A Warm October

It seems that for the past few years, it has been staying warmer come October.  At least it has here in Michigan.  For instance, this week we could see a high of 80° on Saturday. It has been sunny and nice out all week so far, which has been an amazing change from the cold and wet of the previous weeks.  

Just yesterday, when I got home from work, it was 70°, not a cloud in the sky and I just couldn't resist taking Diesel out for a walk.  And being that it was so nice, I decided to wing it and just walk for the pleasure of it with no real route in mind.  

Along the CRT - East of Adams Rd.

We had to start out on the Clinton River Trail like always, because I couldn't pass up the opportunity to escape from the asphalt and surround myself with the peacefulness of the trail.  As I was enjoying the many new fall colors to be seen, Diesel was busy searching the trees for squirrels.  The squirrels have been super busy lately, running in and out of the walnut trees, and barking at one another.  It didn't take long for him to spot a few black squirrels and we saw quite a few fox squirrels as well.  

Downtown Auburn Hills

Once downtown, I was happy to see that new flowers had been planted along the road way, really capturing the essence of autumn.  Downtown Auburn Hills sure has come a long way since I was a kid, but one thing I can count on is a quick soft serve cone at the Twist & Dip.  It may not be run by the same owners, or carry any fancy ice cream flavors, the Twist & Dip has always been a nice place to get a cold treat on a hot day.  Today wasn't exactly hot, but it sure was nice, and there aren't going to be many more days like this!  Diesel got his usual of a doggy dish; small bowl of vanilla with a doggy biscuit, and I just got a baby vanilla cone to satisfy the craving.  After all, we are out walking for our health.

And since our health is important, I thought maybe it would be a good idea to add a little to our route and see how a detour would be.  We first swung through Riverside Park, walking along the river bank.  One of my favorite places in Auburn Hills.  The park may be small, but it has a nice trail along the riverbank, a play area, a nice gazebo, a pavilion, and restrooms.  A great place to enjoy lunch, or an evening downtown.  They have hosted a few different events at the park, most recently the Clinton River Trail Fall Classic that I participated in, as well as an Annual Exchange in the spring, and concerts on Fridays during the summer. 

The Clinton River

Not ready to head home yet, I thought it would be nice for Diesel and I to head down Squirrel Rd, and make our way back to South Blvd, and then Adams going that route, I figured it would add at least a mile to our walk.  It's funny how the simplest things can have you reflecting back on fond memories.  And its not like I haven't been down these roads before, I have many times in fact, but there is just something about walking the sidewalks where I used to ride my bike as a kid, really can bring a smile to my face. Even after a not-so-good day of work. 

It started to cool down and Diesel and I made our way down South Blvd. and I was glad I had worn my hoodie.  Even though the temps have been nice during the day, as soon as the sun sets, you are reminded that it is October in Michigan.  One last picture I took along our walk really sums up what I love about this time of year.  And maybe it can be the motivation I need to hang the Halloween decorations. (Trust me, 80° this Saturday is not going to make it very easy.)  So I leave you with this, a beautiful shot from the corner of Adams & South Blvd. 

I just love the colors of the trees right now. :)

Clinton River Trail Fall Classic 2011

written 9-17-11

Burr!  It was a chilly day out there this morning, but Diesel and I got up early and headed down to Riverside Park in Auburn Hills to volunteer in this years Clinton River Trail Fall Classic. 

The CRT Fall Classic is an annual bicycle tour and 5K walk that takes place each year along the Clinton River Trail.  For a small registration fee, participants can choose either a 5K walk, or 5, 16, 24, or 40 mile bike routes.  Each participant gets a t-shirt (if preregistered), maps for the various routes and lunch upon returning.  Vendors are also set up in the park offering various goodies.

