Grassy Island is located in the Detroit River near Wyandotte.  For years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers used the island as a contaminated disposal facility.  They constructed dikes and placed contaminated dredge from the River Rouge within the dike complex.

The island is closed to public access, but boaters do not always heed this rule.  Also, fishermen and women and boaters are often in close proximity to the island.  So, a health study was conducted and here is what was found, according to the Downriver News-Herald:

Grassy Island, a former diked disposal facility in the Detroit River near Wyandotte, apparently poses no health risks, provided some common sense precautions are taken.

The Army Corps of Engineers had built dikes around the island and placed dredged material there from the Rouge River from 1960 to 1982. As a result, the island’s soils contain elevated levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and metals.

Public access to the island is prohibited, but as the report acknowledges, trespassers occasionally go there. Government officials continue to discourage boaters from trespassing on the island, but findings indicate that the island’s near-surface soil does not pose a health hazard.

“There is an overflow weir on the northeast end of the island that poses an attractive nuisance and possible drowning hazard for children. The slopes of the dikes are steep, which may cause people walking on them to slip and fall. The riprap on the shore makes disembarking treacherous for boaters who might dock at the island.”

Here is the full News-Herald story:

http://www.thenewsherald.com/stories/012508/loc_20080125003.shtml

Here are some interesting Grassy Island tidbits that I found while scanning the full document:

In the past, pesticide and PCB residues have been detected in the flesh of waterfowl sampled from the island. There are no plans to develop wetland or waterfowl habitat on the island. Until contaminant concentrations in resident deer are known, consuming venison taken from the island, if the herd is thinned, should be prohibited.

Lastly, the dikes enclosing Grassy Island were constructed without engineering controls considered standard today. The integrity of the dike walls is questionable. Inspection and mitigation plans should be in place to prevent a failure of the dikes.

It should be noted that the Grassy Island facility, the first diked disposal facility operated by the COE in the Great Lakes, was built without engineered dikes and did not incorporate the features (liners, caps, riprap protection, etc.) of later structures (Best et al. 1992). Rather, the original six-foot dike was river bottom material composed of uncompacted clay, sand, and gravel (Manny 1999a).

In 1971, the COE increased the capacity of Grassy Island by constructing a 20-foot dike within the perimeter of the original six-foot dike. The COE stopped using the island for disposal following a 1982 rupture in the south dike wall. The COE repaired the rupture and reinforced the dikes along the navigation channel (east side of the island) with filter cloth and riprap to prevent further failure.

Here is the link for the entire document:

http://tinyurl.com/yosnal

There’s a really good discussion of local snakes going on at monroetalks.  Check it out…

http://www.monroetalks.com/forum/index.php?topic=3807.0;topicseen

This has been a strange day.  I woke up to a phone call from school announcing a snowless snow day.  Now, Adrian is in the middle of a thunderstorm.  And the wind chills are supposed to go well below zero tomorrow morning.  Weird.

Anyway, I decided to find a new hike today in Morenci.  Morenci is a small community on the Michigan/Ohio border about two-thirds of the way west along the southern border of Lenawee County.  It has a neat little downtown and the community seems to be functional and cohesive, unlike some towns in Hillsdale/Lenawee/Monroe.

My target today was the Riverside Natural Area on the north side of town.  The “river” in question is actually Bean Creek as its flow exits the state.  It’s kind of unusual to find a Monroe/Lenawee hike that doesn’t involve the River Raisin.

The Riverside Natural Area is on the west side of North Street.  There is a dirt entry road that does not seem too busy.  This entryway basically links to the city’s sidewalk system for a potentially long walk.

The entry takes a visitor to a circle along Bean Creek.  Today, I walked a path along the east side of the river for about half a mile.  The park is well-worn, but it is quite interesting.  There is a little bit of up-and-down terrain and the river offers some really nice views.

One of the unique aspects of the park is the presence of many buckeye trees.  The park IS in Michigan, but it is so close to scarlet and gray country that the god-foresaken trees have invaded the place.  Hehe.  They are actually quite nice.

Recent restoration projects have begun to make the park more natural.  An old ballfield is returning to nature.  And the park is basically being left alone.  Still, the river is quite eroded in this area and it will be some time before the park is completely natural.

