Friday, September 30, 2016

PORTAGE CREEK BICENTENNIAL PARK

I woke up in my Grand Rapids Hotel and drove to Portage for my appointment to sell buttons at a particularly good customer. Before I left the Kalamazoo area and headed back to Chicago, I found a park with paved trails and took a ten mile hike. Today, Friday, after a dentist appointment I will head to the airport for a trip to New York to visit my Mom and youngest brother and his family in New York.  So, today, may be a true day off from hiking. If the weather cooperates, I am planning on a hike with my brother and his wife in Connecticut on Saturday.


The trail goes right under I-94.  One thing I learned yesterday was that this spot under the highway was just about at the midpoint between Chicago and Detroit as you will see in the next photo.



I always get a kick out of spotting some genuine wildlife.  On the trail yesterday I spotted four wild turkeys.




Most of the trail was between Portage Creek and these railroad tracks.




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Your Food Diary For:

BREAKFAST Calories
kcal
Carbs
g
Fat
g
Protein
g
Sodium
mg
Sugar
g
Super 8 Cinnamon Roll - Cinnamon Roll 500 77 24 6 887 40
Cereal - Raisin Bran Crunch 500 118 3 11 526 50

1,000 195 27 17 1,413 90
L U N C H
Gatorade Recover - Whey Protein Bar 360 42 13 20 160 29
Subway - Footlong Turkey Breast on Wheat 560 92 17 36 1,890 11

920 134 30 56 2,050 40
D I N N E R
Homemade Stuffed Shells 615 86 17 30 818 18

615 86 17 30 818 18
S N A C K S
Garden Veggie Sticks Zesty Ranch 130 15 7 1 280 1
Reese's - Peanut Butter Cups 330 36 18 6 225 33

460 51 25 7 505 34
Totals 2,995 466 99 110 4,786 182
Your Daily Goal 3,683 460 122 185 2,300 138
Remaining 688 -6 23 75 -2,486 -44
Calories
kcal
Carbs
g
Fat
g
Protein
g
Sodium
mg
Sugar
g
*You've earned 1,753 extra calories from exercise today
If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 202.4 lbs in 5 weeks.


Your Exercise Diary for:

Cardiovascular Minutes Calories Burned
10 Mile Hike
137 1,875

   
Daily Total / Goal 137 / 30 1,875 / 590  
Weekly Total / Goal 725 / 210 11,193 / 4,130





just me having some fun with various photo effects.

from www.portagemi.gov...
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The “backbone” of the Portage park system, Portage Creek Bicentennial Park (PCBP) was the official city project to honor the nation’s 200th birthday. Spanning over 200 acres, PCBP is a linear facility that runs between the City Centre Area and the northern city limits at Kilgore Road, connected by a 3.5 mile multi-use trail. In total, PCBP has over 8 miles of hiking and biking trails with several opportunities to view scenic Portage Creek. 
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Part of my hike yesterday had me cross through CELERY FLATS (which is also described on the www.portagemi.gov website)

Celery Flats


Celery Flats is really a “park within a park." A key element of the Portage Creek Bicentennial Park, Celery Flats has two distinct settings. On the north side of Garden Lane, the Celery Flats Interpretive Center highlights the importance of the celery industry to Kalamazoo County. The Celery Flats Historical Area, with several relocated and restored buildings, is located south of Garden Lane. The Historical Area is the site of many community events and several of the buildings can be reserved for private group use.

Thursday, September 29, 2016

TRAVERSE CITY

I had a very aggressive travel schedule on Wednesday. I left Chicago at 5:30AM Central Time in order to be at an appointment in Holland (Michigan) at 10:00AM Eastern Time. Once I finished my first appointment, I scooted up to Traverse City in order to see a manufacturing customer that was considering some of my buttons for bracelet kits to be introduced at a major international tradeshow in January. My appointment on Thursday morning is much closer to home in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I drove back to Grand Rapids in order to be close to my Thursday morning appointment. Before I made that drive, I squeezed in a two hour hike in Traverse City right before sundown. When something is a priority, one can (often) manage to find the time.  