Walkers start out at Riverside Park and head west on the CRT to Opdyke Rd and back. Cyclists start at the park, but head east on the trail.  The 5 mile trail takes you to Crooks Rd and back, the 16 mile trial is to Dequindre and back.  For the more ambitious riders, you can pick up the Macomb Orchard Trail on the other side of Dequindre and either turn around at West Rd for 24 miles, or continue all the way to the Clinton River Bridge just past mile marker 12, and head back.

Originally, Diesel and I were just going to participate in the event as walkers, but I came across a posting on the Friends of the CRT Facebook page asking for volunteers.  Since we live so close by anyhow, I figured why not.  I got to wear a spiffy neon yellow vest and direct the walkers and cyclist from the park to the trail.  It was a great opportunity for us to meet so many people who enjoy the trail just as much as Diesel and I do.  We even had a chance to pass out a few of our cards and hopefully gain a few more readers to the blog.

Once I knew most of the crowds had made their way to the trail, we stopped back in at the registration table and got my t-shirt.  We browsed around a bit talking with the vendors and then headed out to complete our walk. 

Diesel and I have walked this side of the trail a few times, however we've never gone as far as Opdyke, we usually turn around at the I-75 bridge, and walk back.  I never knew just how nice the rest of that walk could be.  The section of the trail between I-75 and Opdyke is mostly wooded, and you can spot the backyards of a few houses but otherwise the trail is pretty secluded.  We saw quite a few squirrels and even a bunny while walking, and even had the chance to chat with a few more walkers along the way. 

It took us about a half hour to get to Opdyke and then another half hour to get back, so not a bad walk at all.  I took quite a few pictures that you can see by scrolling to the bottom of this page, though I wish I would have remembered to turn on my Noom so I could track my stats. 

Once back at the park, Diesel and I shared a few snacks and talked with more volunteers and participants about different routes and about the trail. It was a nice morning despite the overcast and the lower than welcomed temperatures.  All and all it was a great morning.

If you walked/cycled the Fall Classic, please feel free to share your stories in the comments below.  I would love to hear from you! 


If you would like more information on the Clinton River Trail, check out the Friends of the CRT Facebook group or visit www.clintonrivertrail.org

Fall is Near

written 9/5/11 

On Friday, before Labor Day it was close to 100 degrees here in Metro Detroit. As I sit here today, this Labor Day Monday, it has been in the high 50's all day.  How the temp dropped nearly 50 degrees in 3 days... Oh yea, that's right I live in Michigan. Anything is possible.

Today was very overcast, with the sun only peeping out here and there.  I stopped by Auburn Oaks Nursery after breakfast and picked up some more perennials for the flower boxes and the front garden.  After getting those planted I figured that I should take the dog out for a walk.

We headed on out of the neighborhood as we always do and it definitely felt like an early fall day.  The leaves were crinkling as they drifted on down the road, and you could see the trees were starting to change colors.  As much as I look forward Halloween coming, I have to be sad the the end of summer is soon upon us. And after those few brief weeks comes the good old Michigan winter.

The trail was quite busy today with so many people enjoying the cooler weather.  We made our way downtown and decided that it would be nice to cut through River Woods Park, and head back around that way.  I had actually thought it would be a longer walk but it turned out to be just about the same as our other walks, 3 miles are so.

It still ended up being a nice walk and we met a few nice people along the way.  I am looking forward to more walks as it starts cooling off, though I am working on some ideas for what I will write about over the winter as I am not a huge fan of being cold. I appreciate any ideas you can toss my way.

An Evening Walk

written 9/1/11

The other night I had the urge to talk a walk downtown, but Mikey and Diesel were up state and I don't do silly things like that when I'm alone. So I put it off, and decided that one night before it starts getting too cool outside, I would do it.

The moon over the CRT

Tonight ended up being that night.  Not having to work tomorrow was an added advantage because I knew I would want to come home and immediately upload my pictures and start writing. So about 8 o'clock or so, Diesel and I headed out on down the road.  It was still close to 85 degrees out, and a bit on the muggy side, but it wasn't awful.  I sprayed down with some bug spray, did a spritz across Diesel's back as well.  I was not going to deal with mosquitoes all night!