I need to come back to the park.  There is apparently a perimeter path around the park-proper.  And I never quite made it south far enough to see if the riverside trail makes it back to town.  If it does, city sidewalks could make for a nice hiking loop.

This one bears some additional investigation.

This was my route today on Microsoft Virtual Earth:

http://tinyurl.com/2g5djk

Here’s a plant list for the park from a 2004 park restoration project:

http://www.beancreekwatershed.org/riverside.htm

David Green of the State Line Observer has a great article about the place:

http://statelineobserver.com/content/view/261/43/

Note: Thanks to David Green for a correction.  I mistakenly referred to the stream in this park as the Tiffin River.  It is Bean Creek.  The creek graduates to river status across the border in Ohio.

The White Lake Beacon has a report on a recent public meeting about Great Lakes withdrawals and groundwater protection.  The story had two interesting sidenotes:

Don Studaven, Blue Lake Township supervisor, spoke of his surprise to learn of interest from a large water bottling firm in accessing groundwater on the township’s treasured scout camp, Camp Owasippee, well after preliminary work had begun. He pointed to a resolution supporting strong water use legislation recently passed by the Michigan Townships Association as evidence of the interest by township officials in stronger protections for groundwater. He said, “With stronger laws, we will know what’s happening with our water from day one, not after the fact when it’s too late.”

Panelist and attorney Chris Bzdok, of the law firm, Olson, Bzdok & Howard, P.C., said Michigan’s water laws must be strengthened to extend Michigan’s public trust doctrine - which safeguards many waterways - to groundwater that is now threatened by large-scale withdrawals from international water exporters.

“Groundwater deserves protection under Michigan’s public trust doctrine,” said Bzdok. “This provides a way to safeguard the public’s interest in protecting the values that groundwater provide, in particular, their role in feeding Michigan’s many rivers and lakes.”

http://www.whitelakebeacon.com/news.php?story_id=15092

The Woods & Water News has a story about a monster buck taken in Monroe County this past November:

http://www.woods-n-waternews.com/Articles-i-2008-01-01-169089.112113_Monroe_County_Monster.html

The Woods & Water News also has an interesting October article about the joys and difficulties in hunting the small parcels of urban and suburban southern Michigan:

http://www.woods-n-waternews.com/Articles-i-2007-10-01-163216.112113-Bucks_in_small_places.html

The Washtenaw Land Trust recently published the story of a couple who donated a conservation easement on their land near Hanover, MI (Jackson County) to the land trust.  It’s a PDF file:

http://www.washtenawlandtrust.org/docs/A%20Lasting%20Love.pdf

The City of St. Ignace has taken possession of a steam engine from the old carferry, the Chief Wawatum, according to the Soo Evening News:

The Council also voted to formally accept the gift of one of three steam engines removed from the hull of the carferry Chief Wawatam after her retirement and eventual sale in the late 1980s. The impressive 1912-vintage steam engine, standing 16 feet tall and weighing 60 tons when fully assembled was donated to the St. Ignace Downtown Development Authority (DDA) by Jack Purvis of Purvis Marine Ltd. of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

http://www.sooeveningnews.com/articles/2008/01/29/news/news534.txt

The Soo Evening News also reports that Department of Homeland Security Head Michael Chertoff has told border state residents - that’s us - to “grow up” about increased border security.  Excerpt:

“It’s time to grow up and recognize that if we’re serious about this threat, we’ve got to take reasonable, measured but nevertheless determined steps to getting better security,” Chertoff told the Associated Press.

Maybe Chertoff doesn’t live in an area in which a third of the potential business activity lies across an international border.

http://www.sooeveningnews.com/articles/2008/01/29/news/news537.txt

Real Detroit Weekly has a story about how to take a girl on a date in Downtown Detroit without using a car:

http://www.realdetroitweekly.com/article_3763.shtml

Real Detroit Weekly also has information about “Shiver on the River,” a guided tour of Belle Isle.  Excerpt:

