Road Signs You Don't See in Chicago

Biking Cuyahoga Valley National Park's Towpath & Bike and Hike Trails

American Indians called the river "Ka-ih-ogh-ha" which meant "crooked" because it required paddling 90 miles to travel a distance of only 30 miles. Humans have made this area home for nearly 12,000 years, and in 1786, Moses Cleveland arrived here to serve as a land agent for the Connecticut Land Company and helped to lay out the city now named for him.

The Ohio and Erie Canal opened in 1827 between Cleveland and Akron, paralleling and partially watered by the curvy Cuyahoga River, thus replacing the serpentine river as the primary transportation artery. The canal was part of a national system of canals connecting the Midwest to the East Coast and launching commercial development in the area. The canals were replaced by the burgeoning railroad system in the 1860s.

The Cuyahoga Valley National Park preserves 33,000 acres along 22 miles of the Cuyahoga River, an area first set aside as an urban park in 1974 and elevated to national park status in 2000. The National Park System administers the park in cooperation with Cleveland Metroparks and Summit County Metro Para, both of which own property within the boundaries.

Cuyahoga National Park Towpath Trail

The Towpath Trail runs for 81 miles and is still growing in length, with 101 miles being the goal, as it extends both north and south beyond the national park boundaries. The surface ranges from paved to earthen to crushed limestone as it  passes through various jurisdictions and is mostly ADA accessible. Here is a section around the Boston Store which is just north of I-80. Note the canal to the left...

Here is one of the original 146 locks which managed to raise the vessels 1206 feet along the length of the canal  with the trail to the left...

Views of the twisting Cuyahoga River come and go as the river wends its meandering way, while the canal travels its straight course...

Several communities remain along the route of the canal and trail...

The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad runs from Cleveland to Canton, Ohio, year around, and offers "Bike Aboard!" trips with a baggage car equipped to carry bikes allowing riders to bike one way and return on the train. Rangers on board give talks about the natural features and history of the area.

Cuyahoga Valley NP official website

Interactive maps for trail

Downloadable maps for National Park sections

Trailheads

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Bike and Hike Trail of the Summit County Metro Park System

The Bike and Hike Trail is one of the oldest "rail-to-trail" conversions in the country, and 16 miles of its 33+ mile total travel through Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  It is an asphalt trail and is managed by Summit County's Metro Parks system.  Akron, Bedford, and Cleveland Railroad which was the longest electrified railway when built in 1895.  Service ended in 1932.

As you can see, the scenery is wonderful as the trail meanders through lush forests...

...and passes by 75 feet high Brandywine Falls...

http://www.summitmetroparks.org/ParksAndTrails/BikeAndHikeTrail.aspx

Driving Shenandoah National Park's Skyline Drive

Shenandoah National Park in north-western Virginia was established in 1935 as a patchwork of over 1000 privately owned tracts of land composed of forests, fields, meadows, orchards, and home sites.  In 1976, Congress provided the highest level of protection by designating over 40% as Wilderness.   Begun in 1931 as part of the WPA, it wasn't finished until 1939.  Many of its rustic facilities were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

Skyline Drive is a narrow two-lane mountain road with amazing vistas at every turn as it traces the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains for 105 miles  At its southern terminus, the scenic roadway continues another 469 miles as the Blue Ridge parkway until it ends in the Smoky Mountains. It is not a toll road, but since it is a national park, there is a $15 entrance fee good for seven days.

The speed limit is 35mph, and the design of this road and its sister, the Blue Ridge Parkway, incorporated many design factors upon which the Interstate highway system was later based. Mary's Rock Tunnel at mile 31 is 670 feet long.

Over 500 miles of hiking trails also traverse the park, including the famed Appalachian Trail and six of its shelters are in the park.  Here you see where the AT crosses Skyline Drive...

Here's a view from one of the 75 scenic overlooks...

I used a panorama program on my iPhone to stitch together five photos from a scenic overlook to create this 180 degree shot (you can see the same parking area in both edges of the photo.)

