Adventures of an AT Section hiker "Mapless"

Tag: bike trail

  • Prairie Duneland Rail Trail and Chicago

    Prairie Duneland Rail Trail and Chicago

    Friday August 29, 2025 – Day 17 of the road trip. I am almost caught up with posting…. now doing two a day !

    Woke up and found I rolled over on my glasses and popped a lens. So part of the day today will be searching for eyeglass repair… all part of the adventure I guess. Had breakfast, coffee and packed up the van to hit the road again… first a bike trail not far away and then the dreaded drive into Chicago.

    The Prairie Duneland Trail in Chesterton Indiana, a few miles south of Lake Michigan is a nice suburban trail. It was a railway at one time. It was well shaded as is goes through different neighborhoods. I rode out 8.5 miles to a park that seemed like a good turn around and gave me a 17 mile ride.

    After the ride I was able to find a eye doctors office that would fix my glasses. I gave them some cash and said lunch was on me. They gave me a good suggestion for breakfast and it was nice to have my first hot breakfast for some time. So good

    I had some time to kill before heading into Chicago (Brenden had to work in the morning). I found a nice coffee shop in downtown Chesterton. I setup the computer and did some journaling and updates on the blog. Sat outside for some time… the coffee shop was very warm inside for some reason. There was a good amount of train traffic through the town and I can understand why I saw signs that said NO TRAIN HORN as I suspect their were trying to get the trains to not blow their horns as they went through town – they were load and frequent while I was there.

    Finally it was time to drive to Chicago and as expected it was a slow, lots of traffic and stressful…. not used to so much traffic coming from Franklin NC – smiles

    Met Brenden at his condo and was able to park in their parking lot spot after we got the bike off the top of the van – would not fit through the gate. Turns out this parking spot cost $20k when they bought the condo – yikes !

    I go a tour of the condo, and we were able to walk to dinner. He live in Edgewater / Andersonville neighborhood north of downtown. Very nice area with many options for restaurants. We ate on the patio of Hopleaf.

    It was nice to catch up with Brenden. I ended up crashing early when we got back from dinner. I real bed felt so good.

  • Niagara Falls and Chautauqua Lake NY

    Niagara Falls and Chautauqua Lake NY

    Friday August 22, 2025 – Adventure / road trip day 10. Up with the sun as usual. Beautiful morning next to the canal. Walked over to the local coffee house near where I camped / parked for the night. For a small town they had a big assortment of bakery and food available. There was a good crowd of people at 8 am so it must be a popular local spot. Had some coffee and wrote in my journal.

    Headed to the auto report shop. I had asked the day before if they could pull the actuators they thought needed replaced and see if there was any obvious issues. They found none. Since I was heading to Cleveland I decided to make a appointment at a Toyota dealer on Monday in North Olmsted and asked them to order / have the parts on hand that was just suggested. The mechanic thought I should be OK as I will have to drive for 2 days to and hope all goes well.

    Drove to Niagara Falls (about a hour) and did some biking on the Greenway Trail past the falls and through the hoards of people viewing the falls. I was a gorgeous clear day with temps and 70’s. Made a loop of Goat island and headed back towards the van but then continues a bit further to extend the ride. Back at the van I packed up and drove to a small park I had passed and had a bit of a picnic lunch.

    After lunch drove to the Chautauqua Lake (NY) area, Had been here a number of times over the years and want to do a driving tour around the lakes. I stopped in Bevis Point and did some walking. Stopped in a restaurant / brewery for a drink… review the ultra high prices on the food menu and thought I would just cook at the campsite tonight !

    Finished the driving tour and drove the Chautauqua Gorge Campground. This was a private campground that seems newer with newer looking building and bathroom. I was going to try to do a boondock / free spot in the area but still have not gotten used to doing this – too chicken to get kicked out.

    Had a nice evening at the camp. Built a small fire with the big supply of wood near by and kept the misquotes at bay. Had dinner, shower and jumped the van before dark – this travel is tiring at times.

  • A good day / bad day

    A good day / bad day

    Thursday August 21, 2025 – Day 9 of the adventure. 7 am packed up the van headed to Middleport NY, a small town on the Erie canal. I found a free place to park / camp on the IOverland app that looked to great place.

    The drive was about 3.5 hours on the NY Thruway, traffic was moderate but not too bad. As I was getting off the highway the check engine light came on. I assumed it was the same code I had on Day 2. I was not happy and obviously stressed about how I was going to resolve this and how it will affect the rest of my trip.

    I got into Middleport and found the Erie Canal Trail. I decided I needed a ride before I dealt with the van issues. I rode 16 miles. The trail was very nice as it followed directly next to the canal. Saw a few boats.

    After the ride I called and traveled to local repair shop. The scanner showed it was the same code I hade before. They thought the issue was a activator switch but the part could not be found. I even drove to Toyota dealer thinking they would have the part but no… frustrating.

    The only logical thing to do was to go to the local tavern for a few hard seltzers and some wings… (if you did not know I am Celiac and have not had a real beer in 8 years )

    The camping / parking spot ended up being a place where boats traveling the Erie canal could dock and stay the night, they had tables, electrical, water, showers and bathroom. It was perfect for the price … free. The location is maintained by the city and they do have signs asking for a donation. The parking was directly behind the police station and when I asked a officer he said it was ok to stay for 1 night, they just don’t want people staying for a extended period or making it a home.

    The cloudy day turned to clear and it was a gorgeous sunny evening to sit by the canal.