LOST BRIDGE TRAIL

Once I 'discovered' this trail searching for nearby trails along my route from Chicago to Staunton, it was imperative that I check it out. The name 'Lost Bridge Trail' was too interesting. The trail was a straight run from Springfield to Rochester, Illinois. In fact, the trail included two bridges, and neither seemed lost. So I needed to check with wikipedia.

The Lost Bridge Trail is a 5.0-mile (8.0 km) rail trail in Sangamon County, Illinois. It was built by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) along an abandoned Baltimore and Ohio Railroad corridor between the east side of Springfield, Illinois to the center of Rochester, Illinois.

The trail crosses the South Fork of the Sangamon River near Rochester, and crosses Sugar Creek near Springfield. Sugar Creek carries the outflow from Lake Springfield, a sizable nearby reservoir. The Lost Bridge trail name recalls IDOT's failure to prevent salvagers affiliated with the B&O from dismantling the Sugar Creek bridge for scrap.

After completing the 5 mile Lost Bridge Trail, I figured out another way to return to the trailhead where my car was parked. I often try to avoid a complete out and back route where I would simply retrace my steps. It is not always possible. My return trip was 6 miles.

.

I was tempted to walk into these cornfields and perhaps find out what happened to Terence Mann (James Earl Jones, Field of Dreams) but I didn't have my baseball glove with me and I wasn't in Iowa. There was no way of knowing where these Illinois cornfields might lead...

Film Field of Dreams  

Author Phil Alden Robinson  

Role Terence Mann  

Actor James Earl Jones 

Ray. People will come, Ray. They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn into your driveway, not knowing for sure why they’re doing it. They’ll arrive at your door, as innocent as children, longing for the past. “Of course, we won’t mind if you look around,” you’ll say, “It’s only twenty dollars per person.” And they’ll pass over the money without even thinking about it, for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they’ll walk off to the bleachers and sit in their short sleeves on a perfect afternoon. And find they have reserved seats somewhere along the baselines where they sat when they were children. And cheer their heroes. And they’ll watch the game, and it’ll be as they’d dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick, they’ll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come, Ray. The one constant through all the years Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It’s been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again. Oh people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.

* * * * * * * *  

As I was finishing my hike I traversed this dam which appeared to be art deco in design. When I saw this sign, I realized that I had just about perfectly pegged the date of its construction. Once again, I consulted wikipedia to learn more about this dam.

Lake Springfield is a 4,260 acre (17.2 km²) reservoir located in the city of Springfield, Illinois, southeast of downtown. It is 560 feet (171 m) above sea level. It was formed in 1931-1935 by building Spaulding Dam across Sugar Creek, a tributary of the Sangamon River.

The lake was created, at a cost of $2.5 million in 1930s $USD, as a source of water for Springfield and to provide coolant for the City Water, Light & Power coal-fired electrical generating plant. It has also served as a focus of local recreation. Owners of high-powered motor boats enjoy the lack of a power limit on much of the lake, and the lake is known for warm-water fish such as largemouth bass, bluegill, blue catfish, flathead catfish, and crappie.

.

Spalding Dam is on the northernmost part of Lake Springfield

* * * * * * * * * *

.

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Kroger - Grits, 2 cup	200	42	2	4	680	2
Trader Joes - Strawberry Cereal Bar, 1 bar	140	28	3	2	90	17
	340	70	5	6	770	19
L U N C H
HYVEE - HUGE SPINACH SALAD	1,000	0	0	0	0	0
	1,000	0	0	0	0	0
D I N N E R
Quaker - Rice Cakes	490	98	0	14	210	0
Campbell's - Chunky Soup - Hearty Beef Barley, 2 cup	280	48	3	16	1,580	12
	770	146	3	30	1,790	12
S N A C K S
Natural Dark Chocolate	500	44	32	6	0	22
	500	44	32	6	0	22
Totals	2,610	260	40	42	2,560	53
Your Daily Goal	4,943	618	164	248	2,300	185
Remaining	2,333	358	124	206	-260	132
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 3,013 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 190.5 lbs in 5 weeks 

.

       Your Exercise Diary for:

Monday, August 1, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Walking	165	1,888
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	1,125
Daily Total / Goal	166 / 30	3,013 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	166 / 210	3,013 / 4,130

.

* * * * * * * * *

.