National Park map

Biking Jekyll Island

For the fourth time, I stopped at Jekyll Island, paid the $5 fee to drive the causeway and enter their fair island/city (they call it a parking fee), and I spent a couple hours biking the island.  They are making good use of all the fees collected, turning the old seashore area that for decades had been vacant after once being the site of the golf course, into this lovely Great Dunes Park that features their new 128,000 square foot Convention Center.  Though new, the landscaping is very attractive and as it grows will be even better...

My favorite section to bike is the southern end with its dense maritime forest and winding trails.  I love how they devote much land to nature (just like Sanibel Island, FL, Nantucket Island, MA, as well as other places.)  The gator I saw sunning itself last year was in the same place again, mere feet from the trail, so I again snapped his photo. When I passed by again an hour later, he was swimming...

The northern end of the island also has nice forested area as you approach the park and fishing pier...

...and the loop trail from the pier area has a turnoff near the main road where you can observe these petrified-looking trees...

Here is my prior post on this trail

Kayaking in South Carolina's Low Country: A Road Scholar Program

Palm Key, located on Knowles Island in the South Carolina's Broad River, is home for this Road Scholar (Elderhostel) program. Accommodations are comfortable cottages close to the meeting/eating building.  We kayaked four times, three times on larger rivers and once on Cuckhold Creek, a tributary of the Combahee River.  This narrow, intimate blackwater creek is seen below, where we saw several gators, several nesting ospreys, lots of fiddler crabs, and a variety of other wildlife...

The black water designation refers to the dark color of the water caused by tannins in the leaves, and the result is the gorgeous mirror-like reflections as seen below...

Here's a shot of an one of the ospreys taken by David from our group...

The three larger rivers, Broad River, Beauford River, and Boyd Creek, all gave expansive views as seen below and provided us glimpses of pelicans, heron, egrets, and at least nine dolphins, some within yards of our boats (watch the video at the end of this post to see the wildlife shots)...

One evening we were treated to a wonderful theatric presentation by Kim Poovey who authored Truer Words, a fictional account of Emma, "A strong-willed, independent woman who is not afraid to stand up for what is right. Raised on a wealthy plantation in the Lowcountry of South Carolina during the Victorian era, Emma's life is not as simple as it appears. Her family holds a secret that could cost them their lives if discovered. But for Emma, doing the right thing is worth the risk." Below is a photo of Kim as she performs her hour-long dramatic portrayal of young Emma...

Another evening was a presentation by accomplished sweetgrass basket maker Michael Smalls whose exceptional baskets represent an art form brought here by his ancestors 400 years ago from Sierra Leone in West Africa.  In fact, his creations are so artistic that one is on display at the Smithsonian Institution. Below, David is getting a closer look at the artist in action. Michael explained how the grass is harvested and is only found in a few locales, and how dozens of hours go into smaller baskets and larger ones far more time.  He also voiced his regret that he can't find any young people interested in learning the craft to keep it alive in the next generation.

Meals were served in the common building, starting with Sunday night's South Carolina specialty, Low Country Boil, also known as Frogmore Stew, seen here with shrimp, sausage, corn-on-the-cob, and potatoes...

A concurrent Road Scholar program was running here at Palm Key too, "Savory Southern Barbecue," and as we kayaked each day, they learned about this fine culinary art and shared their day's efforts with us at dinner, as we all partook of chicken, ribs, and pulled pork on three successive evenings.  Wonderful fare! The video includes brief footage of this group and their week's activities.

All five mornings of the program offered 50 minute sunrise hikes, attended by about a dozen hikers each morning...

The two other evenings featured a geologic and geographic introduction to South Carolina using maps, and on Thursday evening an oyster roast and shucking followed by a campfire with sing-a-long.

Thursday afternoon was a special treat as we drove to Beaufort, South Carolina, where we took a buggy ride tour of this historic and scenic town, and then had some free time to wander the waterfront park and Bay Street shops.  Below is the historic First African Baptist Church, site of the church scene in "Forrest Gump."  In fact, over 40 Hollywood films have been shot in this town.

