Trail Route: Munson Park to Sterling State Park

Monroe has done a very good job of developing its trail and sidewalk systems.

It is now possible to start walking at Sterling State Park and follow the marsh trail to a secret connection to East Elm. This connects to the Riverwalk Downtown if you take the bridge across the River Raisin. Take the Riverwalk to the MLK bridge and cross back over. Follow Elm Street and N. Custer Road on the sidewalks to Veteran's Park. Connect to the path along Cranbrook Park. Cross over N. Custer to connect to the Munson Park system of trails. I'm not sure of the complete mileage, but this is a very nice and lengthy urban walk. I think that the highlight is the system of wooded trails in the back of Munson.

If you did the whole thing, you'd pass by areas frequented by bald eagles. You could see the War of 1812 battlefield sites on the east side of town and several war memorials on the west side. You'd see a Great Lake and spend lots of time along the "crookedest river in the world" as claimed by Ripley's Believe it or Not.

You could stop at several ice cream shops and Vince's, the site of Monroe's best chili dog.

Here are some links to check out:

The Michigan Mountain Bike Association spearheaded the building of the trail. I helped to cut brush a few times. It was very cool. They have a trail status page with maps, directions and trail conditions:

http://www.mmba.org/trails.php?trail=29

This is an article from the Monroe Evening News that updates some of the grants needed to complete the trail. Basically, it can already be hiked. But you must cross railroad tracks. This grant will help to make the route much more user friendly and legal.

http://www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061027/NEWS01/110270022

I can imagine a day in which this trail system is connected to the SE Michigan Greenways system. The I-275 Bikeway is being rehabilitated and its southern terminus is not too far from this trail. Also, a sidewalk system up Dixie Highway and U.S. Turnpike could connect this to the Downriver Greenways that currently extend to Lake Erie Metropark.

Mystery Solved

I've been posting on the Monroe Evening News blogs and forum lately.

And I thought I'd try to get a little mystery solved at the same time.

So, I posted the following message:

"When I was in high school, I was a little bit bored. So, I bought a Monroe County plat book at the extension office on Raisinville and tried to figure out where I could go for legal walks in the county.

And that's when I came upon a little mystery.

In Exeter Township, there is a 70.7 acre piece of land that is, or at least was, owned by the federal government.

It is unusual for the U.S. to own property in Monroe, so I drove past the place a few times and tried to figure out what it was. It's in section 14 of Exeter near the corner of Martinsville and Scofield-Carleton Rd. At the time there was a little utilitarian structure at the center of a farmer's field.

So, my little mystery. What is on that land? And why does the federal government own it?

I came up with all sorts of fun little theories, most involving Monroe's history as a Nike missile base, but I never found an answer.

So, if you know, please post."

Well, inside of a day a fine poster named Nathan Harmon had my answer. He wrote that it was a VORTAC. This means that it a navigational aid for airplanes as they travel through the sky. Very interesting.

Here's a satellite map that Nathan was able to send to me.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Scofield-Carleton+Rd.,+Carleton,+MI&ie=UTF8&z=16&ll=42.046982,-83.458264&spn=0.006979,0.019333&t=h&om=1

He also sent a helpful tutorial on the subject.
http://url.rexroof.com/7456

American Lotus Plant Preserve

This is a scanned image from an old book of Michigan Nature Association nature preserves. This one is of lotus beds near the Fermi plant in Monroe. My 1998 county plat book says that they still own it. Public access, however, seems like an occasional thing. The preserve is actually behind fences.

Click on the image for a more detailed look at the document.

Bald Eagles: Steinen Wildlife Area

One of the coolest things to do in Monroe and the Lake Erie West region is to watch the bald eagles as they raise their young.

Many of these areas are closed off to viewing because the eagles need some privacy.

But the Toledo Blade had an article about a new spot near Sandusky where they can be viewed.

I would encourage anyone with this interest to check the lakeshore in Monroe and, again, be respectful.

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070115/NEWS17/701150336/-1/ARCHIVES30

Review: Monroe's Skyline Chili

I went to visit my dad last weekend and took him to the Skyline Chili place in the Farmer Jack complex on the corner of M-50 and Telegraph in Monroe.

The place is essentially a coney-type lunch counter. The seating is roomy and the booths are ample and comfortable.

The food ranges from coney dogs, chilis and burgers to some higher end selections. Prices seem reasonable for the kind of food served.

I decided to buy the advertised whitefish dinner for $8.99.

It was okay, but nothing more. The whitefish was a bit on the rubbery side and some portions were little more than breading and skin. The accompanying fries were crisp, but nothing spectacular. The restaurant gives a baked potato as an alternative option and a side of cole slaw is provided.

The whitefish dinner comes in a one-piece $4.99 variety, $6.99 two-piece and $8.99 three piece.
My recommendation: If you want a whitefish dinner on the cheap with lots of room to talk, come here and buy the $4.99 deal. Given the ample coney dog options in Monroe, I’m not sure that this is a place that needs frequent return trips.

Monroe's "Hot Hole"

It's always fun to find a secret little spot in a place that you though you knew well.

A few years ago, I was researching the Lake Erie shore in Monroe, MI and I came across the link below:

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mshlafer/hot_hole.html

Apparently, boaters and fisherman hang out on a little beach area near the Detroit Edison hot water release in western Lake Erie.

Weird Spot

Favorite Place: Pointe Mouillee

I love to hike and I grew up in Monroe, MI. So, one of my favorite places is Pointe Mouillee State Game Area.

Pointe Mouillee means "wet point" in French. And that's what it was during the time of the French settlers. It was a big, marshy point of land that pushed out into Lake Erie.

Pointe Mouillee sits at a very interesting spot in Southeast Michigan's geography. It marks the southern mouth of the Huron River and also touches the extreme southern sections of the Detroit River. Lake Erie spreads out to the east.

The current version of Pointe Mouillee was actually constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps constructed a "banana" shaped barrier island to protect the interior marshes. It's really quite amazing when you walk on top of it. It's miles and miles of man-made dike. Some of the material for this dike system came from the frequent dredging of the Detroit River and Lake Erie shipping channels.

Pointe Mouillee is a beautiful place. From its shoreline, you can see freighters, the Detroit River Light, the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Canada and the old Boblo Needle. It is definitely worth a visit.

See below for maps of this neat State Game Area:

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bbowman/birds/se_mich/moumaps-a.html
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bbowman/birds/se_mich/moumaps-b.html
http://www.michigandnr.com/publications/pdfs/huntingwildlifehabitat/sga/ptmouillee_airphoto.pdf
http://www.michigandnr.com/publications/pdfs/huntingwildlifehabitat/sga/ptmouillee.pdf

Awesome Photos:

http://www.pbase.com/rob734/ptmoulie

Additional blog postings:

http://www.blogsmonroe.com/expatriate/?p=439

http://www.blogsmonroe.com/expatriate/?p=438

Here are some older hike reports that I originally posted on several internet bulletin boards:

http://extremesouthmichigan.blogspot.com/2007/09/pointe-mouillee-state-game-area-hike.html