I'm just back from my morning walk in Forest Park, but this time I headed off to one of my favorite of the "new" or revitalized areas of the park. It was marvelous.
For me this was a major occasion. I was headed out the door and just at the front door I said to myself: I really don't need this cane. So I left it in the living room. I did a longish walk for me (more than 30 minutes) and it was just awesome. For the first time since December 2001 I was walking without pain in either knee, and without any walking aid. The new knee was very stiff, swollen, tender, even fragile, BUT NO PAIN AT ALL. The other knee which I got last December was nice and strong. It was just awesome to walk without a cane and without pain. I'm very encouraged.
Now, about the walk.
Let me parcel out this little-know area:
Consider a rectangle. On the top (east) is Kingshighway right at Barnes Hospital. On the right side (south side) is Hwy 40. On the left side (north) is the street that leads from the opera out of the park toward the Chase Park Plaza. On the bottom of the rectangle (west) is the street in the park that comes right out of the Planetarium parking lot, Grand Drive.
Inside this rectangle we find:
First all at Steinberg they rent bikes, fishing poles and sell bait. The rink is open for skating, but I don't know if this season it is roller skates or in-line skates or both. In the winter it is for ice skating. It is open almost every night. [May 2005 comment: The rink is now used for sand volleyball in the summer, and I’m not sure is they still rent the bikes, fishing poles and bait.]
To the north of the rink is this great new wetlands, one of the LEAST KNOWN and one of my favorite places in the park -- though it is very remote from other areaa.
The bike trail goes through there and on the east, just 50 yards or so down the hill from Kingshighway, there are two large wooden decks which extend out over the stream which is the center of the wetlands area.
Around it there is high grass and reeds and a very wild looking area. Just marvelous.
On the west end of this section there is a great large bridge which is black iron. It was built in 1885 and is called the Victorian Walkway. A sign indicates that there was a street car stop on Kingshighway just at the top of the hill.
I parked in the Steinberg lot and circled the wetland. It was just so peaceful. Across the stream along the bike train there was a steady stream of bikers, joggers, walkers, women with baby buggies and in-line skaters.
On my side, close to the hill leading up to Kingshighway and on those wooden decks there was no one. Just me, several ducks including a mother with some tiny babies no bigger than my hand, and, while I didn't see them, some very loud bull frogs croaking for all they were worth. It was so incredibly quiet and lovely, a light breeze blowing on this modestly cool day.
Yep, the magnificent Forest Park, Dogtown's back yard, has so many faces. I really wonder just how many Dogtowners make use of it. It is just phenomenal.
I think of the area in relation to a meal, and Forest Park being some restaurant. What draws most people to favorite restaurants might well be the steak or great fish, the wines, the famous desserts. That's equivalent in Forest Park to the golf courses, the Art Museum and Zoo, the new Grand Basin, the Muny.
But some restaurants might just have an awesome house dressing on the salad, or some exceptional vegetable side dish. That's the equivalent to the wetlands area for me in Forest Park. The treat is delicate, quiet, not bold and splashy. If you haven't visited that area I recommend it.
If you want a guided walking tour, let me know, I'll take you there.
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