Here's our group of stalwart paddlers who braved the gator infested waters and survived the strong headwinds and crashing waves and incoming tides all week:

(L to R, (kneeling: Joyce and April (guide)

Standing: David, Renate, Chuck, Nancy, Tom, Adelaide, Ed, Jody (guide), and Dick

Below is a video chronicling our week's activities on this program.

More photos available here (and they can be downloaded)

Biking Florida's Jacksonville-Baldwin Trail

I biked 28 miles on one final trail as I was leaving Florida after 26 wonderful days in the warm sun. I've biked this trail four or five times over the years and enjoy the miles of wooded sidelines as seen here...

It's also the only trail of the 160+ I've biked across the country to have railroad gates protecting bikers at a rail crossing (click to enlarge)...

I biked all but three days while here, for a total of 374 miles, every ride in shorts and t-shirt.  Great way to spend a winter month!  And this time, I followed a paved walkway from the rest stop area and discovered Camp Milton Historic Preserve on the other side of the tree line. More about this Civil War stronghold and its wartime significance in this post.

Jacksonville, Florida's Historic Camp Milton

This state park abuts the Jacksonville-Baldwin Rail Trail and a sidewalk connects the bike path rest area with the state historic park, which is how I discovered it today.  I biked over to explore and spent 40 minutes learning about events I had never even dreamed of.

For example, during the Civil War, Florida was important to the Confederacy, having supplied over 16,000 troops to the army, and also contributing fish, fruit, pork, beef, and salt to the Confederate troops.  The Union army recognized Jacksonville's importance to the Confederacy and wished to interrupt the supply lines, so they invaded the area four times during the war, more than any other city in the Confederacy.

In 1864, Camp Milton was considered the largest encampment of Confederate forces in Florida with over 8,000 troops. The site of several encounters between Confederate and Union armies, the camp finally fell to occupation by the Union army in the summer of 1864. It is named after Florida's Governor during the Civil War, John Milton.

The drawing below shows the extensive defensive fortifications constructed by slaves and soldiers in 1864.  (Click to enlarge.)

Located west of McGirts Creek, Camp Milton became the eastern Florida military headquarters for the Confederate States of America, housing 6,000 infantry, 1,500 calvary, and 430 field pieces.

The goal of these fortification was to block Union advances along Old Plank Road and the Florida, Atlantic and Gulf Central Railroad toward Baldwin, Florida, which served as an important Confederate supply center and railhead. Below is a replica of the traditional "Campaign Bridge" that troops would have hastily constructed to move weapons an supplies over waterways...

The area has undergone extensive archeological excavation by professionals to locate artifacts and enable them to reconstruct historically accurate earthworks and wooden fortifications.  Below is a sample of wooden fortifications (click to enlarge)...

...and they have determined that 15,840 linear feet of earthworks had been dug, and though only about 725 feet still remain, that number represents the largest intact remnants around.

Sometimes referred to as earth-works, field-works, breast-works, or just simply works, this fortification built by the Confederate Army helped protect their position against advancing union soldiers. On the earthworks, vertical logs were fastened upright with loopholes for riflemen to stand every two feet apart and platforms were built to place their heavy artillery, such as cannons. After Federal forces overwhelmed the Confederate army and took over Camp Milton, Union General George H. Gordon inspected the “breast-works” and described them as “most solidly constructed and beautifully finished."

Biking South Florida's Gulf Islands: Road Scholar Program

We biked about 90 miles during our four days on the road, exploring Naples and then venturing north to Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Island, Captiva, and Pine Islands. The first day, we visited Amy's Big Momma's Bicycles to get fitted to an appropriate bike.  Amy and her staff were patient and efficient as they catered to the needs and wishes of 25 different people.  Then we biked 32 miles as we toured a number of the lovely neighborhoods of Naples, as well as along most of the gulf shore of the town, the Historic District, the Naples Pier, the affluent Port Royal section, and also ate lunch on 5th Street.

