We’re going back a bit to September 25th! Bear with me, I’m so far behind!
Finally a Road Trip Sunday! We were quite overdue. A friend of mine suggested McCourtie Park a while ago and I had to dig through my Facebook feed to find the info. It’s out US-12, a familiar route and not as far as I thought. We’ve probably driven/ridden by it many, many times!
Sunday, September 25th was a gorgeous fall day. We passed many other bikes out enjoying the last days of the season, the colors in southeast almost ready to change. No flurry of leaves to ride through, but that is to come. 🙂
Once you reach Somerset Center, (which is just past Artesian Wells for you locals), the park is off Jackson Rd., on the north side of US-12. It’s 42 beautiful, grassy acres and features 17 cement bridges from the 1930s that were made to look like wood and ropes. Very, very cool place. Picnic tables are scattered throughout the rolling hills and the day we visited would have been perfect for just that.
On our way into the park, a rather large caterpillar inched his way across the sidewalk. I’d never seen one with eyes before. We stopped to take pics/video and also waited until he crossed so that he didn’t get stepped on by anyone else. By the time we were on our way, it looked like he almost had an expression, like, “Okay, crazy lady, are you done with the photo shoot?”
I looked him up later that day and found that he was a Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar. Today turned out to be quite the day for critter sightings. As we walked the grounds and across many of the cement bridges, we saw fish, frogs and a huge crayfish in the stream that winds through the property. .
Ugh..This city girl was thoroughly creeped out by this crayfish. This sucker was bigger than any of the ones I saw down in West Virginia, playing in the creek at my aunt’s house as a kid. Then a friend of mine tapped me on the shoulder – another park goer had come up, holding another crayfish in his hand. Holy Mother of… I only got this close of a photo because my zoom lens was still attached. I was about 15 feet away from it. Gah.
(Photos above with the Dreamstime watermarks are actually photos that have been accepted into my online microstock portfolio at Dreamstime.com, similar to what I share on Microstock Monday.)
There was also a monster bird house next to a huge willow tree across the creek. Not a bird in sight though. Thing was huge!
Leaving the park we a saw a butterfly in the flowerbed out front and at the time, I could swear the white spot on its wings resembled the Apple logo. I Googled him later as well, and found out he was a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly – what our caterpillar friend will turn into. Very cool.
Our next stop was Jerry’s Pub – I have been meaning to check this place out for years! We’ve camped at Hayes State Park many times and always pass a sign advertising it. Jerry’s is down Egan Hwy. on Wampler’s Lake (head north from US-12). It’s back down a winding, dead-end residential road with lakefront homes and cottages. Check out Santa Claus in the upper window!
We grabbed a patio table on this gorgeous fall day and I could just imagine how hopping this place would be in the summer, with its outside bar and plenty of dock space out on the water for boat traffic. It reminded me of Johnny’s on the Lake, one of our favorite haunts on Belleville Lake. Our food took a bit to arrive, but it was very good, and reasonable.
The temps started to take a dip and I’m glad I brought along my new leather jacket – it’s actually a product I’m reviewing for Motorcycle House. I like it so far – look for an upcoming, full review!
Our friends were in search of a pumpkin (yep, strap it to the luggage rack with a cargo net!) but unfortunately, this late on a Sunday, the several farm markets and pumpkin patches had closed as we made our way home. We parted ways at Beck and M-14, hopefully not the last ride of the season!