If you’re too young or just not into the bar scene, Shiver On The River, an event headlined by the Friends of Belle Isle (FOBI) and the Friends of the Detroit River (FODR), is another way to get yourself in touch with one of Detroit’s oldest and most interesting sites. On February 2 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., you can go all over the island and discover what has made it home to Detroit recreation for over 150 years. The Nature Zoo, historic Boat House, Coast Guard station and other buildings will be open and giving demonstrations on its history and ecology.Jane Mackey, 25-year member of FOBI and FODR and all-around Belle Isle enthusiast, knows plenty about the island’s history and wants people to share in Belle Isle’s beauty. “Shiver On The River is designed to encourage people to come out and reinforce the idea that the park is absolutely gorgeous,” Mackey gushes. Shiver On The River boasts activities for all ages, all of which help to emphasize how preserving the island’s ecology is great for Detroit and Belle Isle.http://www.realdetroitweekly.com/article_3762.shtml

A Leader Publications article has the following fact about horse ownership in Michigan:

According to a new study from Michigan State University (MSU), the Michigan Horse Council and the National Agricultural Statistics Service, “Michigan’s equine population has climbed nearly 20 percent since 1996.” Not just the number of horses have increased in Michigan pastures, but also mules and donkeys. The survey stated that the state’s equine population increased from 133,000 animals to 155,000.

http://tinyurl.com/2oeygz

The Niles Daily Star has a great story about how the city was once a large producer of ice before refrigeration.  That history has inspired a new ice sculpture festival:

Henry and Lemont Hunter arrived in Niles in 1898 in hopes of creating an ice harvesting business on Barron Lake. The two brothers had previously been involved in the ice business in both Wisconsin and Illinois and decided to venture out on their own.The two purchased 22 acres on Barron Lake and established the first industry in Howard Township. The actual icehouse was a very large building, featuring four stories, large rooms and continuous conveyor belts, which pulled the ice from the lake. Some of the pieces of the original belt were found by a diver in Barron Lake. The pieces were turned over to the Museum at Southwestern Michigan College.

http://tinyurl.com/2wcldr

The Leader Publications also have a column bemoaning the decrease in the southwest Michigan grouse population.  Excerpt:

There have been a few minor attempts to create grouse habitat down here, primarily at the Crane Pond and Three Rivers State Game Areas, but it takes more than just a few tiny, isolated oasis to sustain a population of anything. With today’s value of farmland I doubt we’ll ever tolerate substantial areas of shrub land to sit idle growing grouse instead of beans. I’m afraid our grouse are no more forever. Carpe diem.

http://tinyurl.com/2oskv2

The Oceana Herald-Journal has this about a park and campground in Hart, MI:

The John Gurney Park ad hoc committee will look for community input on John Gurney Park improvements during a meeting at 7 p.m. tonight (Thursday) at Hart City Hall. The city anticipates applying for a Michigan Natural Resource Trust Fund grant this April. The ad hoc committee unveiled a preliminary plan last November that showed four baseball fields, an open air pavilion overlooking Hart Lake, a community bonfire pit, and additional parking. The plan, however, reduced the number of campsites from approximately 90 rustic sites to 40-50 modern campsites complete with water and sewer connections. The concept also showed improvements to the park’s two entrances.

http://www.oceanaheraldjournal.com/news.php?story_id=27839&newsgroup_id=

The Oceana Herald-Journal also has this:

The Michigan Architectural Foundation, along with the Clannad Foundation, is accepting applications for the [$10,000] Evans Memorial Grant for Historic Preservation. The grant will be awarded to a not-for-profit (501(c)(3) organization that can demonstrate a creative solution to a preservation problem. An application form and further information is available on line at aiami.com or michiganarchitecturalfoundation.org. A hard copy may be obtained by calling headquarters at 313-965-4100. A Feb. 21 deadline has been set.

http://www.oceanaheraldjournal.com/news.php?story_id=27763&newsgroup_id=

Bath Township, near Lansing, is constructing a township wetlands policy, according to the Okemos Towne Courier:

“So in other words, if somebody built on a 20 acre parcel and you have three acres of wetlands, we’re going to require that you replace three acres of wetland whether it be on that property or another location, so that we retain not only those natural features but the wetlands provide a certain level of hydrological benefit that we don’t want to lose as well,” said Feltman.

http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080127/ELANSING01/801270600/1278/NEWS01

