Wolf Lake is one of the many projects the City of Hammond has completed with casino money. Since Christy and I were both off of work today, we took the dogs for a five mile hike all the way around Wolf Lake. It has the typical Northwest Indiana combination of restored or protected natural areas and industrial areas. I can't easily explain why I love this combination, but I really love taking photos of nature and industry.
So off we go from the East side of Wolf Lake near the Pavilion.
There are new information signs along the entire trail.
After spotting bald eagles in the trees on a island in Wolf Lake, we saw several swans looking for fish.
We also saw this industrial foam along the west shoreline.
Christy and Nola just off the paved trail.
On the north side of the lake is the huge Forsythe Park. It was about here that we decided to hike all the way around the lake.
Yeti walking along the cut grass beside the paved path.
It was about this area which obviously has a beaver nearby, that we saw a coyote sleeping in the park. At first we thought it was injured, but Christy saw it get up and walk toward the baseball fields.
Yeti sniffing his way along the lake shore.
The sun broke through the clouds as we headed toward Indianapolis Boulevard.
This is a Cargill factory across the lake.
Nature & Industry
Nola, Nature & Industry.
The beavers around here are impressive.
Street Art near the Cargill entrance on Indianapolis Blvd.
Nice work 0n this little building.
Me and Yeti heading to the Horseshoe Casino.
The trail cuts between the west side of the Cargill factory and behind the Walmart and ends up westbound on 112th Street where you walk under the Indiana Toll Road.
Then the trail heads south at the state line with Eggers Grove on the Illinois side.
Even though the power plant is no longer on Lake Michigan just north of here, you can still hear the electricity crackling on the wires above us.
Sun and blue skies to the north.
Clouds to the south. This picture looks like a black & white photo with no post production.
Finally some color.
These signs are at every junction along the trail.
Yeti and I were behind the girls most of the hike.
The sun broke through again to light up the tall grass.
The tall grass along the west side of Wolf Lake
Nola has the best shadows.
There is a long bridge to get us over the lake on the west side.
We are right beside the Indiana Toll Road.
Great late afternoon sunlight.
Hiking back on the ground again with the sun to our right.
This is the view looking north with the sun at my back.
The sun warmed it up enough to remove a layer.
Nola closeup.
More fun with long shadows.
We took a few minutes to relax on the bench. near a split in the trail. We took the trail to the right back to the Pavilion and to our left takes you south to downtown Hammond.
Even Nola...
...and Yeti seemed to enjoy the rest.
I really enjoyed this long hike around the east side of Wolf Lake. As we walked back to the car, we agreed that a bike ride from home to Calumet Park would be a lot of fun too. Something to do in 2020. Happy New Year everyone...and let's be safe out there.
