On June 2nd I visited with a cousin and her husband and afterward I decided that as I was so close to the Freeport Bridge I would go for a PhotoWalk there. It was just about 4pm EST when I started, and by 6:15 pm I caught a bus that took me to Fairview where I caught the next bus going my way. Still having some energy I decided to walk the last 800metres or so instead of waiting for a bus that probably passed my place about the time I entered my apartment.
This trail, or I should say the last half of the walk was partway along the trail that I still plan to take completely to a destination that I have visited often in my lifetime; the Waterloo Memorial Pioneer Tower, or as I knew it most of my life, the Doon Pioneer Tower. I will have to start much earlier in the day than I did for this particular walk if I want to travel all that distance. It will also require lots of fluids and food to make that trip.
It was lovely weather and an interesting walk. At one point in my walk I had a young gentleman make an interesting statement about the fact that I was on a small trail with my walker. He remarked that he had never seen anyone "off-roading" with a walker before. I replied that, "You have never been on trails that I've been on then!" He asked where I've been, and I had to admit that I've been on so many that I can't remember them all by name at the drop of a hat. I did name a few, some he had never heard of, and after me telling him to check them out online, he headed his way and I took off to check out a trail I had not known existed until I came toward the bridge from my starting point.
This first photo was taken right in the middle of my PhotoWalk, but as it depicts the Freeport Bridge so beautifully, I decided to use it as the opening photo of my story about this great trip.
As I was approaching King Street East I came to this beautiful spot along the side of a railway track
Here one can see where the track progresses toward its destination in the core of the city.
Once I was across the track I made my way out to King Street and down to the bridge.
As there was no sidewalk along here I travelled on the should of the street and as far from the oncoming traffic as possible. I have seen the beauty along here from the bus that travels past here, but never on foot.
A short distance ahead is the Freeport Bridge and I was debating about crossing the street here to access the parking lot that can be seen on the right. And that was about the time I noticed that there was a path veering off just before the guard rails on my side of the bridge and street.
At one point along here I noticed that a cyclist came across the bridge and went down that path, so I kept moving on my side to see what I would discover when I got closer.
I decided to take another photo back toward where I had come from. Almost directly in front of me was this sign and I decided to capture it in the shot.
All around me there was so much beauty I had a hard time not just sitting on my walker and capturing it. I actually took a lot more photos than I have included in this writeup.
And then I came to where I could see the trail that leads down under the bridge, and immediately decided I had to inspect that side of the bridge as I had seen the other side often.
I saw a lot of floral bushes, flower plants, and a lot of beauty of spring all along the trail and path.
As I came to this point I realized that the path that is part of the Freeport Bridge that one can use to cross the river had to be accessed behind the guard rail here. That will come later, after I have explored the trail that goes off to the left here.
Down the embankment you can see the trail I am about to uncover its destination and possibilities.
It seems that I am going to be doing a lot of climbing and descending on trails today, as this trail is not super steep, but will need to be climbed to cross the bridge later.
Have you ever noticed that trees do not grow straight up and out? The tree in the foreground has had an interesting method of growth, but is very interesting to look at and as the leaves are not out very much yet on it, makes it easier to see the crooked branches and trunks.
If you look closely you can see the Grand River at the end of the trail as we can see it in this picture.
Here you can also see the side of the railway track that we spotted earlier.
A closeup of one of the tree we were talking about a few minutes ago.
A look up the embankment toward the bridge.
And down the path to the bridge as it crosses the Grand River here at Freeport.
If you remember from past blogs, I love decaying stumps and this one happened to catch my eye.
The clouds made the pictures just that much more colourful as I was walking along on this trip.
Looking back up the path that I had already come.
More twisted branches and scrub.
Here I was coming to the end of the path that I had come down to this point, so I had to take a shot of the beauty here before I went under the bridge for a few shots.
A selfie of me with the railway bridge in the background.
Here you can see the path that I decided to research as I don't remember seeing it on Google Maps when I was hunting for trails to walk on along the Grand River.
It looks like it could be very interesting to explore, and it was around this spot that I was told about the off-roading.
