I’m often referring to and taking pictures so you can see many activities that take place in Elizabeth Park, located here in Trenton.   Boat Racing and Jazz Music both from the link on left..  And of course they have the Somewhere in Time in late September that is always interesting, but it is a local park.  One I ride my bike to for a ten mile exercise stint a few times a week.  Surely that big park cannot be left to sit idle between organized activities, so what is there.   That’s the purpose for this post, to show what is there.

The best way would be to show you a panorama of the most often activities during the summer months.

Relaxing by the water

Relaxing while a cool summer breeze blows in off the river.  This is a panorama so clicking the link will open a large picture in your browser to just look around with.

The activity area returns to normal use as a dock for Old Cap’n Jack’s river boat cruises and when they aren’t in for their people pick up, fishing and other activities take over along the river.

Another Panorama, I made this into a Quick time Movie, but it was larger and took more time to load than a panorama, so heres a panorama.  Almost 360 degrees but I held it back a bit.

The activities area when nothing is active.

This is another picture you must open in your browser by clicking on it.   So far you are seeing what I usually take pictures of, but it is not my park. The place is for all the people so maybe as one of the all people you might like to see our community building.

Park general pupose building. Weddings and such.

The building is straight out of the turn of the century.  Slate roof brick with all refurbished interior. The park was a gift to the county in 1929 on the condition that it be kept open to the public and the buildings maintained.  The county had fallen behind on their end of the deal, but funds from the Democratic administration trying to restore an economy after it was killed by the republicans in 2008, have been used to help with the restoration and create jobs.  The building is looking much better after receiving a face-lift.

View from the river side.

And while we are down at this end of the park, there is also a marina where you can rent dockage for a day month or season.  If you boat is one of these you can come visit us from anyplace in the world, as the Detroit river is a major concourse for shipping.   You could tie up here or use one of six launching ramps available.

Boat dockage at the south end of the park.

So enough of that sort of thing, how about kids, a park is supposed to be a place where families can bring their children for fresh air and an outing.  Elizabeth park indeed considers the wee ones.  Like this lovely play area with rubber matting type ground so even if they fall, they will not hurt themselves.

The play area for tots.

Now click on that image for a view that will put a sparkle in any youngsters eyes.  Adults can sit in the shade and let the kids go nuts, climbing, sliding and racing about non stop for what seems an eternity.  And yes for little kids, there are also swings and other toys through out the sixteen acres of park.   But the kids that are to old to play on the play ground equipment haven’t been forgotten. They have a skateboard and Rollerblade area of their own.

Skateboard and roller blade area.

A tennis court that wasn’t receiving use was converted to make them a work out area to improve their skill at the more modern sports kids play today..

And for the very young, what kid doesn’t enjoy a pony ride.

a poney ride.

And what grandfather can fail to tip the pretty leader.  With a lot of pony’s, no child ever waits.

Plenty pony's.

Not all of the park activities are geared toward the young.  Here at the end is a wetland made attractive with many native plants in a very artistic arrangements.  A fine place to sit and quietly meditate the meaning of life.

Wetland Arrangment

Or just feed the ducks, picnic in solitude or stand on the foot bridge and stare at the water below.

Footbridge north end.

Then at the end of the day, a root beer and hot dog from the A&W at the park entrance makes for a perfect outing.

A&W Drive in.

Or having  a frozen custard.

Frozen custard stand.

Or replace a bit of used up bait.

Bait shop for fishermen.

Hope you enjoyed my park.  Theres more to it in the slides area of course. This is just to let you know it exist and there is more to my web site than just the blog.  Look around, have fun.

This has become the summer of the bike.  I try to ride every day for at least an hour and if possible more.  The knowledge gained can be simply summarized in the idea, that at the half way mark of most rides, I can get a shell of beer for a buck twenty in both directions.  Going north, the American Legion by the park in Wyandotte, going south at both the VFW and the American Legion in Trenton.   I’m a very lucky guy to have three such wonderful operations readily accessible and in the directions I like to ride.What I have also learned recently is that bike riding while fun, can be a hazardous business if you’re a smart ass old guy who doesn’t need to ask directions.

Most recently I ask my best partner, Dorothy if she would like to go for a bike ride with me.   She has been refusing, sore with a pulled muscle but when I said just a little ride in the park, she said fine.  If your not familiar with the area, the Detroit metropolitan area is ringed with parks about twenty or more miles distant from the central city.  They are in three different counties and called the  Huron/Clinton Metropolitan Authority, or as we call them the metro parks.   They mostly border on the Huron River and the Clinton River hence the name.  Many of the pictures in this blog were made in one or another of those parks.  They are a delight to ride on with a hundred miles or more of interconnected paved pathways, like the one below.

The trails.

