Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Discovery

One of my favorite local hiking/biking trails is a river trail connected to a lake.  It is 4.7 miles long and it winds along a river.

You can enter the trail from either end.  Sometimes the Mr. would drop me off on one end and pick me up on the other.  (Usually only when I was walking or running it.) 

Other times, he would fish in the spillway area of the lake, while I would ride my bike across the trail and back. 

It is a beautiful trail--and a little like riding my bike on the dirt roads of the farm. 

Several years ago, the zebra mussels infiltrated the lake.  They closed the spillway area and one end of that river trail.  I was devastated.  You could still access it from the other side, which I still did once in awhile, but I sure didn't use the trail I like I used to.  In fact, I didn't go out there once last year.  All the signs posted indicated that the closing of this area of the lake/river/trail was long term, with no end in sight. 

Imagine how excited I was to discover that they have reopened the spillway area.  In fact, it has been opened since March.  (Am I the last one to know??!!)  They have banned boats from the area to keep the zebra mussels contained, but biking, hiking, swimming, and fishing from their docks is allowed again.  I am so excited!!

As soon as the Mr. recovers from some out-patient surgery today, we plan to take advantage of one of our favorite recreational areas.  (I'm hoping that is sooner, rather than later--and I can guarantee you that he is hoping that, too!)


1 comment:

Beth said...

I'm so glad you got 'your' trail back. I still remember the summer they closed down beaches on Lake Erie--one was a favorite during NE Ohio Methodist Conference at Lakeside on Lake Erie. The lake was so polluted. My folks let us swim off the pier at Lakeside, but with much trepidation and a warning not to swallow the water. It was icky.
Now it's not pollution but an organism or fish that is making its way to the Great Lakes and must be stopped. Fishing is at stake.

I have caught up on all your posts and conclude that you have had a busy summer so far and we're not half-way through yet!
The trip to NYC and the graduation ceremony and family time seemed packed full of terrific moments that will become cherished memories. Lucky you in NYC. My husband hates that city, but I love it. I'd like to go there with a kindred spirit and do exactly what you did.

I too am cleaning out. It looks like we are staying here in this tiny home for awhile, so I must purge it because I want to unpack some boxes from our previous home in Cincinnati. I also hope to finally go through my dad's stuff. (It's been five years.) Here's to both of us as we clean, sort, and probably store some more!