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

Bridges

This is the Highway M60/Michigan Ave. bridge over the Rocky River -- the main part of the river, not the race, which parallels the river through Scidmore Park at this point. Looking upriver.

This coming weekend the Three Rivers Womens' Club will sponsor a bridge walk - read more on their Facebook Event page, http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=173659086038753.

To see more Three Rivers bridges, click the "bridges" tag to the right, or use this link:
http://threeriversdailyphoto.blogspot.com/search/label/bridges

Upcycled on Johnnycake

A newly built feed store in the strip-mall section on the west side of Three Rivers was the location Saturday for Up-Cycled Pets' "meet and greet", allowing folks to see the adoptable pets. The SPCA also participated.

The new store is on a new street which they have named "Johnnycake Lane", a sentimental nod to the old Johnnycake School, torn down when the Wal-Mart went in a few years ago. The feed store is called "Diamond Creek" and despite it having the big plastic chain-store type sign, a chain-store name (there is no Diamond Creek around here) and the general chain-store look, it seems to be locally owned. And it was nice of them to remember Johnnycake.

Tax Freedom Day

Pack up the computers and tax books, boys. It's time to ride into the sunset for another year.

My own personal "Tax Freedom Day". That's a joke. Well, I thought it was funny!!

Closing it out at the Three Rivers Community Center.

Weenie King

The Weenie King, a local institution, brings his cart with its fine sausages and condiments to all fairs and city events, including the "Christmas Around Town". He can also be found outside the public library all summer long. The Weenie King makes me truly regret that I don't like hot dogs.

Christmas Around Town

Lots of activities today downtown, sales, Santa, carriage rides and street vendors, "Christmas Around Town" is the name of the event. Here is a proud reindeer with his handler, Joshua, in a pass-through between stores and a parking lot. I didn't catch the reindeer's name. The pass-through was formerly part of the Falvey clothing store chain from the 1920s. The building collapsed while being restored, and the city purchased it, filled the basement with dirt, and planted a large tree!

Recycled Scarecrow, Recycling

One of the features of last weekend's Three Rivers Fall Color Tour were scarecrows sponsored by local school groups, local businesses, and other groups; this one was presented by Love Your Mother, a downtown store selling many recycled, organic, and "earth friendly" items. The scarecrows were all arranged along a walkway in Meyer-Broadway Park, and visitors could vote on their favorites. Most of them were hilarious.

Brandy is Dandy

A gloomy morning morphed into a sunny afternoon for the Three Rivers Color Tour. At the Cory Lake Orchard stop is a miniature festival - besides the farm stand selling their fruit, there are baked goods, juices, honey and jelly, along with cards and artwork.

Going past the bins of apples, up the hill, through the barns and farm equipment to this back room - oh look, there's people in there...

(Click the photo for a larger view.) This is one for Hidden Treasures of the Midwest, which finds all sorts of interesting food items. Here in an orchard by Cory Lake, Three Rivers, brandy is made in a beautiful imported copper still from apples, cherries, pears and peaches from their own orchards, "from seed to sip". I'm not usually a fan of strong alcohol, but this stuff tastes of fruit and sunshine. Speck sized tastes let me try a variety; I liked the cherry (made from sour cherries, like traditional Kirschwasser) and the apple, which is aged in wood and has a dark color and intense flavors.

Jim Bickle runs the cider and brandy house at Cory Lake Orchards and entertained the crowd with descriptions of the brandy, the fruit, and the process. I came home with apples, a gallon of beautiful rose colored cider, an apple dumpling, and a bottle of cherry -- and a bottle of apple brandy. One will be a gift. Which one?

Cory Lake Orchards has a website, coreylakeorchards.com

Dog Walk

Dogs and their people showed up yesterday for the annual ARF (Animal Rescue Fund, http://arfund.homestead.com) dog-walk in Broadway-Meyer Park in Three Rivers, in which walkers collected pledges to raise money for the organization. ARF helps cover the cost of pet spay-neuter for those who cannot afford the total cost of the operation, food for the pets of people in crisis, and many other services. The sun came out and it was a lovely day.

I wasn't able to attend, but Lynda Molter sent me a few pictures, including this one. "The top prize winner collected over $900.00 for ARF", she writes. Lynda is the ARF President, and besides being an angel of mercy for local animals, she also designs and makes beautiful jewels from glass.

Besides the walk, they had a maze for the dogs. I would like to have seen that! Next year.

Harmony Fest

Setting up in the early afternoon for the Three Rivers Harmony Fest, the big musical event for the Labor Day weekend. Events include everything from a guitar contest for teenagers, to big name blues performers from Chicago.

Here the bandshell has been set up, tables laid out, and the sweet smelling smoke from a long line of barbeque stands begins to fill the air.

Married in the woods - and in the rain!

Les deux écureuils sont mariés dans la forêt. J'espère que la pluie apporte leur bonne chance!