My hike was mostly along the southern rim of the western arm of Grand Traverse Bay (which is part of Lake Michigan)  The hike also had me 'traverse' (no pun intended) the main street of the town as well. This town is busting out at the seams during the summer months. I suppose if one wants to have a Traverse City beach to themselves as I did yesterday, the best time to accomplish that is the early days of fall, close to dusk. 

This tree was on its own 'island' about 5 feet in diameter, about 5 feet from the shore.

The weather was a cool 67°F and I wore a long sleeve shirt and shorts.  In the midwest, the shorts and short sleeve shirt season may soon be winding down.

The water was very choppy in Grand Traverse Bay

It is usually not easy to have a whole beach to oneself in Traverse City.  

A  small portion of my Traverse City urban hike was on the TART. (Traverse Area Recreational Trail)  Had I had more time I would have more carefully planned a hike that would have mostly stayed on the trail - instead, I found myself walking through downtown Traverse City as well as the shoreline. I have no complaints, I was very glad to be able to squeeze in a ten mile hike on Wednesday.



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Your Food Diary For:

BREAKFAST Calories
kcal
Carbs
g
Fat
g
Protein
g
Sodium
mg
Sugar
g
Roundy's - Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal 480 96 8 16 1,040 16
Quaker - Chewy Granola 90 Calories, 1 bar 90 19 2 1 80 7
Ritz - Cheese Crackers, 1 pack 190 23 9 3 320 4
Regular Raw - Gala Apple 74 20 0 0 0 3

834 158 19 20 1,440 30
L U N C H
Subway - Turkey Sub Sandwich, 12 inch 560 92 7 36 1,620 14
Special K - Protien Meal Bar- Double Chocolate 170 23 5 12 180 13

730 115 12 48 1,800 27
D I N N E R
Subway - Roast Beef Sub, 12 in 640 90 10 48 1,320 14
Kelloggs Pop Tarts - Brown Sugar Cinnamon 420 69 14 5 350 30

1,060 159 24 53 1,670 44
S N A C K S
Nature Valley - Oats & Dark Chocolate Granola 190 29 7 4 140 12
GIN GINS ORIGINAL CHEWY GINGER 120 30 0 0 0 30
UNSWEETENED BANANA CHIPS 200 19 12 2 6 1
Nestle - Dark Chocolate Chips 210 24 15 0 0 18

720 102 34 6 146 61
Totals 3,344 534 89 127 5,056 162
Your Daily Goal 3,704 463 123 186 2,300 139
Remaining 360 -71 34 59 -2,756 -23
Calories
kcal
Carbs
g
Fat
g
Protein
g
Sodium
mg
Sugar
g
*You've earned 1,774 extra calories from exercise today
If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 205.7 lbs in 5 weeks.

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       Your Exercise Diary for:

Cardiovascular Minutes Calories Burned
132 1,953

   
Daily Total / Goal 132 / 30 1,953 / 590  
Weekly Total / Goal 588 / 210 9,318 / 4,130             





Wednesday, September 28, 2016

COLUMBUS PARK

My travels took me to the west side of Chicago in the afternoon, which allowed time for ten mile hike  mostly through Columbus Park.





After hiking 25 miles on Monday, a ten mile hike just felt like a 'walk in the park.' (which is precisely what it was)

I tried to hike every road and path that I could find in the park.  The nine hole golf course was off limits. I had walked nearly seven miles before I accidentally 'discovered' the manmade waterfalls.


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from wikipedia...
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Columbus Park is a 135-acre (55 ha) park on the far West Side of ChicagoIllinois in the Austin neighborhood. It is considered the finest work by landscape architect Jens Jensen and was consequently named a National Historic Landmark in 2003. 