The next day we headed north against a persistent wind as we biked 20 miles to Fort Myers Beach, first biking through Pelican Bay area, Vanderbilt Beach, Bonita Beach, and then having a deluxe box lunch at Lovers Key State Park's beach pavilion.  All of us then biked the 3 mile Black Island mountain bike trail seen here...

Our private bus then took us to our Hampton Inn motel for the night.

I should mention that all evening meals and most lunches were at local restaurants, giving us an opportunity to experience many different types of eateries and the opportunity to sample a wide variety of foods, and all the restaurants provided excellent meals.

 Day 3 found us biking the Sanibel Causeway and through Key State Park to Sanibel Island. A visit to the historic lighthouse was followed by a  walk on the beach with Pam, an incredibly knowledgeable Florida master naturalist, who picked up flora and fauna from the sand and gave us insights as to all that was present at our feet. Here's a map of Sanibel and Captiva (click to enlarge)...

22 miles was our total distance today and here we are biking to lunch at the amazing Island Cow Restaurant...

...followed by a ride to the Bailey Matthews Shell Museum for a guided tour of the main floor exhibits and then a behind-the-scenes peak at their work areas and stored shells...

Next was a ride through the "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge and then on to Captiva Island for our night at the posh South Seas Island Resort.

Our final day began with a private boat transfer across the sound to Pine Island for lunch, after which we biked 13 miles to the Randell Research Center for Marilyn's naturalist presentation on the native Calusa Tribe that reigned over this area for over fifteen hundred years.  An hour or so in the quaint artisan community of Matlacha was followed by a final bus ride back to Naples which brought our journey full circle, and the next morning our program ended.

Here are our 24 intrepid Road Scholar bikers and leader...

Sitting:  Julie (our trip leader), Ken, Nancy, Chuck R., and Chris

Standing:  Mary, Bev, Anne, Jack, Edward, Dick P., Susan, Sandy, Wanda, Russ, Karen, Kay, Ted, Barbara, Dick S., Chuck M., Margaret, Bobbe, Louise, and Deby




Here's a brief video I made recounting our exploits on this program...

Additional photos from the week (downloadable).

For ideas on other active, outdoor Road Scholar offerings, here are the 32 programs I've participated in.

Mountain Biking in Ocala National Forest

Our biking Road Scholar program ended this morning and I drove to my favorite mountain biking venue, Ocala, Florida's Santos Trailhead.  This is about my tenth time here so it's obvious this is my favorite biking venue of the nearly 160+ trails I've biked across the country over the years. With many dozens of miles of trails, all marked as to difficulty, and all twisting and turning through the lovely Ocala National Forest, this area is unsurpassed in mountain biking offerings in my opinion. The mid-80s temperature fell to the low 70s as I got caught in a medium rain storm, but I still biked about an hour, getting drenched and a bit muddy, but happy nonetheless.  After 90 miles of road biking the last 4 days in from Naples to Ft. Myers, and then on to Sanibel, and Captiva Islands, it was a joy to bike single track trails in the woods again instead of negotiating and dodging auto traffic.  Here's an example of the trail before the rain began...

...and there are slight inclines even though it's Florida...

The 3 day Fat Tire Festival was beginning and the large parking lot was crowded, but with dozens of miles of trails, I only encountered oncoming bike traffic about 5 times.  Here's an example of some of the tight fits you bike on the trail...

 For more info on this area, see my webpage.

Biking Davie, Florida's Linear Park Trail

The Linear Park Trail travels east to west for eight miles along the north bank of the South New River Canal, a major drainage canal originally initiated by Governor Napoleon Bonaparte Broward (1905-09) to drain the Everglades. I began at the west end at Vista View Park (free weekdays, $1.50 fee weekends)  seen here...

As you bike east, you'll constantly have the canal on your right and Griffin Road beyond that, and on your left, Orange Drive and then residences, businesses, or parks...

