Ride down the Canal trail

Thanks to all of you who paused to remember the people in Florida. Brandon was very lucky. . . looks like he dodged the bullet. By late last evening, the water was receding and today there is no water in his street. There were, unfortunately, many people who suffered losses and damage to their homes. There is just no way to prepare adequately for Mother Nature sometimes. Please continue to remember those people.

Today we loaded up our bikes and went to Goshen. We stopped at the trail head to the Millrace Canal trail. In our younger days, we always called this the mill race. It was actually the Millrace Hydraulic Canal. In 1898 the power of the hydraulic canal was harnessed by the Hawks Electric Company and provided electricity to Goshen and eight other communities! Wow! That was pretty exciting for 1898. Today a path along the side of the canal has been created to offer a place for bike rides, jogging, walking, and dog walking. There are benches along the way if you want to stop and rest. It passes next to Shanklin Park which is a park on the south side of Goshen. We rode on further to the end of the trail. It ends at the Elkhart River where the dam is. It is there the canal starts as a diversion from the river. The dam is as we remembered it except they have upgraded the sides and it has a park atmosphere.

I took pictures of several bridges along the canal. In its infancy, no doubt these bridges served horse and buggies and perhaps a couple of them cars decades later. Now they are closed to everything but foot traffic or bikes. I found them interesting.

Afterwards, we took a drive out in the country and stopped at our famous Amish general store where we bought some fresh produce and peaches.

Till next time. . .

Dale