But now I am home- the circle to NY and back is complete. Sunny is parked in his spot. My backing-up skills have improved on this trip, and I got him in his appointed slot on the first try. You might notice that the back rack is gone. I had Dick remove it. No regrets, and it tows a little better for not having 100 pounds of useless metal on the back. The leak fixes all held- no water inside. I probably don't have time to do any more work on it this fall. Big home projects to get cracking on. However, I won't cover it just yet. Maybe I could sneak in a weekend trip somewhere.
I got to have my favorite dinner, a big salad (with tomato from Chuck and Sylvia's garden). I'm airing out the house and working on unpacking. I haven't started going through the mail yet.
Tonight I'm pretty motivated to work on the things I should be doing. We'll see what happens tomorrow. I've been gone almost 5 weeks. "They" say it feels good to come home, but I think I could have happily stayed on the road. Sunny is truly homey, and he's not even finished yet. Life is much simpler when there are only a couple hundred items in your entire space to deal with. Each one has a place, and if it's not in its place it's in the way. When I'm home the mess just explodes.
 | See Finishing Calhoun County
See On the Road |
A lot of the western part of the Battle Creek Linear Pathway isn't terribly scenic, but it's level and fast walking. Still much better than roadwalks.
One little tilt of the head and no more traffic or industry, just the beauty of a blue and white sky.
On the corner of the road where the trail leaves the Pathway is this lovely planter built into a sign. I enjoy this kind of scenery as much as the fully natural features. Both have merit.
A little north from there, the trail goes onto the propery of the Fort Custer National Cemetery. This is a real privilege, to be allowed on the property. It also gives the trail 3 miles of lovely walking through woods and freshwater marshes.
You know I'm a sucker for interesting patterns on the water.
Tomorrow, I really have to go home. Sigh. I'm sure I'll live. Lots of projects awaiting me there! I'll have the Calhoun County Data Book on line in a couple of days.
The temperatures today were wonderful, and most of the trail was lovely. I started where I ended on Thursday, at the Ott Biological Preserve.
Next was a bit more on the Calhoun County Trailway, where a four-legged hiker was sharing the space with me.
Then the short sidewalk connection, including a bridge over the rail yard of the Canadian National line. That is where Gail spotted me.
Very shortly after that the trail joins the Battle Creek Linear Pathway which winds through the city along the Kalamazoo River. Except that it's a lot of miles of pavement, this is mostly a beautiful walk.
One really neat sculpture commemorates the Underground Railroad. On one side of the wall are the people walking away from the south toward freedom.
As they are passing through the "secret" door, they enter the north and meet those who will help them along the way.
Gail is going to spot me again tomorrow, so I'll not only be able to finish Calhoun County, but I'll get a start on Kalamazoo County.
These were designed by a man named Arthur Stillwell, who was something of a manic genius. He heard voices in his head and built railroad empires and designed equipment in response. He died of an "apoplecitc fit" when he was 69. He founded what became the Kansas City Southern RR, and established over 40 towns and cities. He invented the car we usually call a Pullman, because that was the company that manufactured them. He also designed a car for transporting oysters, which was a huge moneymaker beccause rich people who lived far from the coasts still demanded oysters. Despite his successes, he died a poor man.
One of the reasons for the great success of these cars is that the frame of the car is built like a truss bridge, making them very sturdy. You can see the triangular framing where the interior walls have been removed.
If you look at the first picture again, you can see curved archways above the windows. These were covered with sheet metal when they were made into camp cars, but when they were new, these had beautiful glass panels. The club discovered that nine of them were still in place behind the metal. They hope to be able to acquire two more, which will give them enough to put them back on one side of the car. Here's what those moon shaped pieces look like, stacked on a table. Really beautiful.
The bridges are historic, not necessarily the park. Instead of scrapping old road bridges throughout the county, they were brought here and installed across the creek, and in one case, over the park road. This is the largest one they moved, and it used to be near the city of Charlotte. It was built in 1886 by the Buckeye Bridge works of Cleveland.
This overpass of the (I believe- my RR atlas is home) Norfolk Southern is still in use. The small arch at the left is over a creek.
As part of the displays in the park this construction defining the walls of a "bridge shop" is an interesting addition. It fit perfectly with the theme and the openness of the walls didn't detract from the natural setting.
The trail mostly followed the Calhoun County Trail to the Ott Biological Preserve. Along the way there were many late summer wildflowers in bloom. Ironweed is one of my favorites.
But in some places there were mixed patches. This is Black-eyed Susan with Boneset and Lobelia.
It was blistering hot- got to 87 degrees I think. A lot of trail in the sun. I managed to walk 7 miles (total out and back), and required ice cream for rescusitation following that.
Marianne also told me some really good news- that Girl Scouting is starting to come back to its roots and is including more outdoor activities again.
Then we just had time for a really short walk on the North Country Trail, which goes right past her house. Hikers are welcome to camp!
We saw a really big walking stick!
Drove on to Chuck and Sylvia's for tonight. Catch you tomorrow.
I left New York, and crossed Pennsylvania.
Into Ohio. The mottoes on the signs oddly match up.
There were a few glimpses of Lake Erie. This is from a rest stop. The lake is hazy out there, but it's a little different color than the sky.
And where did I end up? With a trail person I hadn't previously met. We haven't stopped talking since I arrived! Tomorrow I'll have pictures and will tell all. OK, not ALL. But I'll tell you where I am.
A rainbow welcomed me that first evening.
Next morning, I drove to town and met the other people who also came to volunteer. Of course, I knew Mary, but I also knew one other woman who came. Mary's husband Bill was there as well, but he isn't able to do the physical work any more.
Going back to the campsite that afternoon, a mother bear and three cubs crossed the road in front of us. I was only fast enough with the camera to catch the last cub scooting under the guardrail.
Mary and I went out again the next morning. Our goal was to follow a snowmobile route which would connect the trail we built on Saturday with the next road. This is not ideal, but for right now, our trail has been given permission to use that established route. We crossed Whiskey Brook near where we began our walk. Despite many junctions, we managed to make all the correct decisions, and connected with the work we'd already done. Mary took GPS readings, and we flagged it with tape. Hopefully we'll soon have permission to put up the blue blazes.
When we got back to Oak Mountain, we did do some more of the blazing. In most places, the NCT blazes are painted. However, within the Adirondacks, they requested the nail-up style, so that is what is being used. this four-mile reroute which can now be followed eliminates a seven mile road walk!
After Mary and Bill left, I had a mission. Two of them. I wanted to get a few pictures that were "real" Adirondacks. This scenic view comes cheaply, as it's seen from a roadside turnout. You don't have to work to be rewarded. But it's pretty neat anyway. This is not the High Peaks, but is a view to the southeast. This panorama made so small isn't nearly as spectacular as it is in real life.
And the other part of my mission was to find one of my best friends. He and his wife live only 20 miles from where we were working, but I hadn't been able to get in touch with him. I decided to just drive there. I knew he wasn't in the same house as the last time I visited, but I had hopes that I could locate him. And I did! This is Paul, one of my very best friends in the world. In fact, he introduced me to the Adirondack Mountains, 55 years ago. Did you ever have a friend that just resonates with your soul? Nothing romantic between us, ever. But we just seem to "know" each other. We had a great visit, prayed together, and they fed me. What a perfect ending to this Adirondack visit. I suppose we look a little older than that week we climbed Haystack and Skylight so long ago, but we don't care.
Now, I'm beginning to work my way back west. I'm with Irene again tonight.