Manistee Riverwalk Reopens

 The Manistee Riverwalk is one of the nicest urban, water-side pathways anywhere. It's almost like a gamescape with varying surfaces, levels, views, etc. A part of it has been closed for repairs, but for once, my luck was fantastic. I had to go to Manistee today, and they just re-opened that section.

A lot of it is in sun, with pavement and flower beds. Lots of flower beds. You may see more of that tomorrow. Even this late, there were still nice things to see

Other parts are like shaded secret entrances to other worlds.

The primary business street, River Street, is a level above the walk. Many of the buildings are old. I love this section near the Cypress St Bridge. With the shadow of a railing from the upper level and the old stone and brick, it looks like a castle.

When you get out at the west end, the Manistee River empties into Lake Michigan. This is the Manistee Lighthouse.

On the walk back, there is this really nice view of the river. This is also a shipping channel as boats come in to Manistee Lake, so it has to be kept open and clear. In fact, it was a dredging operation that caused part of the walk to be closed for most of the summer. But this shows how there is a great variety of landscapes along the route.

Almost back to the beginning. This is the Cypress Street Bridge. It's a drawbridge and has been closed for repairs most of the last two years. I know everyone is happy to see it open again. You can just barely see the railroad swing bridge beyond in its open position. I know I did a post on that, but I can't find it to link. Another time.

Finally for today, another artsy shot. This is nothing but the reflection of a post. But I like it a lot.

Most of the day was spent finishing up the necessary stuff I've been working on and then getting it delivered. This walk was my reward.

Miles hiked in 2024: 473.9 Manistee Riverwalk, both directions. 3.5 miles

See Manistee Riverwalk

An Afternoon in Manistee

 
Loretta and I went to Manistee this afternoon simply to have a good time. We started by walking a portion of the Riverwalk, one of the nicest "urban" spaces in the nearby counties.



I seem to manage to often walk it in marginal seasons, so it was especially nice to see flowers in bloom today. Some were along the Riverwalk, some in town. A coneflower, zinneas and impatiens.







The ducks seem to know which docks aren't in use by the humans. There was a whole line of them taking naps.



And then we drove around the back side of Manistee Lake to come home so I could show Loretta the Eastlake tunnel of trees.



In other news: did some writing, got the last of my stuff off of the old car (the roof rack), and made an initial contact with the Manistee book store about selling my books.

Manistee Riverwalk (part), about two miles total

	See Eastlake Tunnel, Spring, Winter
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Mickey Matson Comes Home

 
Three years ago, a children's adventure film was made locally, followed by a sequel. You may never have heard of Mickey Matson and the Copperhead Treasure (originally named Mickey Matson and the Copperhead Conspiracy) or Mickey Matson and the Pirate's Code. But, you might have heard of the blockbuster movie "God's Not Dead." Same writer/director, Harold Cronk. He's local too. Graduated from the same high school as my Steve, a year later.

Several local actors had supporting and minor roles in the Mickey Matson films, some of whom are friends of mine. And yet, I'd never seen either film.

This afternoon, both were shown at the beautifully renovated Vogue Theater in Manistee (that's a story in itself for another day)





Following the showings, all those present who were part of the cast or crew came up front and the audience got to ask them questions.



Both are fun movies, excellently done by Cronk's 10 West Studios.

Does it say something about me that the largest pool of my acquaintances who were in the movies played pirates?

The strangest part for me was that I'd never seen a large-screen movie made in places familiar to me. It was weird to see the local college become a secret training camp, the state park a desert in Sudan, a local closed bank the scene of a bank robbery, etc.

There's a possibility that a third movie in the series will be made. That would be fun.

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More Manistee Lake

 
Out working today. Gorgeous weather. Blue sky and blue lake, not too hot. I was on the east side of Manistee Lake. This lake is about five miles long. Not huge, but much too big to capture in just one or two photos.

This is at the north end, taken from a public boat launch called Penny Park. The breeze was piling up those ripples. I like the way they look.



A little farther south you can get a higher vantage point from the village of Eastlake. The better pictures, like this one, are taken looking north (which is down the lake in terms of water flow) because the sun was starting to get low. At the right of this picture on the far shore is the S.S. City of Milwaukee, a lake ferry which no longer operates, but is a floating museum. You can even stay on it overnight (bed and breakfast). I need to go see it. I've never done that.



I found some other fun stuff too. Maybe those things will be featured another day.

	See Manistee Lake- South End
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Everything is Better with Sunshine

 
Today was a work day, and with the sun shining, everything was pretty much worth smiling about. Just some nice views:

First, just blue sky with clouds. Even with no green showing yet, the landscape looks better.



I love the repeating patterns of rotary hay rakes, and this one just seems to VanGogh its way into the blue sky.



This is the old portion of the city of Manistee, taken across Manistee Lake. The current downtown is over the hill, and located along the channel where Manistee Lake drains into Lake Michigan. However, this older section has Main St as the closest to Manistee Lake, and the street from which all the east-west numbers in the county are counted. It also has Manistee St, High St, and Ramsdell St (as in the theater I often mention and the Inn where Ramona's party was, although both of those buildings are over the hill in the newer downtown). In reality, the section seen in this photo is quite run-down when you drive through it, but I like it because of the hilly streets and older buildings.



Finally, just an interesting cupola on a barn.

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What's Happening at Washington School

 
You know I love old buildings. The Washington School in Manistee is at the dead end of 4th Avenue, so you see it as you drive down the street. All I can really find out about it is that it closed around 2005, and it was an elementary school.



Something is being done to it. I hope it's going to find a new life, rather than being taken down. All the windows and frames have been removed.

It always seems so bold to put the name of the building in a permanent medium. I'm sure no one ever thought the school would close.

	See Paulina Stearns Hospital
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Manistee Riverwalk Details

 
I can hardly believe I haven't blogged about Manistee Riverwalk before. It's a really nice urban hike. Ellen and I did it last summer. I probably get there a couple of times a year. The only bad part is that dogs aren't allowed, so Maggie had to stay home.

I'll just give you a long view of part of the pathway (it's 1.5 miles long), and then I'm going to show some details today. There are things I can share another day too, so stay tuned!



There isn't a lot of fancy architectural detail on the backs of the many buildings, but I found a few interesting things.



Some of the little doodads look more interesting in black and white. This is on the old waterworks building which is now a museum.



I liked all the different lines and angles of a bunch of stacked picnic tables behind railings.



Some buildings seem to be patched with whatever was handy.



Finally, I loved this vine, and you'll never see the pattern of the stems in the summer.



The Manistee Riverwalk will be the subject of my column at Mason County Press in a couple of weeks.

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Best Food Discoveries of 2011

 
This week is going to be mostly focused on listing the best of 2011. Today will focus on food.

The best thing I learned this year is that I can make apple cider without a press. It works just fine if one is not trying to make dozens of gallons.



Combined with other juices, I think I've canned enough that I won't have to buy any juice at all this year. That was a little goal of mine, so that may end up in best accomplishments too.

The best recipe find was actually on experiment of my own, but it's so drop-dead yummy that it instantly rose to vie with my all-time favorites. And that is... crabapple pie.



I've chosen my favorite humor posts, and you can pick the funniest, if you want to play. See poll above.

Today was a work day... just paved roads and civilization. But the wind was really blowing, and here's a wave crashing over the Manistee breakwall. Notice how rough the water (Lake Michigan) behind the wave is!

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