I always love to read the scientific forecast discussion that the National Weather Service forecasters post to warn of impending weather calamities.  Besides WTVG’s Blizzard Bill Spencer and WGN’s Tom Skilling, it is the best source for looking ahead at the weather.  Here’s the current discussion as an example:

http://www.weatherunderground.com/DisplayDisc.asp?DiscussionCode=DTX&StateCode=MI&SafeCityName=Adrian

What I love about the current forecast discussion is that the forecaster seems to be rooting for a big snowstorm this Friday.  Read the clip:

As far as the possible winter storm for the end of the work week…
strong upper wave to drop southeast into Texas Thursday morning.
Based on the 00z GFS…this storm system remains on track to
affect Southeast Michigan Thursday night into Friday…with the
track ideal for heavy snow over Southeast Michigan with the center
of this very strong upper wave… as seen on the dynamic
tropopause…moving over Western Lake Erie during Friday…placing
the good deformation zone right over Southeast Michigan. The other
good news tonight is the 00z European has fallen in line with the
GFS…as the surface low tracks through far northeast Ohio/Erie
Pennsylvania. The potential for six inches or more of snow
remains.

Later, he writes this: “…slightly worried we may just get a glancing blow from this system…”

The man is obviously hoping for a big storm.  Gotta love those weather people.

Kathy and I fly often.  In recent years, I have flown to or through Atlanta, Orlando, Portland, Seattle, Dallas, Minneapolis, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Toronto, Cincinnati, Chicago, Charlotte and many small airports.

None of these airports can match Detroit Metro Airport.  The restaurants are good.  The facilities are new.  Delays, in my experience, have been rare.  And it always brings a smile to my face to travel through the belly of the whale when moving between the long-distance “A” corridor and the regional gates.  If you don’t believe that the McNamara Terminal is good, just google “airport rankings” and you’ll see lots of positive comments.

And the airport will only get better in the near future.  The new North Terminal is slated to open sometime this year.  Most airlines besides Northwest will fly out of that terminal.  With the new North Terminal, Metro might become the best large airport in the United States.  Read below for some articles about the upcoming new terminal:

http://www.metroairport.com/project/map.asp

http://www.micentral.com/travel/metro/20071017/mc2.shtml

http://www.micentral.com/travel/metro/20071114/mc5.shtml

By contrast, Chicago’s O’Hare Airport continues to get slammed in the rankings.  It has the highest delay rate AND cancellation rate in the country.  I made the mistake of flying through O’Hare a few years back when I made a trip to propose to Kathy.  I was stuck in a corridor for five extra hours with a diamond ring in my pocket as my co-conspirators in Wisconsin tried not to give away the secret to my inquisitive future wife.  I tried to time my calls to her between the frequent public address announcements cancelling additional flight.  Ah, the memories!

Needless to say, we now try to avoid Chicago whenever possible.  Even higher-than-normal winds seem to delay flights there.  And if you see a snowstorm coming, fly anywhere to get away from that place.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-gettingaround_28jan28,0,4172730.story

I am not sure that residents of Monroe County always realize what a great resource Metro Airport is to the county.  From Downtown Monroe, it’s just a bit less than a half-hour drive to Metro Airport via Telegraph Road and I-275.  And there isn’t really any traffic on those roads.  From the airport, a traveler can take direct flights to somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 destinations.

If you are a bottom feeding traveler like myself, the airport raises some interesting travel possibilities.  Northwest and other airlines sometimes offer last minute weekend trips to a variety of lesser-known cities.  For example, just after Christmas, I saw roundtrip flights for two between Detroit and San Jose, CA for about $450.  And that’s for two roundtrip tickets.  A week ago, I purchased a roundtrip ticket to Washington, D.C. for $149.  If you have a friend or relative to stay with, a ticket like that can create a cheap vacation possibility.

I once knew a friend with the travel bug who would visit places like Omaha and Kansas City on weekends when the hotel/flight packages went on sale.  There are almost always one or two VERY interesting things to see and do in every city.  So, he always came back with interesting stories.  He just LOVED Kansas City.

I know that I sound like an infomercial for Detroit Metro, but it really is a great airport.  And it’s a travel and business resource that the Monroe/Downriver/Lenawee County area could do a better job of exploiting.