This trail is older, narrower, and less well-paved than its sister trail a bit to the north along the North New River Canal, the Plantation Canal Trail.  But there are fewer busy roads to cross here, and other than at University Drive, these crossings have signals and pedestrian push buttons right on the trail, instead of having to jut to the south a bit to cross a street.  And there's no expressway din while on this trail, just a hum from traffic on Griffin.  Trail markers like below let you know the distance to the end of the trail and also to various parks near the trail which include Bamford Sports Complex, Pine Island Park, Tree Tops Park, Robbins Lodge, and Vista View Park. For more info on these parks go here.

The trail takes you past the concrete remnants of an old canal lock and also the rustic old Town Hall building for Davie seen here...

You'll regularly find covered rest areas available along the canal for fishing, picnicking or just to get out of the sun for a while.


The trail takes you past or directs you to many of  Davie’s important and historic downtown sites, including Potter Park, Betty Roberts Park, Grif’s Western Wear Store, Osborne’s Hardware, Davie’s Western Theme District, Town Hall and Rodeo Arena, Bergeron Rodeo grounds, and the Canoe Landing at the site of Davie’s first Trading Post. Continuing west along the Trail you’ll encounter the George Anderson Footbridge which will take you over the South New River Canal to the Historic Old Davie School built in 1918, or Lange Park. The footbridge was dedicated to “Uncle” George, a pioneering resident, and owner of the first general grocery store in Davie.

The trail's east end is at US 441.  Parking is available at any of the parks listed above, or in shopping center lots along Griffin.  I also noticed many vehicles parked on the grad along the trail /Orange Drive belonging to people fishing the canal or using the rest stop kiosks, so I imagine bikers could also park here.

Biking Plantation Canal Trail

Plantation, Florida, is located in central Broward County west of Ft. Lauderdale, with a population over 85,000. This wide, well-paved concrete trail follows a canal for 7 1/2 miles, starting at University Drive heading west to just past Markham Park.  This photo pretty much shows the whole story.  As you head west, you have homes, a few businesses, or a wall of shrubbery on your right, and the canal and I-595 on your left.  I also saw an otter dart across the trail and then into his home on the bank of the canal.

What the photo doesn't show is the road crossings, five of which are major roads requiring you to cross the canal in order to cross the road using the traffic signals.  Each road also has exit and entrance ramps to the expressway, so be careful of turning drivers who aren't necessarily watchful for bikers.

At mile 7 you pass Markham Park, a lovely and quite large amenity with playground, picnic tables, a model airplane flying field (I stopped and enjoyed a marvelous demo of an RC helicopter doing unimaginable spins and twists and loops), a swimming facility, a large campground, a shooting range, and a mountain bike venue (which I shall return to explore next time I vacation down here.)  And there's probably more in this park, too.  It would also be a good place to start your ride.

Just west of the park, you'll see this green fence...

From a distance it looks like a fence, but it is real 2 staggered gates to impede motor vehicles, I presume.  Bikes can easily negotiate between them. The trail is then asphalt and a bit narrower, and soon turns right and takes you to a gravel/dirt ramp up to the top of a levee which is open for biking if you have a mountain bike or hybrid/crossover bike. I went 3 miles and have no idea how much farther it goes.  To the right is another canal, and on the far side you'll see the park campground for about a mile and hear the shooting range.  Another expressway then appears farther to the east.  On your left (west) is Everglades Wildlife Management and Water Conservation Area.  You'll probably see egrets and heron here (as I did) and perhaps other wildlife.

While not a wonderfully attractive ride, it does offer some mileage, the amenities of the park, and the levee trail with wildlife viewing opportunities. But be aware: you will be in the sun for the entire ride, paved and unpaved.

Markham Park on the west end would be a good trailhead parking area.

On the east, head for the northwest corner of University Dr. and the canal/I-595.  Find the 4 story buildings for Aetna or Kaplan University and park there.  You'll find the trail just to the south by the canal.