I wasn't sure how far I was going to travel this way, but I resolved that I would go as far as I could AND return within an hour to the bridge so I could travel along the other side of the river and across the bridge.
The Grand River is seen here in the shadow of the railway bridge on the east or north side.
And so I travelled further along the trail and it did take me a bit further away from the river.
It was a very beautiful trip.
And then I caught more glimpses of the river.
As I was returning to the bridge I saw some people down on the banks on this side of the river and they seemed to be picking up something.
This is a tree that is dead but very interesting too.
A closeup of purple flowers that were beside the trail.
I got some pictures looking up.
This was an interest stump as well.
Here is another selfie out on the trails that day.
As I returned between the two bridges I looked up the trail before I headed under the bridge to the parking lot area for a few pictures.
And I caught a couple of birds in flight when I took this photo.
And then I was on the path up to cross the bridge and capture photos.
When I got onto the bridge I found this plaque on the side.
This is the view along the path on the side of the bridge from the north side.
This is what I saw from that same spot.
And a view of the railway bridge from the bridge.
An aerial view of the trail I had been on earlier.
A good view of the railway bridge and the Grand River from the Freeport Bridge.
I also took photos across the bridge to the river on the south or west side of the bridge.
If you look closely you can see the people on the sandy area on the other side of the railway bridge that I saw collecting something.
There was a canoe coming down the river and this is a closer shot of it before they capsized in the river.
Here they are in the water with the canoe turned upright again.
And then I got to the end of the bridge and started taking photos from that end and side of the bridge. The clouds also seemed to be slipping lower in the sky, but I love the reflections of the bridge and even trees in the river.
I had thought I would go down the other side of the street to the river, but there is no public path on that side anymore, so I took this trail down.
My view of this end of the bridge before I headed down to the trail under the bridge.
And then I saw another red canoe headed down the river toward the same area the last one had capsized at.
A view from this side of the bridge and Freeport Hospital campus of the Grand River Hospital in the distance.
I watched as this canoe came closer, and once they were clear of the trouble spot I continued along the path heading west along the river.
Here you can see they have cleared the shoal that had caused the earlier turmoil.
And then the railway bridge and reflections as I was standing on the path.
As I came closer to the bridge I happened to see the puddle of water on the path. I was not about to be deterred by a bit of water, and there was enough space for me to get around the puddle.
This spot of yellow made for a bit of colour as I took a shot of both bridges before heading on down the trail.
The trail and the river on the other side of the bridge.
Looking up the incline that I was about to climb to continue along this trail.
Looking back down at the trail I had just climbed you get a glimpse of the bridge.
And another angle of the bridge and the reflections in the river.
Looking down the Grand River, as well as across to the car park across the way.
The trail that leads me out to greener pastures, literally, as I was to discover before I headed for home. This was taken just after the photo at the beginning of the story.
There were quite a few phlox, lilacs, and other spring flowers along this trail. On the opposite side of the path there was a field where chickens were being raised on the range.
The river is peaking through here.
It was going to be interesting to see if I could spot the river at any point along here.
Looking back to where I had come from so far.
I'm not sure what kind of plants are all in this cluster, but it was interesting to see them.
Another view of the river through the shrubs and trees.
A close up of lilacs.
Freeport Hospital campus framed byt the hydro poles and located with lilacs to flank the frame.
More shots of the river.
Coloured maple leaves.
And an osprey's nest on top of a hydro pole.
Lilacs and the Grand River.
And suddenly I came to the top of a rise that led down to the river flats or meadows.
The Grand River is shown down below again.
Right behind me was this tree stump.
As I came down into the meadow I was glad to find a lot more beauty than just the river.
Once I got into the meadow I saw a large tree that I made up my mind that the tree was as far as I could go on today's travels.
Here are a few more shots out across the meadow before I headed back to King Street to catch a bus home.
Just a bit further to that large tree.
The bridge as I saw it from the shade of the large tree.
And then I was on my way back to King Street.
When I got back to the bridges I saw the canoe was sitting on the beach, and it was open side up.
By the time I had returned the people across the way had gone.
A closeup of the canoe.
One final climb back to the top and I'll be on my way home.
This is my health record of of the day I went for this trail walk.
That is a lot of steps, but worth every second.