The Toronto Star has an interesting story about efforts to grant legal rights to trees and animals:

http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/Environment/article/297752

Mlive is beginning a weekly slideshow of nature photographs from its various newspaper staffs:

http://tinyurl.com/34v3rf

Detroit’s Winter Blast will feature dogsledding and a big winter slide:

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080127/NEWS01/80127047/1118/RSS

The Battle Creek Enquirer has a fun story about a cardboard sledding race that took place in Albion this past weekend:

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080128/NEWS01/801280310/1002/NEWS01

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has an update about this year’s ultralight-enhanced migration of young whooping cranes to Florida.  Bad weather meant that the birds and migration volunteers spent over 90 days in the migration.  No word on whether Michigan’s displaced whooping crane made it back.  BTW, someone should write a children’s book about that bird:

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=711745

The Grand Rapids Press has a reminder of the importance of keeping sidewalks clean of snow in winter:

http://tinyurl.com/ypu6e7

The State of Michigan has released the names of recipients of “Safe Routes to School” grants.  The program provides $1.6 million to local school districts who intend pedestrian improvement between residential areas and neighborhood schools.  Jackson County really cleaned up, earning three grants.  Another school in Oakland County also earned a grant:

http://www.michigan.gov/som/0,1607,7-192–184423–RSS,00.html

The Observer & Eccentric papers have video from this weekend’s Fire and Ice Festical in Northville:

http://www.hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080124/NEWS12/80127001/1029/rss19

The Muskegon Chronicle has a RECOMMENDED story about the decrease in ice cover days for inland lakes in the Great Lakes during the past 30 years:

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin found a steady trend toward reduced ice cover on inland lakes in the Great Lakes region from 1975 through 2004. On average, there are now 16 fewer days of ice cover on inland lakes than 30 years ago, according to the study funded by the National Science Foundation.

Average ice duration on inland lakes in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ontario and New York, decreased by 5.3 days per decade from 1975 to 2004. During the same period, the average number of days with snow decreased by five days per decade; and average snow depth on days when it snowed decreased by a half-inch per decade, according to the study.

http://tinyurl.com/2bveeb

Western Michigan University researchers have gotten the green light to inject liquified carbon dioxide into porous underground rock near Gaylord, according to the Grand Rapids Press.  This is the kind of technology that *could* help to lessen the impact of greenhouse gases in the future:

http://tinyurl.com/yvuyvl

Kim Schneider, the mlive travel blogger, has a nice compact story about cross-country skiing at the Champion Hill resort near Beulah, MI:

http://tinyurl.com/2y25w9

The Cleveland Plain Dealer bird blogger, Jim McCarty, has a report on the benefits of birding warm water power plant discharges.  Birds flock to these sites in winter for the open water and good fishing:

http://tinyurl.com/2qdphw

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has run out of money for pollution clean-ups in the state.  This is really sad:

http://tinyurl.com/3×58gj

The Marquette Mining Journal reports that an Upper Peninsula outdoors group wants a state investigation of the DNR and its management practices after the “found” $10 million dollars in the department’s budget:

http://www.miningjournal.net/page/content.detail/id/504811.html

The Marquette Mining Journal has a story about a world-class cross-country ski race held in Marquette this past weekend:

http://www.miningjournal.net/page/content.detail/id/504810.html

The Get Off the Couch News has the story about plans for a pedestrian park and pathway system in Sturgis, MI:

http://getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com/2008/01/sturgis-plans-bike-paths-park-upgrades.html

The City of Dayton, OH has some major park and trail plans underway.  They are removing a dam, purchasing hundreds of acres of parkland and creating new trails, according to the Dayton Daily News:

http://tinyurl.com/3axpkp

The Kalkaskian has a story about the new KART trail that passes through Kalkaska.  The article does not give a complete trail route, but these excerpts give some idea:

During the winter months, the trail will be cleared from the high school sidewalk through the woods to the Kaliseum. For now, the rest will not be plowed. LaRowe said that Kalkaska Village Department of Public Works, Kalkaska County DPW and school maintenance personnel all had concerns about black ice.

