Towpath Trail VII (11/29/2015)

Saturday, November 28, 2015
We went out for breakfast at Al's Diner on Larchmere Boulevard, where I made the mistake of ordering three pecan pancakes. Each was the size of a salad plate and 4 times as thick, containing a cup of chopped pecans! I couldn't even finish one!

Al's Diner pancakes

We discovered it was the weekend of the Larchmere Holiday Stroll. So we strolled down to Loganberry Books to browse, check out their Old Curiosity Shoppe, and listen to Cleveland guitar virtuoso, Brian Henke.

Loganberry Books mural (2011) created by Gene Epstein

Loganberry Books Sanctuary room

Sunday, November 29, 2015
Took advantage of good weather to hike another piece of the Ohio & Erie Canalway Towpath Trail, from Station Road Bridge halfway back towards Alexander's Mill.

Brecksville Station (replica) of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad

Station Road Bridge (1881), the oldest
remaining metal truss bridge in Cuyahoga Valley

The bridge surface is made from wood blocks

Brecksville-Northfield High Level Bridge (1931,
designed by Alfred M. Felgate) reflection

Pinery Dam gate controlled water flow into the canal

Pinery Dam (1827, with modern concrete abutments)
assured adequate water levels in the canal

Brecksville-Northfield High Level Bridge
over the Cuyahoga River

Mud Catcher, a small dam built
where a stream enters a canal to
hold back silt and debris

No smell today!

(We hiked the "first" section of the Towpath Trail that follows the old Ohio & Erie Canal on July 6, 2014 from Harvard Road to the Marcy Trestle. We started at the Canalway Center near the trestle and walked to the overpass of Route I-77 on November 9, 2014. On December 26, 2014, we walked between the I-77 overpass and Quaker Steak on Canal Road in Valley View. On September 27, 2015 we hiked between Quaker Steak on Canal Road and Lock 38. On October 4, 2015, we went between Lock 38 and Alexander's Mill. On November 8, 2015, we hiked from Alexander's Mill halfway to Station Road Bridge.)