Bike, Hike, and Paddle

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From January of 1996 to October of 2008, this site was called "Chuck's Backpacking Bonanza" and was hosted on AOL until they ceased such hosting. Over the years, I expanded the site to include much more than only backpacking, so the name is now Bike, Hike, and Paddle. Enjoy my efforts!
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--------------------THE INDEX IN THE SIDEBAR ON THE RIGHT WILL GET YOU STARTED--------------------
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Tuesday, June 21, 2022

 Did you know that Illinois has prickly pear cactus? We didn’t believe it either, so years ago my backpacking/hiking buddy Len and I went to Sand Ridge State Forest which is Illinois' largest state forest at 7280 acres just minutes southwest of Peoria. We asked the ranger where the cactus was and he took us out the front door of the ranger station, brushed aside some taller plants, and there it was!

 


 

Friday, May 27, 2022

How I Vacation



bikehikepaddle: This is how I vacation: camping, hiking, biking, paddling -- hence my screen name!  At 76, I'm slowing down, but I ain't dead yet!





Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Tuesday, November 16, 2021

Art Along the Bike Trails

I increasingly see and enjoy trail art as I've biked 276 trails across the country. The art mostly involves free-standing sculpture or paintings on underpass walls and flood water walls, so I recently began photographing and collecting the art.

These first three were along Grand Junction, Colorado's Riverfront Trail..



The "Blue Heron" section of the trail had these herons in flight...





The Pueblo, Colorado Riverwalk Trail had these five pieces painted on its sloping flood walls...













Steamboat Springs' Yampa River Trail had this statue...





In Venice, Floria I found this mural paying homage to its circus history...


...as another honoring its past residents...




DeLand, Florida, similarly honored its past with this mural...




This mural adorned the wall of a building in Marseilles, Illinois, along the I&M Canal Trail.






Many towns decorate their bike trail with art featuring the bicycle, as demonstrated on the famed Elroy-Sparta (Wisconsin) Trail (though I've never seen one of these bikes on the trail)...




The Little Miami Trail (Ohio) had interesting bike racks...





Miami, Florida's New River Trail had this sculpture to greet you...






Columbus, Ohio's Alum Trail is one of my all time favorite bike trails.  The scenery is drop-dead gorgeous as you cross the Alum Creek numerous times on a variety of amazing bridge structures they've built to get you across. Here's just one of them...




As a retired teacher, I appreciated two historical markers along the Alum Trail. The first was on the university's campus, reminding us that the Underground Railroad was neither (literally) underground nor a railway. The old Spiritual "Wade in the Water" stated "God's gonna' trouble the water" so the bounty hunters' dogs couldn't track them.




The second bit of history was farther south on the trail in Wolfe Park, where homage was paid to a gentleman I'd never heard of, and perhaps you haven't either -- one of America's most famous cyclists, Marshall Taylor, who in 1899 set seven world records, including riding a mile in 1 minute and 19 seconds, nearly 46 miles per hour!





Florida's Lake Mineola Trail has a playground for the kids with these wheeled attractions...






...and Knoxville, Tennessee's Greenway Trail has this sculpture...



The Croom Mountain Bike Trails near Brooksville, Florida  were designed, constructed, and maintained by the stalwart members of SWAMP (the SouthWest Association of Mountain Bike Peddlers) who  obviously have a sense of humor and a bit of whimsy as demonstrated in this piece of "sculpture" attached to a tree on the yellow loop.



Though not actually on bike paths, I did come across these two statues while biking in national parks. The first was this Florida Panther in Everglades NP...


...and this one was in Grand Teton National Park...



Chicago's fabulous Lakefront Trail runs 18.5 miles from Hollywood Beach on the north to 71st Street on the south, passing 31 beaches, a golf course, numerous harbors, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago's famous Navy Pier and Downtown and Buckingham Fountain, the Museum Campus, Soldier Field, McCormick Place, and much more. The trail is blacktop although several sections parallel gravel equestrian paths. At Navy Pier, this "Crack the Whip" sculpture garners much attention.



Just a bit  west of the trail (across the road) is the famous "Cloud Gate" 
sculpture, better known as "The Bean,"  is one of the world’s largest permanent outdoor art installations. 



The Lake County, Illinois, Forest Preserve District's Millennium Trail runs 33 miles of the planned 41 miles. The section through Lakewood Forest Preserve features this full size mastodon in honor of the critters that roamed this area 10,000 years ago.



A spur trail called Fort Hill Trail takes you to this statue which honors the Ray Lake Farm Preserve.



The Fox River Trail in suburban Chicago...



On Georgia's Jekyll Island I came upon this location. Though a product of Mother Nature and not man, I felt it a magnificent creation worthy of photos...











Saturday, November 13, 2021

Paradise Path in Moscow, Idaho

Idaho's short Paradise Path (2.3 miles) is the link between the Bill Chipmand Palouse Trail and the Latah Trail, both of which are long trails found on opposite sides of the town of Moscow, Idaho. It is named for Paradise Creek which it follows. The trail passes through the western portion of the University of Idaho campus which gives the trail a lot of traffic by staff and students. The trail's eastern section passes through Berman Park (382 Styner Avenue) before it traverses farmland.



Markers keep you on the trail...




The trail offers safe, non-motorized recreation for walkers, bladers, bikers, and runners as it connects several parks. There are benches available and several parks and lovely landscaping utilizing indigenous trees and shrubs enhance the atmosphere.








Parking for the Paradise Path is available at Berman Creekside Park (382 Styner Avenue) in Moscow.





Skunk Creek Trail in Glendale, Arizona

The Skunk Creek Trail (in red below) follows the creek of the same name for 8 miles through Peoria and Glendale, passing Peoria Sports Complex, the spring training home of the Padres and Mariners.




Signs along the way help you keep track of your location. An equestrian trail parallels the trail in Glendale.




The trail is paved and was  in good repair when I biked here in 2011.


Many road crossings are protected...



This multi-use trail connects multiple communities and provides cyclists with a short and easy route for riding. The urban pathway travels over fairly flat terrain with very little worry of traffic. The usually dry creek bed offers views of the wildlife that inhabit the area.




Parks along the trail offer parking,  playgrounds, pools, picnicking, fields, etc.













Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Des Moines, Iowa's Great Western Trail

 The Great Western Trail spans 16.5 miles from just outside of urban Des Moines southward to Martensdale. The trail follows the route of an abandoned line of the Chicago, St. Paul, and Kansas City Railroad constructed in 1899, but it is named after the Chicago Great Western Railway which operated trains over this segment from 1892 until 1668. The Great Western Trail opened in 1992.

You can begin your journey in the southern section of Water Works Park, just north of George Flagg Parkway, where you’ll find parking and restrooms.The route then becomes completely rural, with open fields quickly transitioning to shady woodlands that feel extremely remote—particularly during the work week. Highlights along this stretch include a historic railcar and panoramic views of the North River. The trail finishes at a large trailhead in Martensdale, where restrooms and parking are available.







This unpaved section is a one mile link from the Bill Riley Trail to the Great Western Trail.




The forest is beautiful and shields you from the heat of the day...






Underpasses help avoid some street crossings...



On the outskirts of Des Moines, you’ll come across a major street crossing at State Route 28, and then cut through the Willow Creek Golf Course. Take care here because golf carts cross the trail at several points...



 
...and they don't necessarily look both ways before crossing the bike trail!