Saturday Heather and I went land paddling in Illinois. This little fellow was sharing the trail with us.
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| If I hadn't seen him moving I would have thought he was a piece of braided yarn. |
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Saturday I went for a short ride. On some previous rides I've noticed a sign for Bellerive Park. It is near the intersection of Broadway and Bates and I've been wanting to check it out. Yesterday seemed a most excellent time to do so. What I found was a very nice view from the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River.
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| Billie enjoying the view of the Mississippi looking north from Bellerive Park |
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| Looking south |
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| The pavilion |
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| A tug on the River |
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I could see what appeared to be a park below the bluffs. I decided to explore. I pulled back onto Broadway heading south and took the next left hand turn. And there I discovered Sr. Marie Charles Park.
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| Here's Billie and notice the the tug boat. That is the same tug I'd seen from the bluff. |
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| A better view of the tug. It was hooking up to some barges that were moored next to the Park. |
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| A couple of workers being about their business |
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| There was a walkway along the River. |
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| Here's a photo of the Pavilion in Bellerive Park taken from the walkway in Sr. Marie Charles Park |
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| Another view of the River |
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I was eager to get home and see what I could find out about these two Parks and found this article from 2008:
http://thevitalvoice.com/node/193
It appears that many of the improvements the article talked about were indeed made to Sr. Marie Charles Park. The article also mentions a darker side to Sr. Marie Charles Park, "The park named after the tireless Sister Marie Charles developed a reputation as a place rife with prostitution and cruising." I shared word of my discovery with a friend. She told me she was aware of the Parks. And, while I experienced no issues as I walked around the Park, I'm saddened to report that she on a recent visit ran into more than she was expecting, but fortunately not more than she could handle. So, it seems a word of caution is in order.
Today I went for a much longer ride. The goal was a small town called Kimswick. I was disappointed. But, on the way to Kimswick, I did take a wrong turn and in the process of getting myself back to Rte. 231, spied a traffic sign I'd not seen before.
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| I think it meant children at play. But just in case I kept an eye out for wild teeter-totters that might be looking to cross the road. |
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I, also, came across this house on the edge of the area referred to as the Hill.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hill,_St._Louis
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| I guess one soul's Roman villa is anothers ..... |
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Hope you had a great and safe weekend.
Keith:
ReplyDeleteI love that road sign but I fear that we do not seem to have any wild teeter totters crossing our roads unexpectedly . Just a reminder for you to be careful and slow down for them
bob
Wet Coast Scootin
Great ride and pictures. Need a closer look at the Roman statutes. :) I passed a palace this weekend that had a grand entrance with Roman status behind wrought iron. I'm a little too chicken to stop for pictures. I can only imagine rotating sniper guns along with the cameras. ;)
ReplyDelete-Lori
For Love of a Motorbike
Nice trip report and photos. It's too bad about the park. We have one locally that can be a little dodgy with some of the folks that hang out there. I'll go with a group, but never alone.
ReplyDeleteThe caterpillar, even at full size it looks like yarn. :)
Bob: While I'm thinking a free-range teeter totter is no doubt a mythical creature, I'm certainly keeping an eye out.
ReplyDeleteLori: Thanks for stopping by and for the kind words. It is funny about this "villa" for some reason the overall impression it leaves me with is: Funeral Home. I don't know why.
Bluekat: A couple of friends stopped by the park having seen the pictures on my Facebook page and found the park to feel safe. I hope this is case where a park had a well deserved reputation for being on the "seedy" side, but has been cleaned up. I suspect time will tell. I'm definitely going to keep my eye on it. I'm honored you stopped by.
~Keith