Joe Writes . . . 

Tom and I began the year on the Grand River: not paddling, but hiking. Along with our spouses, we spent New Year’s Eve at our sister’s home in Ferrysburg on Grand Haven’s North Shore. The next morning we hiked in Ottawa Sands Park, a beautiful park recently opened to the public on land we used to explore and build forts on as kids.

L to R: the Neely kids (Tom, Joe, Amy) and their spouses (Brian, Linda, Cynthia). Joe and Linda’s dogs, Casey and Daisy, were camera-shy this day.

The park is wonderful. It features an 80-acre lake which is – so far, at least – free of invasive species. There are 5,585 of frontage on the Grand River – more than a mile – now available to the public as a result of this park opening, with opportunities to connect with other park trails and dune preserves in the future.

Enjoy my photos, and schedule your own trip to the park soon.

And finally, it was an unexpected pleasure to run into lifelong friend Bud Ainsworth and have him join us on our hike. Bud lives nearby.

L to R: Tom, Joe, Bud . . . Casey a bit more cooperative in this pic.

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Take the river’s side: Industry and Big Agriculture have plenty of friends in high places already. If you enjoy our blog please tell a friend and share it on social media. Contact us by leaving a message here or by email: joe@lengthofthegrand.com or tom@lengthofthegrand.com. We look forward to resuming our quest to paddle the entire river in the Spring. Our journey so far has taken us from the river’s source to Ada, just shy of Grand Rapids.