Walking the Grand River Trail

Bob and I have been trying to get out and enjoy some time outside before the weather really changes and we don't want to be out there.
We're really blessed in our area by a trail system that's been set up to run near the Grand River for many miles. It's a continuous trail that's 36 miles long, from Grand Rapids to Grand Haven and is designed for walking and biking, and in some areas kayaking and canoeing.

We've walked several sections of this trail, and went walking on it again recently. We did a section we've walked before, but went a little further this time.

Look at this beautiful walkway. It's paved with bridges over streams and marshy areas.

A pretty stream we crossed.

Walking along the river.  Someone was fishing out there.

Getting closer to the city, we could see this apartment complex that was built to look like a castle.

Unique mushrooms we saw along the way.

A big fallen tree we saw along the way.

There were still a lot of wild flowers out there.

More wildflowers.  

It was a great way to enjoy sunshine and God's beautiful creation!

Artprize

Grand Rapids has a fun event that's been happening every Fall since 2009.  It's called ArtPrize and I've been able to take part in it for most of those years. It's an international art competition that lasts for about 2 weeks and brings close to 1 million people into the city. There are art pieces installed all over the city. Many of them are outside, but they are also in hotels, banks, a performance center...  This year there are over 1000 art entries in 150 venues.  People can vote for the pieces they like the best and the artists get various prizes.  Some pieces are purchased and stay in the city.

Last week Bob and I spent a day downtown, walking all over and checking out some of the art.  It's impossible to see it all!
Here's just a few of the pieces we saw.

It was a beautiful sunny day, temperature was 72 degrees.  Here's a little view of Grand Rapids and a sculpture/fountain that was along our walkway.

This bottle is about 4 feet tall, made of corks to commemorate the USA's 250th birthday. The artist said each cork has its own stains and stories, they come from many countries and are put together to form something beautiful, just like the country.

This motorcycle was made by the man standing behind it, it looks like a steampunk sculpture, but it's actually a working cycle and he drives it all over.

Paintings; That train looks like a photo, but someone actually painted it.

This is one of the most unique things we saw.  It covered a whole hall.  This person painted every single thing she ate for the whole year of 2025.  Can you imagine? 

This is the Mackinac Bridge made out of K'nex.

This artist had 5 of these different Mandala's all made of binder clips. This one used 1365 clips to make this one piece.

This first one is a pencil drawing. The second is ink, but is done with only one line, from beginning to end.

A wooden sculpture of sand hill cranes. This was about 4 feet tall.

This is a dragon made of drift wood.

Can you believe this is an art entry?  An upside down car!  Art is in the eye of the beholder they say.  I don't call this art though...

I think this is art too.  This is one of my favorite spots in the city, where an old building is reflected on a new one.

A photo from one of the bridges over the Grand River.

We ended our day by taking the promenade walk along the river.

There was more art along the river walk.

One last view across the river.

It was a good time, enjoying the art and walking in the city.

Friday Funny