until we were wrenched awake with a thundering boom which shook the walls of the church, about 12:30 AM. This happened a couple more times before the band turned the sound all the way up for their finale. Things settled down again about 1:15 AM. We survived to tell the tale.