Recap: Michigan

As we headed in to the Fourth of July weekend, Shereese and I parted ways in Niagara Falls, New York. I had dropped her off at the train station early Saturday morning so she could catch a ride back home. To our surprise, the train station was surrounded by murals and had a museum attached to it that honored the importance of this site as part of the Underground Railroad. After our time in Seneca Falls, we were both tuning in to uncomfortable parts of our country’s history, so it was fitting to add another marker to our route.

From there, I drove through Cleveland, Ohio, where I intended to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum, but due to trailer & parking issues, decided to stay put in my Airbnb and binge watch Netflix instead. I had decided I deserved the downtime. On the actual Fourth of July, I packed up and drove to Lansing, Michigan, to meet up with some friends for the holiday. I knew my time in Michigan would be more relaxed and less scheduled than the rest of the #HITtheTrails journey, because I intentionally included rural parts of the state when planning the trip. My thought process was that with this whole thing being a bucket-list, once-in-a-lifetime kind of adventure, I wanted to be sure to visit places in the country that I otherwise would not have the opportunity. That meant opting to visit the remote parts of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to see different parts of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior versus driving through Chicago. That also meant very little access to wifi or a Starbucks.

The friends I visited in Lansing had a newborn so it was nice to get some family time in to watch the fireworks and catch up on life and new beginnings. They also found a great local trail for us to hike and take in the scenery. One of them works at the Michigan Nurses Association, and we chatted about his advocacy for RNs and their patients throughout the state. At night, I was happy to witness fireflies/lightning bugs in addition to the fireworks display.

On Tuesday, I drove out to Ann Arbor to meet with Stephanie Denvir. Although she and I had met several times over Zoom, it was so satisfying and heart warming to have the chance to meet in person and share a couple hours together. We recorded a podcast episode, detailing all the planning that has gone into HIMSS21. Outside of that we talked about how the HIMSS Women in HIT group got started as well as trends we’re seeing for women in the workplace and in policies around the country. We even talked about Britney Spears and her battle over changing her conservatorship.

From there, I drove north and expected to be on my own for awhile. I was planning to stay in Petoskey, Pictured Rocks, and the Porcupine Mountains over the next week or so. But heavy rain on the first night of my stay in Petoskey nudged me to accelerate my itinerary. Instead of staying for two days in each location, I only stayed for one day, but I still had enough time to explore the area, take in the beauty of this part of the country, and enjoy the long drives by listening to several captivating audio books.

But because of this decision to accelerate the trip, I also had some time to reflect on the journey so far. It had been 60 days on the road. We had completed recording the majority of Season 6 episodes. We had connected with more than 60 women around the country, and in my talk with Stephanie, I was flushing out the big ideas that had been on my mind as a result of all this work. Although it was difficult to synthesize it all, not only was I feeling complete, I was getting really excited about all that there is to look forward to: HIMSS21, releasing Season 6 into the world, preparing for a just-as-exciting Season 7, building from the foundation of this #HITtheTrails journey. So, as I let the experiences of the past two months sync in, I decided to fast track the rest of the trip and head home.

Lansing, MI

Where we stayed: Airbnb in East Lansing

Where we hiked: Hawk Island Loop

Indigenous Acknowledgment - Mississauga Nation | Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians | Anishinabek Nation

Petoskey, MI

Where we stayed: Petoskey State Park

Where we hiked: Portage and Beach Trail Loop

Indigenous Acknowledgment - Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians | Anishinabek Nation

Pictured Rocks, MI

Where we stayed: Munising Tourist Park Campground

Where we hiked: Munising Falls Trail | Miner’s Castle Trail | Sable Falls Trail

Indigenous Acknowledgment - Anishinabek Nation | Oglala Sioux Tribe | Standing Rock Sioux Tribe

Porcupine Mountains, MI

Where we stayed: Lake Gogebic State Park

Where we hiked: Presque Isle River Waterfalls Loop

Indigenous Acknowledgment - Anishinabek Nation

Friends We Made

• Stephanie Denvir - Twitter | LinkedIn

• Pablo Terraza - MI Nurses Association