Exploring Erie- bonus blog today!

This morning, after Joe and Neptune enjoyed some eggs, pancakes and Spam, we set off to investigate Presque Peninsula in Erie, PA.  We left about 9:30 so that we could take Neptune on his walks before it gets too warm.  It was a beautiful tree lined road through Presque Isle State Park.  A lot of people were parking at the entrance of the peninsula/park with bikes.  The park has a very nice bike path – wide, well-marked, paved and “only” 22 miles around. 

Our first stop was the Erie Waterworks Tower on Presque Isle.  Its official name is Waterworks Steel Intake Tower.  It was installed in 1906 to house a steel chain and gears in order to lift a large lid to gain access to the municipal water intake pipe.  It was built to expand the intake pipe from the bay to the lake to provide water to Erie, PA.  Prior to that, infectious diseases like typhoid occurred when the lake was used for a municipal water source and the output for sewage, etc.  It has been moved to its current spot and renovated to look like a lighthouse. It was a beautiful morning for us to look at the lake off the pier and enjoy the scenery. 

Our next stop was an actual lighthouse, Presque Isle Lighthouse.  We first walked along the beach before getting to the lighthouse itself.  Joe climbed to the top of the lighthouse while Neptune and I walked along the terra firma.  Neptune did not know what to do when his person was so far away/above and he could not reach him. Fun fact is that the Fresnel lens was able to magnify an oil lamp output for 13 miles. The kitchen lighthouse was in use until 1927.  The lighthouse beacon is still in use today.

We headed off from the lighthouse for a hike on the Sidewalk Trail.  It is truly a cement sidewalk down 1+ mile to the other side of the peninsula. It was historically used as a path from the lighthouse to Misery Bay. 

On the bay side of the walk, we went to the Turtle Observation Deck.  There are many types of turtles living along Lake Erie.  Today the lagoon was quite run over by kayakers and the turtles kept sliding off their logs into the water.  We came back via the Sidewalk Trail and Neptune did it!  He didn’t think he could, but he did it!  Good boy.

We stopped at a couple of the other beaches along the road to enjoy the sand and the enormous lake.  The lake freezes in the winter because it is so shallow, so there is ice fishing , as well as cross-country skiing.  Donna- you should totally check it out next winter!

Our final stop was at the Perry Monument.  This is where American Commodore Oliver Perry led a US Navy Squadron to victory over a smaller Royal Navy squadron during the war of 1812.  It was built to honor those who fought in The Battle of Lake Erie, War of 1812 and to celebrate long-lasting peace among US, Canada and Great Britian. 

And Misery Bay was previously named Little Bay. That is until Perry’s men returned victorious to Presque Isle Bay.  There the severely wounded lived in a makeshift hospital and the rest of the men lived on the ship in the bay through the winter of 1813-14.  Between the exposure while living on the lake during winter and the general living conditions, there was widespread sickness, and many men died.  There is so much more to this area including more details about the battles, sunken ships, etc.  Definitely more than this little blog can handle, but something to investigate later. 

From the monument we were able to look across the bay towards Erie and look at the kayakers, jet skis and many boats, including sailboats and a tall ship.

We got back to the campsite and Neptune napped in the sun while providing us an outdoor clothesline.  He is such a good dog.  He actually spent much of the afternoon napping on our bed in the air conditioning. 

Tomorrow, we head for New York!  A new state for us both. And Neptune, of course.  It will be a ride in the 40-mile range and should be mostly downhill.  It would be awesome if the wind is on his back.