We started our walk as we usually do, crossing Auburn and heading west down the Clinton River Trail.  There was quite the serenade from all of the wild life. The cicadas were out in full force and you could hear them all over.  The bat's were flying up and down the trail so low to the ground that I could make out the detail on their bellies. 

Downtown was bright and alive despite the shops starting to close up.  There were teens on their skateboards pushing curfew as the sky grew darker.  There were kids and their parents lined up for some after dinner treats and the Twist n' Dip. Outside Duffy's tavern, a group was enjoying a cigarette and talking about the nice weather.  We walked past all of the shops, many of them new, but a few that still remain from my childhood.

Rather than walking down Grey Rd as we usually do, we circled around and walked back up the other side of Auburn.  The street was nicely lit all the way to Adams and it was a nice stroll back to the neighborhood.   And honestly I wasn't worried about anything going bump in the night, that is until I hit my own dark street and remembered that we could encounter a skunk!  I kept my eyes open and we made it back to the house without any unwanted visitors.

Downtown Auburn Hills

It was a nice walk through my old downtown.  I used to ride my bike up and down those roads as a teen, though it wasn't as nice and lit up as it is now.  And the streets are much nicer and have working walk signals now too. I probably won't do too many night time walks but it sure is nice to get out every once in a while.

When is your favorite time to walk?

A Long Walk

Yesterday was a day off from work for me and it should have been for Mikey too but he ended up having to work.  After running some errands in the morning, I decided that the weather would be perfect for walking up to the park with Diesel.

I gathered up our usual necessities; water, bowl, sunblock, sunglasses and put them all in my little backpack and Diesel and I proceeded on down the road.  I don't think Diesel and I have many walks together where we don't talk with at least one person while we're out and about.  And sure enough, we hadn't even made it to the CRT yet when we were stopped by a fellow neighbor who had recognized us from walks the previous summer.  We stopped and chatted for a bit, and he offered to trade Diesel for his dog.  Poor thing!  We eventually got back to walking again and made it down to the trail.

New flowers behind the Dentist office along the trail

Along the Clinton River Trail we passed quite a few more people, surprising since it was noon on a Friday.  I guess I wasn't the only one who thought it would be a great day to have off of work.  We made a brief stop to get some water, but then we were right back on our way again.

We made it downtown and headed over to Riverside Park.  For 1) I thought it would be nice to sit and enjoy the river for a bit and 2) I really had to use the restroom!  Again I have to mention how awesome Diesel's new leash is, when we made it over to the restrooms, I was able to just clip Diesel's leash around a close tree and I didn't have to worry about him getting away. Not that I really think he would go anywhere...  Another thing that was refreshingly nice was that the bathrooms at Riverside have really improved since I was a kid.  I haven't had to stop in there much over the years, but it was nice to see that they had changed out all of the manual facilities with those handy automatic sensors.  And they have replaced the paper towel with one of those high-powered hand dryers.  The place was exceptionally clean.  It's a restroom I won't be afraid to use in future.

Auburn Hills Riverside Park

After our bathroom visit we headed on back down to the riverside and chose a nice shady spot to sit and chill for a bit.  There were a few people in the park that day enjoying their lunch or reading a book.  Not too many kids at that point, no one on the playground equipment.  The river was running pretty low and slow on this day, we haven't had much rain since last weekend.  The ducks seemed to enjoy its lazy pace for a change.  However this completely bored Diesel. He was ready to walk again, but where would we go from here? As we made our way back out of the park it was nice to see a small group of seniors from the local American House were settling in to have a picnic.

We exited the park on Squirrel Rd and headed north.  My sister lives on that end of town and maybe she would wank to take her dog for a walk in the nicely shaded River Walk Park across the way.  We made our way over to her house and stopped for some water. Unfortunately, she had a hair appointment in a few minutes and wouldn't be able to go.  We had a nice visit anyway and said we'd try to plan the next one better.