So this is what the trusting soul of Dorothy agreed to ride with me, a few miles, maybe six or so at the most and look out for good fishing spots for grandson and I to come back to later.   It started off as a superb day, just a little on the cool side so expending energy didn’t really feel like you were working, just cruising and getting fresh air.  This was after all what I had said we would do.   The most exciting part was being attacked by the wild creatures encountered along the way.  I am in my mid seventies and my hair is all white and cropped close.  That white hair, cropped close was a great attraction for butterflies.  I still don’t understand why, but they had an orgy in my hair, stopped, riding full tilt, it didn’t matter.  The butterflies loved me, or rather the top of my skull anyway.    Being ringed by flies or mosquitoes is one thing, but to have your head surrounded by hoards of large butterflies landing, circling and generally distracting you is something I hope everyone can experience once in their lifetimes.

So while I’m being fascinated by butterflies I apparently missed the sign saying I was leaving the Willow Metropark and only 3.2 miles down the road I would be in the Lower Huron Metropark.   Both fine parks and great bike riding, but not what Dorothy had agreed to do.   The Lower  Huron park was a bit more challenging with plenty of hill climbs, speedy downhill’s with sharp turns at the bottom.  A few spots where you had to get off and push up what is a ski trail during the snowy winter.  Just a bit more challenging than she had planned on.  We decided maybe it was time to go back to the truck and end the exercise for that day.

Now being the infallible guy that I am, one with a great sense of direction, not a problem if we just go this way, the truck is only a couple miles further down the road.  The speedometer on my bike at this point said we had traveled twelve miles with our going back and forth through the park pathways.  Dorothy had resorted to walking her bike of and on.  Her rear end was just done.  So as it was only a couple miles further I told Dorothy she should go over by the rest station with toilets and a drinking fountain to wait.  She had a shady spot, a nice cool breeze and a couple real hunks with their shirts off  fishing in the river for scenery.  Now what more could a girl want out of life?  I know at that point all she wanted to do was to not peddle that damned bike any further.

So I took off to get the truck and come back for her.  My infallible sense of direction led me right up to an entrance point.  But what the hell, it was an entrance to a park other than the Willow park where we parked the truck.  There was some mistake here, so I turned and rode backwards.   Riding up to where Dorothy stopped she had noticed a sign that said “East Bend Picnic Area” and wasn’t that near or where we had parked the truck.   Thinking maybe she was right I rode down into check it out.  Nope and a big hill climb to get back up out of there.  My legs were starting to get a bit weak on the climbs.   Pressing down hard on the peddles was becoming a bit more difficult.  Even when riding in almost the lowest gear range, I was happy to get to the top of that grade. And I had gotten on a bike trail where I didn’t recognize the surroundings.  Riding past the water park with the tubes for splashing down and such, I came to another exit.   I swallowed my pride and bravely rode up to the girl at the booth selling entrance permits and blurted out..  I’mm  mmm I’mm, it seems I have lost my direction, could you help me.

On the map below I show our ride, yellow for both of us and blue for when I took off by myself.  She gave me a map and said your right here. Marked below as Lost.

Click on the map to enlarge it.

The map

That was when I saw what I had done.  We had ridden completely out of one park and gone into another.  I knew the truck was parked someplace where the river was on the right side of the trail.  Here though I was on the wrong side of the river, so I headed south.  It was now around four in the afternoon, the weather had warmed up, the top of my poor butterfly assaulted head was getting sun burnt.  I was running down, but I had to save Dorothy.  I rode down to find a bridge, and followed it over the river, only to end up in the town of New Boston.  I knew we hadn’t come through there, but I did remember the rail crossing from the annual fall apple festival they have there.  I found that crossing only a couple miles out of my way, and got back on the inter-connector between parks.  Now I was seeing things I remembered, so my mind was happy, but my poor legs were a little worn out.  ( No tour de France riding for me)

At least at this point I could look and say, only seven miles to go.  They turned out to be ten, but at least I knew someplace in here was the truck.  Giving it my best shot, I stopped to get my bearings, and when I tried to get back on the bike I fell over.  That was when I decided teenagers are still pretty darn good people.  As I was picking up my bike a kid with a mouthful of braces stopped and offered water.  Until he was sure I was OK, hung around me acting nonchalant.  Finally as I was pushing my bike up a slight grade that I wouldn’t even have down shifted for earlier when a fellow on roller blades came by with the encouraging remark.   There’s a nice long downhill grade at the top.  And there was and down at the end of it was the most lovely sight in the world at that time, my truck.   When I was putting the bike in the back I noticed I had ridden 35 miles that day.  Not what I planned when we left, but I did drive past the “Big Bend Picnic Area. 

I drove over and picked up Dorothy, where she remarked, aren’t you cold with that air conditioner going full blast.

I wasn’t.