The concept of Columbus Park was first pitched in 1912 by the West Park Commission as a way to develop recreational facilities for densely populated neighborhoods. At the time, the West Side of Chicago had a population of nearly 900,000, but only two small playgrounds. The commission had acquired the property a year earlier from the Catholic church for $560,000; the church had recently abandoned plans to build a seminary on the site. It was the first large park conceived by the commission since 1869. Jens Jensen was a Danish immigrant who joined the commission in the 1880s as a laborer and rose to the rank of chief landscape artist and general superintendent of the system by 1905. Columbus Park was Jensen's first large park, and he began designing it in 1915. 

The 135-acre (55 ha) park reflected Jensen's Prairie School approach to landscape design. This method emphasized the natural beauty of the area and was inspired by the horizontality of the prairie landscape. Jensen preferred to use native plants in his designs, a technique that was rare at the time. Jensen's stonework, inspired by natural rock outcroppings in the Midwest, is exemplified by his waterfalls, council ring, and stone paths. Buildings in the part constructed prior to 1920 also reflect Jensen's Prairie approach. 
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Your Food Diary For:

BREAKFAST Calories
kcal
Carbs
g
Fat
g
Protein
g
Sodium
mg
Sugar
g
Roundy's - Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal 600 120 10 20 1,300 20

600 120 10 20 1,300 20
L U N C H
Barbacoa- Beef 400 5 17 58 1,285 0
Chef Salad 200 4 3 7 182 0
Pulp-free Coconut Water, 16 ounces 100 28 0 0 120 22
Apple - Apple Gala, Med (2) 160 44 0 0 0 34
Dark Chocolate Almonds 200 16 13 3 0 11

1,060 97 33 68 1,587 67
D I N N E R
Spaghetti - Spaghetti Noodles 400 78 2 14 2 1
Eggplant Parmigian 600 51 38 16 1,359 21

1,000 129 40 30 1,361 22
S N A C K S
Oreo Cookies 320 50 14 2 280 28

320 50 14 2 280 28
Totals 2,980 396 97 120 4,528 137
Your Daily Goal 3,779 472 126 189 2,300 141
Remaining 799 76 29 69 -2,228 4
Calories
kcal
Carbs
g
Fat
g
Protein
g
Sodium
mg
Sugar
g
*You've earned 1,849 extra calories from exercise today
If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 201.3 lbs in 5 weeks     

Your Exercise Diary for:

Cardiovascular Minutes Calories Burned
10 MILE HIKE
139 1,856

   
Daily Total / Goal 139 / 30 1,856 / 590  
Weekly Total / Goal 455 / 210 7,372 / 4,130




I used the 10 second timer to take the photos at on of the Columbus Park waterfalls. My camera caught me moving to the spot where I was to stand for the picture.  That photo looked like this...



When the I magnified myself in the photo, it looked like this...



That photo reminded me of a very famous photo of 'BIGFOOT'...


and finally, I put the two photos together...
BIGFOOT & Marc Jacobs (separated at birth?)


a final note...

On the last two days, I visited two 'landmarks'  On Monday, I visited CHESS RECORDS at 2120 South Michigan Avenue which is a Chicago Landmark (apparently it is not significant enough to be on the list of National Historic Landmarks.  On Tuesday, I visited COLUMBUS PARK which is a National Historic Landmark... This made me wonder.... Just how many historic landmarks are there?

from www.nps.gov (National Park Service)

National Historic Landmarks (NHLs) are nationally significant historic places designated by the Secretary of the Interior because they possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States. Today, just over 2,500 historic places bear this national distinction. Working with citizens throughout the nation, the National Historic Landmarks Program draws upon the expertise of National Park Service staff who guide the nomination process for new Landmarks and provide assistance to existing Landmarks.
After learning that the United States had 2500+ National Historic Landmarks, I wondered how many were in Chicago...

from wikipedia...
There are more than 350 places listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places in Chicago, Illinois, including 83 historic districts that may include numerous historic buildings, structures, objects and sites.