After refreshing for a bit, Diesel and I made our way back to Squirrel.  It was starting to get quite a bit warmer now, and the look on Diesel's face made it clear that we should head back home.  We crossed the street and entered River Walk Park.  It's a little known fact that you can walk the trails all the way through the park and end up in the Adams Ridge Sub.  That's a nice little shortcut back to the trail and then back on home again.

The boardwalk at River Walk Park - Auburn Hills

We were gone for about 2 hours and managed to cover about 4.5 miles.  Not bad on a pretty warm day.  I took quite a few photos and have started posting all of my pictures to Picasa.  Now my most recent photos will be displayed along the bottom of this blog, along with a link to view the gallery all together.

As always I welcome your feedback!  Feel free to follow @DieselStomping on twitter.  Also, feel free to leave comments, let me know what you would like to see in future posts.  Diesel and I are always looking to see new places, meet new people and participate in what ever we can!  If you like us, share us with your friends and family who may be interested too!

Auburn Hills Farmer's Market

My apologies for not getting this posted sooner!  I had plans to rush home that night and blog, but a friend called and needed some talk time, and before I knew it, two more days had past.

Auburn Hills Farmer's Market

On Thursdays in Auburn Hills, there is a small but delightful Farmer's Market on the corner of Auburn and Squirrel.  It runs from 4pm to 7pm, weather permitting. They have a few farmer's that bring their produce of course, but they also provide booths for other local businesses.  There's the cookie lady and her friend who makes smoked meats.  Duffy's Irish Pub can always be found grilling hot dogs and selling sodas.  Auburn Oaks Nursery has a booth as well, and has specials on many of their plants. I have also seen booths selling organic dog treats, home made pasta & cannolis, pies, fresh breads, jewelery and woodworking.  Nana’s World Café has also had a small booth offering up samples of their gourmet marshmallows. And one of the other treats I love, is the live music! A different guest artist each week.

In the past I have always just driven up and browsed the market on my own, but this year I thought that it would be nicer just to walk up with Diesel.  I have done this once before, and Diesel was so well loved and welcomed (even getting a free hot dog) I had to bring him again, and post about our walk.

Well come Thursday wouldn't you know it, the weather was hot! And usually on hot days I like to wait until after dinner when the sun has started to hide behind the trees a little more.  If Diesel and I were going to make it to the market we'd have to be on our way no later than 6 and it would take some extra planning and supplies.  I got on my lightest weight cloths, my walking shoes and packed my little backpack.  Complete with Diesel's travel water dish and a bottle of water, and for bring the goodies home, my farmer's market bag I got last year.

Diesel and I headed on down the road about 6 o'clock, hit the Clinton River Trail as always, and then made it to downtown about 20 minutes later. It didn't take any time at all to meet up with my mother-in-law who had stopped up as well.  And wouldn't you know it, as soon as I turned around there was Mikey on my motorcycle.  He deemed it too hot to walk but wanted to take our new bike out for another test run. We  let Diesel get some water and we rested in the shade for a moment and then the four of us wandered amongst the merchants.  While Diesel was busy making friends, I picked up some tomatoes, some garlic bread and an ice cold Arnold Palmer. Mikey headed on down the road to our friends house, while I parted ways with Margaret.

Our Farmer's Market Goodies

Since the sun had started to set, the air was cooling off a little better now and Diesel and I weren't in much of a hurry to get home.  We headed on back towards our house, but stopped at our friends house for a bit.  He ran and played with his girlfriend, a blond lab named Daisy while Mikey and I chatted for a bit with our friends and their kids.  It was a nice walk home after that reflecting on how delightful the day had turned out.  Hopefully next week it won't be as hot, but the forecast isn't playing to my favor right now.  But it wouldn't be a Michigan summer if it wasn't 80 and humid.