There was discussion about the next phase of the trail, including finding someone to spearhead the project to Rugg Pond.

http://www.leaderandkalkaskian.com/stories/121907/loc_lk05.shtml

The Cadillac News has some info. about Cadillac area trail developments:

One proposed idea is to utilize the state highway right-of-way on U.S. 131 from the Mitchell Street exit to Boon Road as a non-motorized trail system.

Liptak said the ultimate idea is to have a long pathway that someone could take from the Mitchell Street interchange to Boon Road.

It also could be connected to the Clam River Greenway to provide additional access to other recreation choices, he said.

A snowmobile group has asked the recreation plan to include the repair of an old rail trestle to cross the Manistee River near Mesick.

http://www.cadillacnews.com/story_news/?story_id=181246&year=2008

I also came across this Kalamazoo tidbit from the County Wide Newspaper:

The earliest residents of the area were a race of Native Americans named ‘Moundbuilders” who thrived on farming the land. A number of mounds, attributed to these people, still exist in what is now Bronson Park. By the time white settlers arrived in the area that was to become the County of Kalamazoo, the land was occupied by the Pottawatomi Tribe, a branch of the greater Algonquin people. The Treaty of 1795 opened the Northwest Territory for settlement as well as reservations for the established tribes. In 1840, a treaty that the Natives had made with the settlers for the exchange of land for goods was enforced, and the immediate relocation of the tribes took place across the Mississippi River.

http://www.countywidenewspaper.com/history.html

I love it!

The Chicago Sun-Times has an article about a Chicago neighborhood’s reaction to a sinkhole caused by a water main break.  A lighthearted group of “pro-hole radicals” has christened the hole a “defining characteristic” of the neighborhood.  They are making signs and holding protests against the fix.  It even has a Myspace page and accompanying videos.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/764495,CST-NWS-sinkhole29.article

What a great neighborhood!

Please file the following information in the “Don’t say I didn’t warn you” folder.

Tomorrow, the asteroid TU24 will make a VERY CLOSE pass by Earth.  The asteroid is about 250 meters wide and will pass 1.4 lunar distances from our friendly blue planet.  That means that it is as close as the moon plus another halfway trip to the moon.

In astronomical terms, that is VERY CLOSE.  There will not be another known asteroid passage that is as close for another 19 years.

NASA scientists have determined that there is no danger of Earth impact, but some alarmists are concerned about possible electromagnetic disturbances.

And, apparently, the asteroid will be close enough to observe using backyard telescopes.  Of course, we just happen to have a gigantic rain storm hitting the area, so that information will not be of much interest to local skywatchers.  Maybe we should get the old Ataris out and blow up some rocks for fun?

So, don’t lose sleep over this.  Then again, it’s only a matter of time. 

Here’s a good information site.  I am sure that there will be some pictures on this site in the next couple of days:

http://www.spaceweather.com/

It’s kind of funny, but the asteroid has its own fan site:

http://www.tu24.org/

I am really excited!

A few months ago, the news editor at the Lenawee Telegram sent me an email.  He asked if I’d like to write an occasional article for the Telegram’s lifestyle magazine, Lenawee Magazine.

I immediately thought about how much fun that would be.  During my college years, I just loved to write long papers for class.  There is a certain buzz that I get when I am typing away at the computer keyboard.  Writing is kind of like a drug for me.

So, of course, I said, “Yes.”  After throwing a few ideas around, we came up with a cross-country skiing story focused on Hidden Lake Gardens.  During the next few weeks, I hiked and snowshoed around the trails to get them them all down.  I interviewed a wonderful volunteer at the Gardens named Howard Pennington.  And I put together a complete trail map of all the trails in the preserve.

I think that the article came off well.  The Telegram staff did a wonderful job with the article set up and Lad Strayer is an amazing photographer.  I’ve started some initial work on two more articles for the magazine.  This is going to be SO MUCH FUN.

So, if you are interested, take a look.  Here’s the article link:

http://tinyurl.com/2ssxur

Also, I took about 250 pictures that never made the article.  You can see them here:

http://eriehiker.shutterfly.com/action/

I also created a map with all of the trails that can be found at Hidden Lake Gardens.  It is based partially on a map created by Howard Pennington and the Hidden Lake Gardens staff.  But I added quite a bit:

http://tinyurl.com/2zxr5v