The weather has been a bit wet lately so we decided on an urban walk through Northside for our weekly walk. Northside and one of the older neighborhoods in Cincinnati. Settlers first came in the last 1790's but real settlement began around 1820 when the Miami Erie Canal construction began. Because the workers were perhaps a bit rough around the edges, the area was referred to as Hell Town. Northside is an urban community that has been going through a rebirth. It has many eclectic restaurants, art galleries, taverns, and a fabulous collection of old architectural buildings.
We began our walk in front of St. Boniface Church on Chase and wound our way around to Hamilton Avenue where we ultimately came to the corner where Andrew Jergens (of Jergens Lotion fame) mansion once stood. Today it is a playground because as I understand, in the Jergens will he stated that if no in the family wanted to live in the house it should be torn down; they didn't and it was.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Fernald Preserve
Today we chose the Fernald Preserve for our weekly walk. Fernald was formerly a site run by the department of defense and used for the processing of uranium for weapons. They began the cleanup of the site in 1986 and it has been turned over to the Office of Legacy Management. It contains a few trails and is popular with bird watching and photography groups.
Our walk took us over the Hickory Trail and the Sycamore trail for a total mileage of 5 miles. The trails are easy walking and we completed the 5 miles in an hour and a half. There are gentle rises and falls along the trails but nothing strenuous. The Hickory trail does have a significant portion of it through forest. A couple of interesting sightings on our journey included the new bird watching stand, the bone yard where dead animal carcasses are put (man did it stink), a couple of areas that were fenced in so that monitoring of the amount of water in the wetlands could be completed. All and all an excellent walking site.
Fernald's website is: http://www.lm.doe.gov/Fernald/Visitors_Center/Brochures.pdf
After burning our calories we stopped at McCoy's bar on Springdale for a couple of beers and hot pretzels with cheddar cheese. They are delicious.
Our walk took us over the Hickory Trail and the Sycamore trail for a total mileage of 5 miles. The trails are easy walking and we completed the 5 miles in an hour and a half. There are gentle rises and falls along the trails but nothing strenuous. The Hickory trail does have a significant portion of it through forest. A couple of interesting sightings on our journey included the new bird watching stand, the bone yard where dead animal carcasses are put (man did it stink), a couple of areas that were fenced in so that monitoring of the amount of water in the wetlands could be completed. All and all an excellent walking site.
Fernald's website is: http://www.lm.doe.gov/Fernald/Visitors_Center/Brochures.pdf
After burning our calories we stopped at McCoy's bar on Springdale for a couple of beers and hot pretzels with cheddar cheese. They are delicious.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
French Park
Today our weekly walk was taken at French Park, a park run by the Cincinnati Park Foundation. The park is on property that was once the estate of Herbert Greer French, a Proctor and Gamble Vice President and an avid art collector. His estate was called Reachmont. The house on the property that can now be rented out was built in 1910.
While the weather consisted of a light mist with temperatures in the low 60's, the park offered a wonderful venue for a 2 1/2 mile hike through thick forests and along the creek. We walked the perimeter trail from the upper parking lot down to the lower parking area and then followed the trail along the creek returning to the upper parking lot. The trails are well maintained and a relative easy walk with some up and downs but nothing too taxing. Our walk took an 1 1/2 hours but we did plenty of stopping. Two of the more interesting finds on the walk were a stone wall along a portion of the creek and a stone with a bronze plate marking the burial place of 5 pets from presumably the French family.
As always we completed our walk with beer (with a side of excellent chili) at Quatman Café in Norwood.
The parks website is:
http://www.cincinnatiparks.com/component/content/article/27-art-architecture/304-french-park
While the weather consisted of a light mist with temperatures in the low 60's, the park offered a wonderful venue for a 2 1/2 mile hike through thick forests and along the creek. We walked the perimeter trail from the upper parking lot down to the lower parking area and then followed the trail along the creek returning to the upper parking lot. The trails are well maintained and a relative easy walk with some up and downs but nothing too taxing. Our walk took an 1 1/2 hours but we did plenty of stopping. Two of the more interesting finds on the walk were a stone wall along a portion of the creek and a stone with a bronze plate marking the burial place of 5 pets from presumably the French family.
As always we completed our walk with beer (with a side of excellent chili) at Quatman Café in Norwood.
The parks website is:
http://www.cincinnatiparks.com/component/content/article/27-art-architecture/304-french-park
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