Bridge Walk - 6th Street

Here's my attempt to look two ways at once - Bridge Walkers crossing the 6th Street Bridge, which has a beautiful view downriver on one side and an equally nice view upstream to the power dam on the other side. Jan McEnroe was stamping Bridge Walk passports here.

Bridge Walk - Hoffman

Some Bridge Walkers on the Hoffman Street bridge over the Portage River. According to the Passport, the bridge is 91 feet long and was built in 1917. You can also "drive" over it on Google Maps.
My favorite part of the walks was talking to people who had stories to tell about growing up in the area and their memories of the bridges and rivers. Here a woman told me that just upstream was an old swimming hole where kids would swim 'au naturel' and "get in trouble for it!"

A look downstream, where a sandbar has formed under the bridge. Hazard to navigation?

Bridge Walk - Broadway

There are two parallel bridges over the St. Joseph on Broadway, one for the roadway and the other, a spookily abandoned railroad bridge. The road bridge, according to the Three Rivers Woman's Club Passport brochure, was originally built in 1878! It was "updated" in 1990 which accounts for the modern look.

One woman passed me on the sidewalk, map in hand, and said "I'm going the wrong way!" Oh no, people were walking the trail in both directions. Here are some walkers on the Broadway Bridge, where Jo Barton and her daughter (above) were stamping passports.

Bridge Walk: 5th Ave.

Along with the walking maps, the Three Rivers Woman's Club "Passport" had a lot of interesting information about the bridges. This bridge over the Portage River on 5th Ave. was built in 1917, although it looks very modern.
Here, a group of walkers that did the long 4.6 mile (7.4 km) trail approach volunteer Shirley Blum to have their "passport" stamped.

I love this spot. Stop on the bridge here, almost downtown, but which ever way you look it could be wilderness.

Labor Day Historic Bridge Walk

Oh the bridge walk was so much fun - they said "first annual" so if you missed it, come next year! Three Rivers is a fantastic town for walking, and not just the park; the streets are lovely too. Maps were provided for a variety of routes and a brochure with bridge photos was "Your Passport to the Bridge Walk" and was stamped by volunteers waiting by each bridge.

This is a photo of only a few of the volunteers:
Jo Barton and her daughter (Broadway Bridge over the St. Joseph)
Shirley Blum (5th St. Bridge over the Portage River)
Jan McEnroe (6th Ave Bridge just below the power dam)
Diane Foghino (who forgot a chair so was standing over by the Memory Isle bridge for hours!)
Map of the routes:


More pictures tomorrow.

Labor Day weekend, Harmony Fest

Despite occasional drizzle, the Harmony Fest was a lot of fun. The photo above was taken just as it was starting in the early afternoon, and the street was already filling up. Not shown: the line of BBQ stands and the sweet smoke in the air.

TODAY is the Bridge Walk. Three Rivers Womens' Club volunteers will be handing out "passports" for the bridges in the Farmers Market Pavilion in Scidmore Park (right behind the former Neff Flower shop). The passport will be stamped by volunteers for every bridge on the route that you cross between 9 and noon.

More on their website: http://trbridges.wordpress.com

Bridge to Nowhere

This abandoned beauty is frequently chosen as a subject by local painters. Grass grows on the roadbed, and the masonry crumbles. Paddling under it I discovered an exciting "drop" that kept me from taking a planned photo from below.

Tomorrow, Labor Day, Sept. 5, there will be a Bridge Walk in Three Rivers, sponsored by the Women's Club. Register (free) starting at 9am in Scidmore Park, get a "passport" and have it stamped for each bridge you cross! See the website: http://trbridges.wordpress.com
There is a Facebook events page for the bridge walk but you have to sign in to FB to look at it. http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=173659086038753